Why it works: Mace and nutmeg are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 4% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 6,557 recipes. Both carry myristicin, which smells spice, warm. The science ↓
Potted Ham
Ingredients
Directions
The book gives no oven temperature. The 400°F (200°C) in the steps was added when the recipe was transcribed, as a starting point.
Prepare the ham
Soak the ham for 12 hours, then wipe it dry and trim it.
Wrap the ham in coarse paste and bake at 400°F (200°C) until tender.
Remove the crust and rind, then let the ham cool completely.
Weigh the lean ham after removing skin and fiber.
Make the potted mixture
Mince the cold roast veal finely with a sharp knife.
In a large stone or marble mortar, pound the veal into a smooth paste, gradually adding the butter.
Once three parts beaten, mix in the mace, grated nutmeg, and cayenne pepper.
Keep turning the mixture to ensure even seasoning.
Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures.
Photo for illustrative purposes only · Contact us to use it
Explore the science
The flavor team
The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.
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Mace + nutmegtop 4% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together6,557 recipes
Shared aroma: myristicin (spice, warm).
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Nutmeg + peppertop 7% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together13,015 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
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Ham + vealtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together3,264 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
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Mace + peppertop 16% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together12,257 recipes
Shared aroma: myristicin (spice, warm).
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Butter + nutmegtop 16% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together24,377 recipes
Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).
Mace and pepper barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 12,257 recipes: they work on texture and structure more than aroma.
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Freshly cured ham
- Provides the main savoury meat flavour and body of the potted mixture.
- Cold roast veal
- Adds a soft, fine texture that helps the mixture pound into a smooth paste.
- Fresh butter
- Adds fat and richness, carrying the spices and giving the paste a smooth, spreadable texture.
- Mace
- Contributes a warm, aromatic flavour that complements the meat.
- Nutmeg
- Adds warm, aromatic spice flavour to the mixture.
The step that matters
Pounding the veal and gradually adding the butter. Adding butter gradually while pounding lets the fat emulsify evenly into the finely minced meat, producing a smooth paste rather than a greasy or lumpy one. Mixing in the spices only after the paste is well beaten spreads them evenly through it.
Swap the mace
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (ham, veal, butter, nutmeg, pepper):
- Parsleyfits better
- Clovefits better
- Marjoramfits better
- Macethe original
Fit is the average pairing score against ham, veal, butter, nutmeg, pepper. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.
“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.
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