Why it works: Ham and potato work together. They rank in the top 24% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 127 recipes. Both carry 2-acetyl-1-pyrroline, which smells popcorn, roasted. The science ↓
Ham and Potatoes
Ingredients
Directions
Cut the ham into thick pieces, similar to the potatoes.
In a saucepan, combine the ham and potatoes.
Fry for 15 to 20 minutes, covering while cooking.
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 + potatotop 24% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together127 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-acetyl-1-pyrroline (popcorn, roasted).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Ham
- Provides savory, salty flavor and meaty richness that seasons the potatoes as they cook.
- Potatoes
- Supply starch and bulk; they soften and partly break down, giving the dish a tender, hearty texture.
The step that matters
Cover the pan while frying. Covering traps steam, which heats the potatoes through and softens them evenly. Without a lid, the outside can dry or brown before the centre is 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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