Why it works: Ham and molasses work together. They rank in the top 38% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 55 recipes. Both carry ethanol, which smells alcoholic, ethereal. The science ↓
Virginia Mode of Curing Hams
Ingredients
Directions
Make the brine
Dissolve the saleratus in water until no more will dissolve.
For every 16 pounds of ham, add 2 teaspoons of saleratus and 2 ounces of saltpetre to the brine.
Add 1 gallon of molasses for every hogshead of brine.
Cure and smoke
Soak the hams in this pickle for three to four weeks.
Smoke the hams for one to three months, keeping the hock downwards to retain juices.
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 + molassestop 38% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together55 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Ham
- The main meat that is cured in the brine and then smoked.
- Saltpetre
- Helps the cured meat keep its pink colour and is a preservative in curing.
- Molasses
- Adds sweetness and a deeper flavour to the brine.
- Saleratus
- Raises the alkalinity of the brine, which can help the cure penetrate the meat.
The step that matters
Smoke the hams for one to three months. Long smoking dries and flavours the surface while the cure sets inside the meat. Keeping the hock pointing down helps juices stay in the joint, so the ham does not dry out.
“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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