Why it works: Ham and veal are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 15% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 3,264 recipes. Both carry 2,4-decadienal, which smells seaweed. The science ↓
Loaf Ham
Ingredients
Directions
The book gives no oven temperature. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps was added when the recipe was transcribed, as a starting point.
Prepare the ham
Soak the ham in cold water for 24 hours.
Place the ham in a kettle and cover it with just enough water.
Add 1 pint of wine and skim carefully until cooked.
Remove the bones, skin, and some fat from the ham.
Make and layer
Make a force by mixing the fat with veal or game and pounded sweet herbs, all finely minced.
Line a pan with thick paste.
Cut the ham into thin slices and layer it alternately with the force in the pan until nearly full.
Bake
Cover with a crust and bake at 350°F (175°C) for nearly 2 hours.
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 + vealtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together3,264 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
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Wine + vealtop 19% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together698 recipes
Shared aroma: terpineol (pine, woody).
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Ham + winetop 27% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked 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
- Forms the main body of the loaf and supplies the cured meat flavor.
- Veal or game
- Adds meat and fat to the force, keeping the layers moist and rich.
- Sweet herbs
- Add aroma to the force that complements the ham.
- Wine
- Adds acidity and aroma to the poaching liquid, flavoring the ham as it cooks.
The step that matters
Skimming the poaching liquid. Skimming foam and impurities as the ham simmers keeps the liquid clear and the meat clean-tasting. Letting it boil hard can toughen the meat and cloud the liquid, so it should stay at a gentle simmer.
“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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