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1900s-present - American meatpackers and holiday home cooks popularizing glazed ham
A Christmas and Easter baked ham glazed with brown sugar, mustard, cider vinegar, and cloves, baked until glossy and sliceable.
Difficulty
Easy
Prep time
15 minutes
Cook time
2 hours
Total time
2 hours 15 minutes
Servings
12
Region
United States holiday tables
Era introduced
1900s-present
Introduced by
American meatpackers and holiday home cooks popularizing glazed ham
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Baked ham has older roots in cured pork and holiday hospitality, but the modern American glazed holiday ham grew with 20th-century meatpacking, supermarket hams, and home recipes for sugar-and-mustard glaze. It became a reliable Christmas and Easter centerpiece because it could feed a crowd, slice neatly, and make leftovers. This version uses a fully cooked ham and focuses on warming it gently while building a glossy glaze.
Drafted with holiday-ham history from Christmas ham references including modern American marketing context (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christmas_ham), practical baked-ham method from Serious Eats (https://www.seriouseats.com/maple-glazed-city-ham-recipe), and holiday-table context from Mount Vernon recipe archives (https://www.mountvernon.org/inn/recipes).
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