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To Boil Ham

A method for cooking a ham by boiling it in soft water.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
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To Boil Ham

Ingredients

Directions

  1. Place the ham in a large pot with cold soft water.

  2. Bring the water to a boil, then reduce to a slow boil.

  3. Cook the ham for 4.5 hours, adjusting time for larger or smaller hams.

  4. Skim the surface of the water regularly.

  5. If using an old ham, soak it in soft water for 16 hours before boiling.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

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

What each ingredient does

Ham
Provides the meat, which becomes tender and cooked through during long, gentle simmering.

The step that matters

Reduce to a slow boil. A hard, rolling boil toughens the meat's proteins and can break the ham apart. A gentle simmer cooks it evenly and keeps it moist and tender.

“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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