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Dessert

Totted Ham

A preserved ham made by pounding boiled ham with melted butter and cayenne pepper, then stored in jars.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 3 ingredients
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Why it works: Ham and butter are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 16% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 5,475 recipes. Both carry trans-2-decenal, which smells waxy, orange. The science ↓

Totted Ham

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare

  1. Cut the boiled ham into small pieces.

  2. Pound the ham in a mortar, adding melted butter to soften it.

  3. Season with Cayenne pepper to taste.

Pot and store

  1. Transfer the mixture to small bowls or jars, pressing it down smoothly.

  2. Pour a little more melted butter over the surface.

  3. Cover tightly.

  4. Store away; it will keep for weeks.

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 + buttertop 16% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together5,475 recipes

    Shared aroma: trans-2-decenal (waxy, orange).

  2. Butter + peppertop 21% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together85,593 recipes

    Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).

  3. 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

Boiled ham
Forms the main body of the spread, giving it its meaty texture and flavour.
Melted butter
Softens the pounded ham and adds richness, and a top layer seals the surface.
Cayenne pepper
Adds gentle heat and a pungent, spicy aroma.

The step that matters

Pour a little more melted butter over the surface. Butter that is poured over the top sets into a layer that limits contact with air, which helps the spread keep longer. The layer must cover the surface fully, or air can reach the ham and spoil it.

“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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