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Ham with Windsor Beans

A braised ham served with Windsor beans in sherry wine and beef broth.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 3 ingredients
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Why it works: Ham and sherry work together. They rank in the top 14% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 377 recipes. Both carry 4-ethyl-2-methoxyphenol, which smells smoky, clove. The science ↓

Ham with Windsor Beans

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare and braise

  1. Clean and trim the ham neatly.

  2. Braise the ham with sherry wine and beef broth.

Finish the braising liquid

  1. When nearly done, remove the skin.

  2. Keep the skin hot in the braising pan.

  3. Strain the braising liquid.

  4. Skim the braising liquid.

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

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.

  1. Ham + sherrytop 14% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together377 recipes

    Shared aroma: 4-ethyl-2-methoxyphenol (smoky, clove).

  2. Ham + beeftop 15% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together1,729 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-acetyl-1-pyrroline (popcorn, roasted).

  3. Wine + beeftop 19% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together2,372 recipes

    Shared aroma: 3-ethylphenol (must).

  4. Sherry + beeftop 21% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together871 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethyl octanoate (fruity, wine).

  5. Ham + winetop 27% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together303 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
Main protein; slow braising softens its connective tissue into a tender, moist texture.
Sherry wine
Adds acidity and aromatic depth to the braising liquid, balancing the rich meat.
Beef broth
Provides the moist cooking liquid and savory flavor that the ham absorbs during braising.

The step that matters

When nearly done, remove the skin. Timing this step matters: the ham must be tender enough to cook evenly but still warm, so the skin lifts cleanly without tearing the meat beneath it. Keeping the skin hot in the liquid helps it stay soft and pliable while you work.

“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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