Why it works: Ham and parsley are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 24% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 3,249 recipes. Both carry 2,4-decadienal, which smells seaweed. The science ↓
Boiled Ham
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Wash and scrape the ham.
If the ham is old and dry, soak it in lukewarm water for 12 hours, changing the water several times.
Place the ham in a large pot filled with cold water.
Cook and serve
Simmer gently, ensuring it doesn't boil, which toughens the meat.
Cook for 20 minutes per pound of meat.
Once done, remove the ham from the water and strip off the skin.
Serve.
Garnish with scalloped letter paper around the shank or with sprigs of green parsley.
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 + parsleytop 24% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together3,249 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
- Ham
- Is the main protein, and its texture depends on gentle simmering rather than boiling.
The step that matters
Simmer gently, do not boil. A rolling boil toughens the meat's proteins and squeezes out moisture, so the ham turns firm and dry. Keeping the water just below a boil cooks it evenly and keeps it 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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