Why it works: Ham and bread are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 2,536 recipes. Both carry 2-acetyl-1-pyrroline, which smells popcorn, roasted. The science ↓
Wild Boar Ham
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Singe off the bristles from the ham and wash it in lukewarm water.
Trim the bone two inches below the knuckle.
Marinate the ham in a mixture of vinegar, water, light wine, sago, salt, and cayenne for 8 days.
Drain and wipe the ham dry.
Cook and serve
Cover the ham with oil-soaked paper and place it before a clear fire, basting with the marinade every 15 minutes.
Once cooked, remove the paper and rind, then brush with liquid glaze or cover with bread crumbs.
Place a paper frill around the knuckle and serve with venison sauce or strained marinade gravy.
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.
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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Ham + breadtop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,536 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-acetyl-1-pyrroline (popcorn, roasted).
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Vinegar + winetop 12% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together3,493 recipes
Shared aroma: sotolon (curry, maple).
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Wine + breadtop 21% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together956 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl octanoate (fruity).
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Ham + vinegartop 22% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together737 recipes
Shared aroma: 3-methylbutanol (malty, whiskey).
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Vinegar + breadtop 25% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,672 recipes
Shared aroma: acetic acid (sour, vinegar).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Vinegar
- Acidity in the marinade that helps tenderize the meat and carry flavour into it.
- Light wine
- Adds acidity and aroma to the marinade, supporting flavour penetration into the ham.
- Sago
- Thickens the marinade and helps it cling to the surface of the ham while basting.
- Cayenne
- Adds gentle heat that seasons the meat throughout the long marinating period.
The step that matters
Basting with the marinade over the fire. Basting every 15 minutes keeps the surface moist while the ham cooks slowly before a clear fire, so it does not dry out or scorch before the centre is done.
“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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