1
Create a base glaze
A sweet ingredient is the key
flavour profile in a glaze. A little
acid is often used to balance the
sweetness and thin the glaze.
When pairing a sweet flavour
with an acidic flavour, try to keep
the ingredients complementary.
For example, for an Asian-style
glaze, combine kecap manis
with rice vinegar. A classic
option might be brown sugar
and pineapple juice or apple
cider vinegar, or marmalade
and orange juice. You’ll need
about 1½ cups of base glaze
to coat an average-sized ham.
2
Add flavouring
Certain spices – cloves,
cinnamon, allspice – will add
classic Christmas aroma and
flavour to the base glaze. Use
cloves for studding over the
scored ham, or as a flavour
accent in the glaze itself. A layer
of savoury flavour can also be
a nice addition, via ingredients
such as mustard or soy sauce.
Add small amounts to your
base glaze to begin with, one
teaspoon at a time, building
gradually until you achieve
the desired depth of flavour.3
Cooking
Most glazes are cooked before
use to dissolve any solid sugars
and meld the flavours. Bring
the glaze to a simmer in a
saucepan over medium heat
until the mixture is a thin syrupy
consistency. Because you’re
building it up on your ham as
it cooks, it will eventually create
a lovely caramelised finish.
Taste the glaze – the sweetness
should be balanced by the
acid and, as it reduces with each
basting, it will become sweeter.
If your ingredients are punchy
and in liquid form to begin
with, you may not need to heat
the mixture first – just stir to
combine in a bowl. A fruit juice
will benefit from a little reduction
on the stove first, whereas a
smaller amount of vinegar can
just be splashed in.4
Glazing
If you’re happy with the flavour
of your glaze, then glaze away- remove the skin from your
ham and score the fat – this
is decorative, but it also helps
to build nice pockets of crusty
glaze at the corners of each
score mark. Heat the ham
at about 200°C and brush at
regular intervals for about
30 minutes. The hotter the
ham gets as it cooks, the better
the glaze will start to build
and caramelise.
With a few simple steps and
ingredients, you can customise your
glaze any way you like. Here’s how:Glaze Blue plate from
Studio Enti. Bowl (with
glaze) from Splendid
Wren. White plate
(with aromatics) from
Mud Australia. All
other props stylist’s
own. Stockists p176.