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Corned Ham, Baked

A corned ham baked in a rye or wheat dough, then browned with seasoned crumbs.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 6 ingredients
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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 ↓

Corned Ham, Baked

Oven, in the book's wordsA moderate oven

Ingredients

Directions

The book says “a moderate oven”. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.

Prepare

  1. Test the ham by running a sharp knife close to the bone; it should have a pleasant odor.

  2. Soak the ham overnight in cold water to cover it.

  3. Trim off any bruised or torn portions.

  4. Make a dough with rye or wheat flour and water, and enclose the ham in it.

Bake and finish

  1. Bake the ham in a large pan in a moderate oven at 350°F (175°C) for 30 minutes per pound.

  2. Remove the dough and skin if desired.

  3. Dust the ham with seasoned cracker or bread crumbs and quickly brown in a hot oven at 400°F (200°C).

  4. Serve hot or cold, garnished with a frill of white paper around the bone.

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 + breadtop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together2,536 recipes

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

  2. Rye + breadtop 13% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together59 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethyl octanoate (fruity, wine).

  3. Rye + peppertop 13% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together80 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethyl 2-methylbutyrate (fruity, apple).

  4. Bread + peppertop 16% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together20,964 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).

  5. Ham + peppertop 23% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together6,058 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Sweet corned ham
Is the main food being cooked, and its brine-cured flavour defines the dish.
Rye or wheat flour
Forms a dough casing that encloses the ham and holds in moisture while it bakes.
Cracker or bread crumbs
Form a seasoned crust that browns quickly in the hot oven at the end.

The step that matters

Quickly browning the crumb-dusted ham. Browning depends on surface heat, and the crumbs can scorch if the oven is too hot or the ham is left too long. A short, hot finish gives color without drying the meat beneath.

“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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