Types

• There are many different glazes to try, and chefs keep inventing new ones all the time. The most traditional and popular are a honey glazed ham, maple syrup glaze, and also a brown sugar glaze made with either pineapple juice or apple cider. There are variations on these, depending upon your taste. One variation is brown sugar and orange juice with grated orange rind. Another is brown sugar and mustard glaze. Yet another variation is brown sugar mixed with cherry juice.
  
  Then there are glazes that are made from preserves. Whatever you like or have in your pantry, that's what you use to glaze your ham - pineapple preserves, apple jelly, orange marmalade, cherry preserves, cranberry preserves - you decide.
  
  Then there are the adventurous glazes that have become quite popular: a bottle of cola poured on the ham, or a glaze of mustard and whiskey. And this is only the beginning. Every cook or chef seems to want to put her own signature on the glazed ham she serves, so there's no telling what we're likely to see next.
  
  

Function

• The function of glaze on a ham is to cut the salty taste from the curing and smoking process. A ham without glaze isn't nearly as pleasant to eat as one that has been glazed. The glaze is not spread on the ham until the last hour of the ham's baking time.
  
  

Time Frame

• It's best to buy hams that are already fully cooked and smoked, so you won't have to worry about getting it completely done in the center. Bake in a preheated oven at about 325 degrees, Fahrenheit. Allow about 15 minutes per pound of ham. Remove the ham from the oven when only one hour baking time remains. Cut away all the exterior rind and layer of fat, leaving only about 1/4" of the fat layer. Score the fat into diamonds and then spread the glaze over the entire exterior of the ham, allowing the glaze to seep into the scored cuts. This allows the glaze to bake into the ham, cutting the salty taste and adding a lovely sweet or fruit flavor to complement the saltiness. For a garnish, insert one whole clove into the center of each diamond shape. The cloves also add a little spice to the taste.
  
  

Geography

• While you can get fruit in any season anywhere in the world these days, glazes featuring fruits and sweeteners that are grown or made in specific regions of the U.S. seem to be favored there because that's what was at hand and plentiful when cooks started using glazes on ham. Now those ingredients are traditional in those regions. Honey baked ham seems to be favored in the south, while cranberry and maple syrup glazes go over well in New England, where those products are prevalent. Citrus-based glazes are more popular in citrus growing areas, such as southern California and Florida. Traditional Midwestern hams often feature apple cider and brown sugar glazes.
  
  

Considerations

• When buying a ham, do not buy it if it says "water added." Look for a real cured and smoked ham in the meat section, preferably sugar cured. Stay away from country hams, unless you're a bona fide southerner. Country hams are cured differently and are much saltier than regularly cured hams. Canned hams are also not recommended because of water and other additives. The best hams are already fully cooked and smoked and have no additives, other than the ingredients used in the curing process.