Where is jamon made in spain? Jamon - what is it, how to make jamon at home. Chemical composition and useful properties

17.12.2020

Jamon (jamón) Is not just a meal. This, no matter how loud it sounds, is a symbol of the country, its identification mark. To be in Spain and not to taste jamon is just nonsense. It's like coming to the stands of the Camp Nou stadium to enjoy the game of El Classico (FC Barcelona vs. FC Real Madrid), but watch it not live, but on a small TV brought with you.

What is jamon, how is it made, what are the criteria for choosing it

Ham is a ham, that is, a leg of pork properly salted and dried in natural conditions. The leg, by the way, is not any, but the back. The front leg of the Spanish butchers has a completely different name - paleta. Some experts even undertake to argue that the taste of the front and hind legs of the same animal is completely different - see the picture on the left.

But in general, there are a lot of brands of jamon in Spain. The brand, in this case, is rather determined by the breed of pig or may indicate a manufacturing company that prepares this type of meat. As a rule, each farmer or company has its own nuances, which they add to the technologies common to all.

Jamon Iberico (Jamón ibérico )

Jamon from Iberian pigs is considered the most expensive and exquisite. Amazing breed of black pigs has been cultivated for a very long time in these places and in these climatic conditions. Pigs of the Iberico breed are not large individuals, and are much inferior in size to the famous Canadian pigs. With the modern development of chemistry, it would probably not be difficult to feed the "Iberians" and giants, but ... there is an opinion that the weight of the animal and its proportions affect the taste. Therefore, Spanish pig breeders prefer to follow centuries-old traditions, and not chase record indicators of mass and volume. This, among other things, makes gourmets appreciate Spanish jamon so highly.

Pedigree, pedigree - everything here is similar to how the same characteristics are followed by dog \u200b\u200bbreeders who raise their "smaller brothers" for some super-prestigious exhibitions. Do not be surprised if you are told that the four-legged "Iberians" have a pedigree that goes back, like those of aristocrats, for many centuries in the depths of history. It really is.

The main conditions that must be met when raising Iberico pigs, in addition to the purity of the ancestral line, are as follows:

animals are raised on open pastures, and not in pens and stalls, that is, they need movement, although hardly anyone would call them especially playful and playful.
the Iberian pig is obliged to feed mainly on acorns (bellota), therefore, pastures (dehesas) for them are actually oak groves.

For the entire life span before slaughter (from birth to 24 months), the Iberian pig eats the annual acorn crop of a grove of three hectares. At the same time, pig breeders can from time to time change the diet, its composition, the ratio in the pork ration of various mineral elements, vitamins, etc. This is done so that later on the cut various veins are drawn, meat and fat alternate, taste shades are added or changed. For many gourmets, a cut of ham is a visiting card or a quality mark.

Jamon serrano

It is made from another kind of pig - the white breed. Literally translated from Spanish "serrano" means "mountain". In this case, the name of the ham indicates that the ham is dried in mountainous conditions, that is, climatically and seasonally different from the plains.

Of course, it is difficult to find comrades for taste and color, but nevertheless, it is quite possible to bring some general tips to the attention of those interested.

A well-cooked jamon (a properly fed pig) will certainly have small white dots on the cut. This is what tyrosine looks like, an element that is part of a large number of natural proteins (aromatic alpha-amino acid). Tyrosine helps the body get rid of excess fats (you can lose weight by eating meat), makes the adrenal glands, thyroid gland and pituitary gland work better.

In theory, it would be nice to know two things:

product drying time (optimal - 30-36 months, elite jamon withstand up to 48 months)
the age at which the animal was slaughtered (24 months is the optimum, but 18 is allowed).

Also check the meat for firmness. The longer the jamon is aged, the denser it is. This does not mean that only meat with the hardness of a stone should be eaten - young jamon is also edible and has its own adherents. Speaking of density, we give you the opportunity to estimate the age of the product on your own: during those forty-eight months of drying, meat loses up to 40% of its weight due to moisture evaporation. Now you understand what a gourmet jamon should be like.

And the last tip for the person choosing which jamon to buy. Remember that the relationship between quality (meat) and quantity (money per kg, written on the price tag) in this case is strict and directly proportional.

Serrano jamon price can start from 8-9 € / kg.
The price of Iberico jamon can exceed 150-200 € / kg.

The most exquisite brands of jamon include, perhaps, "Pata Negra" and "Belota". The first of the named got its name ("black leg" - isp.) For the color of a pig's hoof. Not quite an ordinary color - not some unique feature of a special breed, but, let's say, just an exception to the rule. Special research and attempts to breed pigs exclusively with black hooves have not yet been carried out. "Pata Negro" is a special case of Iberico, and of very high qualifications. Elite level, if you like.

A worthy pair of "black leg" is "Bellota". But this is not a special separate variety, but a kind of Iberian. The name of the brand, translated into Russian as "acorn", once again unobtrusively indicates the product that the animal was mainly fed with.

Buy jamon and other meat products from Spain online

Jamon, as well as other meat products from manufacturing factories in Spain, can be purchased through a distributor, Spain in Russian, in Barcelona.

The approximate price difference for goods from the Iberian pig in the retail network in Spain is shown in the table below.

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100% Iberico

Only this jamon can be called "Pata Negra (Black Paw)". This is almost always acorn feed. Very rarely sebo de campo (green label) and never sebo (white label. Buying a 100% Iberico jamon you should be prepared for some nuances. We will not go into details, but describe what customers need to be prepared for. If you are not particularly delved into the question and decided that 100% Iberico is the best, not the fact that you are the one who will like it. 100% Iberico has the strongest taste, you know, "wild" that not everyone likes, but also a fairly large amount of bacon , and the bacon is located as if on the sides of the meat, and not infiltrated as in 50% and 75% of Ibericos. It is believed that meat for three fingers is a good result. I would also like to note that when cleaning the jamon, a larger percentage is emitted, as how you have to cut off more of the outer yellow fat, but it is the thick layer of the outer fat that allows the Iberico jamon to dry 100% for a long time, getting those shades of taste and aroma that make it a gourmet delicacy. Trying to peel, he cuts pieces of lard, and then remains dissatisfied that there is not enough meat left. Look, in the COVAP video the cortador begins to cut the jamon 100% Iberico, which is written in the title of the video, the meat is darker, denser and about 50x50 lard and meat in the slice, which by the way is very tasty, since it is the fat that gives the taste, but then in the middle of the video and at the end we already see other more beautiful "marble" slices, but these are already slices from jamon 75% Iberico.

Further in the video, we see the slicing of a pallet of 100% Iberico, there is even more fat, the pallet is always fatter, and even more is used for disposal. Even the Spaniards do not always know these points and are outraged that there is a lot of fat in a jamon or a pallet of 100% Iberico. Unfortunately, we also had a case when a buyer literally cut off all the fat from the chic Alta Expression jamon and accused us of deceiving him that he was slipped a fake Iberico jamon, and his friend from Spain brought them to him.

50% and 75% Iberico

50% and 75% Iberico (red label) is when one of the grandfathers of Duroc meat pigs and a 50% Iberian boar covers the embryo of 100% Iberico. Or a cross between a meat breed Duroc (boar) and 100% Iberian. This mixture is made precisely in order to obtain a different structure of the meat, namely marbling, when the fat is infiltrated into the meat. 75% Iberico - juicy, aromatic jamon. Less fat is discarded when slicing. Usually it is cut for beautiful plates by laying out beautiful jamon mosaics. The taste is quieter than Iberico 100%, but considering that when cutting you find several tastes, you will always find a favorite part for yourself, your wife and daughter, for example. Francisco, one of the owners of the brand from Guijuelo Victor Gomez, when we were at his factory, said that he personally likes 75% Iberico better than 100% and for himself and his family he always takes 75% Iberico.

50% Iberico - this is the most "meaty" of the Iberian jamon, for those who do not really like fat and prefer more or less lean meat.

Previously, 50% was mainly sebo and sebo de campo, but nowadays a lot of acorn-fed beyote ham is produced just to please consumers. Customers prefer jamon with less fat, they like the structure of the meat, but at the same time they want acorn fattening in order to have all the delights of the fat composition and quality of acorn fattening. Jamon Iberico Beyote is the healthiest meat and the best fat for the body of animal origin. Low melting point, high oleic acid, good cholesterol and very little bad. Jamon Iberico Beyota is a unique meat. And now you probably understand more and will choose based on your personal preferences. If we proceed from the price of jamon on bone, then the difference between 50%, 75% and 100% of Iberico is not very large - only 2-3 euros per kilogram, but if you buy sliced, then the difference will be more significant here, since the losses during slicing 100% Iberico is always more.

Thanks to our customers and we hope we helped you with your choice.

Bon appetit, your jamon24!

When it comes to Spain, many people think about the culinary traditions of this country. And this is not surprising, because the Spaniards know a lot about delicious food. For example, jamon is a prominent representative of traditional Spanish cuisine, which, according to an authentic recipe, not many have ever tasted. Still, jamon - what is it, and can you cook it at home? Let's try to deal with this very curious question.

Spanish jamon is a real delicacy that is quite expensive. It serves not only as a dish, but in its homeland is also an interior decoration in many catering establishments.

Pork hind legs are used for its preparation. First, they are salted, then dried and dried. But all this must be done only under certain conditions, strictly observing the temperature regime and air humidity.

The very name of the dish comes from the word jamon, which translates as "ham". Interestingly, a special breed of pig is raised for this jamon.

How Spanish jamon is made

To more clearly imagine what kind of meat it is, you need to find out how jamon is made in his homeland. This is a fairly lengthy process, although it does not require a lot of ingredients.

To begin with, a special type of pig is raised that is suitable for ham. There are only two of them: one is elite and the other is more “democratic”.
After the carcass has been hammered, it must be dehydrated. This is done using a large amount of salt, which is completely poured over the meat. The process lasts different times, which is calculated on the basis that one kilogram of "wet" carcass will require one day of dehydration.
At the end of this process, the carcass is washed and waited until it dries naturally.
The resulting meat is sent to a room with a temperature of five degrees for a long time - from 9 to 12 months. During this period, it becomes dried, acquires a certain taste and aroma.
Further, the meat is checked for quality, its class and the period of further aging are determined.
The jamon is suspended and the temperature is gradually raised to ripen to the desired state.
And the last step is checking with a needle made from cow bone. Several holes are made for it, which allow you to see and feel the degree of readiness.

Home cooking

Dried, thinly sliced \u200b\u200bpork that has been salted in advance is jamon. It is considered a Spanish delicacy. But you don't have to go to Spain to taste the famous food. We offer the best homemade jamon recipes. Classic pork ham jamon It's time to surprise ...

If you still decide to cook jamon, then this recipe will help you do it as correctly as possible. But be prepared that you will have to spend a lot of time getting such a delicacy.

Required products:

pork leg weighing about 4 kilograms;
good sea salt - twice the weight of meat.

Cooking process:

Clean the meat well from excess fat, rinse, dry and completely sprinkle with salt, placing it in a deep container. Leave it on for two weeks.
After this period of time, rinse off the adhered salt, shape the ham and hang it in a ventilated room where it is possible to regulate the temperature by gradually raising it. This is necessary to evaporate the liquid.
For final drying, the jamon is transferred to a dark room and left for about 12 months. Then it can be consumed.

What do they eat with

It turns out that you can eat jamon in different ways and it is very important to serve it correctly in order to maximize its taste.

Quite often, the ham is cut into thin slices and served as an independent snack. It opens up especially well in combination with fruit and wine.
Such jerky is ideal with olives, strawberries, soft cheese, grapes, pears, figs, arugula and asparagus.
You can chop the bread thinly, grate it with tomatoes, coat with a little olive oil, salt and place jamon slices on top.
One of the most popular appetizers is slices of meat, melon and pineapple laid out together on a plate.
Small slices of jamon are added to salads, soups and even omelettes. The best option is cold gazpacho with ham.

Cooking mistakes and how to avoid them

To get a really high-quality product, it is imperative to follow the technology of its preparation, without making any mistakes. Let's take a look at the most common problems that can arise on the way to making ham.

Never cut off the whole skin from the ham. It is she who protects the meat from severe drying out. Remove only part.
Remove excess fat. If there is too much of it, then the ham will not be salted, since the salt simply cannot penetrate to the bone itself.
Use only coarse and sea salt. It draws out moisture well. Do not be afraid if white spots appear on the surface, this is normal, this is how salt works.
Take care of the protection of the ham. During cooking, there should be no cuts or punctures in the skin, otherwise this may lead to complete damage to the entire piece.
Treat the darkened areas with a cotton pad and alcohol, but do not cut them off.

It is best to start salting at the end of winter. If you start this in a warmer time, then the meat will quickly dry out, darken and salt will not be able to penetrate inside. The result is not a very high quality product.
The first difference is in the country of origin. Jamon is Spanish meat, while prosciutto is Italian.
Meat also differs significantly in taste, because pigs are not raised in the same conditions. In Spain, animals are fed with acorns, and in Italy, mainly corn or fruit. The nutrition of livestock directly affects the color of the meat and its taste. So, the Spanish ham will be a darker shade.
The production technology is also different. Jamon is salted indoors and gets dry. This process takes a very long time, sometimes up to 48 months, which immediately increases the cost of the final product. Prosciutto is salted under normal conditions only with maintaining moisture and no longer than 14 months. As a result, the meat is tender and juicy, and its price is much lower.

Jamon is really delicious meat, but its high cost makes it inaccessible for many. If you are not afraid of the long drying time of the ham, then be sure to try to cook such a delicacy yourself, saving significantly money.

Section information

Good afternoon, dear readers. Dmitry Kesadov with you. It is hard to imagine Spanish cuisine without jamon and meat. Of course, this is not the first time I have written about jamon. In the late nineties, there was a joke that in Russia only a very lazy person does not engage in trade or real estate. So every Spaniard considers himself a connoisseur and connoisseur of a good jamon. But on the other hand, how can you imagine Spain today without jamon, without football, without shrimp, without wine? It will be some other Spain. Yes, these are simple and prosaic joys of life, a celebration of the belly. So what is it? It's not all the time to watch the arthouse of Almodovar and Medem, leaf through the albums of Picasso, Miro and Tapies, and read Luis de Gongora. It is quite possible to think about simple human joys. They also motivate us. Remember how in the film "Peter 1" Great Peter before the assault long and beautifully agitated his soldiers to go to the assault for patriotic reasons. Then Menshikov stepped forward and shouted at the top of his lungs: "Wine in the fortress and women, follow me!" Let's go and we on this gastronomic storm!

Do you love meat, as I love it, and why is a goose a pig not a companion

Loving meat is not a great sin. But let's not love today blindly and without looking back, let's dive into the subtleties and details of our love for meat, let's indulge in this passion consciously and knowledgeably. “You cannot embrace the immensity” - said the ancients, so we will limit our topic today and will only talk about pork. Because meat can be game, poultry, red, white, aged, stewed, fried, smoked, it runs, flies, crawls ... You can't write about everything in one article. Panikovsky, whom you know, could not calmly walk past the goose. Well, it happens, and even deserves a separate discussion. But not today, because the goose, as you know, is not a pig's companion. The pig has no less fans.

In European culture and everyday life, the role of the pig is very noticeable. Many cultures offend and underestimate the pig: “God will not betray, the pig will not eat”, “the woman had no trouble, so she bought a pig”, “knows a lot, like a pig in oranges,” “the pig threatened to eat the moon. Sayings and proverbs are countless, and most are not very flattering. The Jews even declared the pig to be an unclean animal. But among the people there is also gratitude to the pig, hence the folklore and literature with the rather cute three pigs or the naive and cute Piglet. Let's not forget that the Pig, although the last one, came to visit the Buddha, having received as a gift a year of the Eastern calendar with its name, among 12 distinguished animals. And the year of the Boar or the Pig is considered for people the year of wealth, peace, tranquility and harvest.

Winston Churchill summed up these controversies by saying: “I love pigs. The dogs look up at us. The cats look down at us. The pigs look at us as equals. " So the Spaniards look at the pig as a worthy representative of the fauna and as a nurse.

There is an old European saying that a person eats the entire pig, from ears to tail. We are now interested not in the tail and not in the ears, which the Spaniards really also know how to cook, but in the legs. More precisely, the back leg. Yes, jamon is a leg, exactly the back one. The word "jamon" also means the hind leg. Why is the front one bad, you ask? Nothing, it can and should also be salted, but it is called differently (pallet), not so large and not so tasty. Although all for an amateur. Well, the introduction is over. Now let's talk about how an ordinary salted pork leg was turned almost into a cult object.

Jamon serrano

Iberian pigs

The main thing is reputation. In the fight for quality

Just imagine, you have a task: to get the highest quality product. You have to work hard.

Well, first of all, selection. Of course, jamon can be made from white pig breeds. In this case, it will be called "Serrano". But white breeds often give birth a lot and move too little, their meat is not so tasty. Therefore, connoisseurs prefer black pigs. The French have black breeds, there are in the Canary Islands, there are Chinese and Vietnamese black pigs. Strictly speaking, dividing pigs into black and white breeds is just as wrong and oversimplified as dividing women into blondes and brunettes. This is convenient for anecdotes, but in reality everything has been mixed up for a long time and the situation is much more complicated. The best jamon is made from the Iberian black pig. We'll talk about this later.

Secondly, food. Before it gets to our table, the product lives a difficult life. Take ducks, which are force-fed to increase liver size. Or snails, which are put on a flour diet to cleanse their meat. Sturgeons have to be raised for several decades to get the highest grade caviar. The famous French chicken from Bresse is therefore superior to its relatives because it is cared for and cherished for 18 months (and an ordinary chicken has 6 months of life, and their nutrition is not comparable). That is, in order to obtain a product of exceptional quality, it must be patiently grown and fed. Spanish Iberian pigs are no exception. The Iberian pig walks in oak groves and is recommended to eat acorns. The bigger, the better. What is all this for? In a word: so that the product becomes fatty and well-nourished. The secret to most luxury foods is fat, in the best sense of the word. The best meats are usually marbled and high in fat. It's the same story with foie gras or tuna belly. You may find this a bit cynical, but the Spaniards are sincerely convinced that their pigs, bulls and cows are the happiest animals in the world. However, the Japanese who play flutes for their cows, treat them with beer and massage their sides are probably also thinking about their cows.

The third condition: walks in the fresh air. Let's not forget that the meat we end up consuming is muscle, and muscle needs to be trained. Therefore, premium products do not live on shelves in incubators, but walk through fields and forests. Moreover, this is regulated by law. As for the Iberian pigs, they walk in oak groves. The best ham farms are proud to plant hundreds of hectares of young oak trees.

The next condition for obtaining a luxury product is patience in processing. You can't rush and fuss. The best jamon are aged for several years. Excess moisture comes out of the meat, but due to its high fat content and complexity (remember our condition for proper nutrition), it does not dry out, but becomes more expressive and better. The taste is concentrated. The story is similar with meat: contrary to popular opinion, the so-called fresh meat is not better, but worse than aged. Another question is that it is necessary to withstand competently, at optimal temperature and humidity. If you do it right, you will have a Rolls Royce among the jamon.

Jamon. How and where it is made

Well, we are not farmers or ham producers, nuances are not so important to us. In general terms, then we wash the leg, dry it and grease it. After the first, intensive salting, we remove the excess salt and go to the drying stage, and then hang up the leg for ripening. All this is accompanied by temperature and time control of each stage. And the goal is for the salt to be evenly distributed, so that the fat coexists with the meat, more precisely with the muscles, and so that the taste is perfect. In the method described by us, you may not see anything complicated and you will be partly right: something similar with pork is done all over the world. And even at home, in the country or in the village, you can repeat these steps. But it is the Iberian black breed that makes ham a unique product, which has long hind legs and special genetics, implying the marbling of the distribution of meat and fat in spectacular layers. There are no such pigs at your disposal. In addition, they feed on acorns, and one pig eats dozens of kilograms a day, and in a season, she alone needs hectares of oak groves. They are not at your disposal either. In addition, only an Iberian pig is suitable, since there are impurities of wild, boar breeds in its blood, it is ready to roam tirelessly and build up muscles - ordinary domesticated pigs will simply lie under the first tree and, if you please, you will get wonderful bacon or bacon, but nothing like that on a real jamon.

Jamon: from simple and cheap to complex and expensive. Top brands

Until now everything was clear. We take a black Iberian breed, walk freely in oak groves, do not forget about proper nutrition, especially about acorns, we salt and keep in the correct cellars. But then the fog begins: there are no clear ratings, no contests, no world championship among hamon. Basically, they should be. For example, cheese championships are held regularly, and there are a huge number of olive oil ratings. But no jamon.

Having carried out a small investigation in our best traditions, I came to my own conclusions: if the ham is of average quality, then it is fully characterized by the region, the percentage of acorns in the diet and other specified characteristics. That is, such jamon do not need contests. But if the jamon is from the Major League, then for the Spaniards it goes out of the category of a simple product and becomes akin to an object of art. Therefore, we do not observe championships and competitions: who would think of organizing a competition between Gioconda Leonardo de Vinci and Aphrodite Botticelli? Which championship can decide who is better: Kandinsky or Renoir? But the country of Spain must know its heroes, and it will be useful for us.

So, brand number 1: professional chefs prefer Joselito. Friends with José Gomez and Ferran Adria, and Joel Robuchon and the Arzac family. Several years ago, my wife and I were in Alicante for a gastronomic fair and attended a Joselito ham tasting. There were three ham of different years, that is, they differed in vintages, their age and the degree of ripening. Joselito are known for their work on improving the breed of pigs and for their vintages over the years. It was an exciting evening. In addition to the magnificent jamon, it was very informative and fun to watch the large number of well-dressed men and smart women who came to this tasting in the same mood and in the same outfits as if they had come to the Vienna Opera or to the best restaurant in Madrid. Impatience in glances, trembling of hands, champagne and river wine - I want to repeat such an evening!

Brand number 2: Traditionalists prefer the 5J brand. Sanchos Romero Carvajal has acquired a reputation for impeccable quality ham makers over the decades. He always emphasizes that the farm has 130 years of experience and is planting a huge number of young oaks. Excellent brands are also Maldonado, Beher, Domesq, El Zancao, Monsalud, Juan Manuel Hernandez.

Iberian pigs

The best jamon in the world. Chapter for the inquisitive reader

What do you think the Maybach, the Iberian "manchado" (spotted) pig and the albino sturgeon have in common? The point is that these products claim to be the best of the best. Nobody questions the quality of the "regular" sturgeon caviar, Iberian ham and Mercedes car. But this major league has its heights: the golden caviar of an adult albino sturgeon has an extraordinary taste, the Maybach is technically perfect, and the jamon from a special spotted breed is the king of jamon. So the best jamon are not black at all, but spotted. These products are united by the fact that they are not just rare, but are already on the verge of extinction: it is extremely difficult to catch wild and adult albino sturgeon (it is true, they say that the Gruel family in Austria has learned to breed albinos as well), and the breed of spotted pigs has less than 1000 individuals. Even Maybach has announced the termination of work (albeit for the second time in its history). A kilogram of albino sturgeon caviar costs from 10,000 euros, manchado jamon - from 1,000 euros. A kilogram of Maybach will cost you less.

What is true, not entirely, or not at all true about the rumors of jamon

A white pig serrano jamon with a white hoof is always bad.
Answer: Of course not. There are excellent white breeds, they can also be grown and fed in the natural area with acorns. This makes a pretty decent jamon. And the bad reputation of Serrano is due to the fact that mass Serranos are made at the factory, they are simple and often too salty.

Pallet, front leg - always bad.
Answer: No, those who like drier meat will quite like it. And cheaper. Feel free to buy or order at a restaurant.

The longer the exposure, the better.
Answer: Not quite so, during aging and continuing fermentation the ham dries up - you need to be able to stop in time. So long aging is affordable and benefits only the best jamon, with a good fat content and excellent marble structure.

Jamon should only be eaten in Spain.
Answer: There is a grain of maturity in this observation: many have noticed that ham is not as good outside of Spain. But often this is due to improper preparation of the ham: we usually take out the ham in a vacuum. It is necessary to get it out of the vacuum in advance, let it breathe and open up. And we ourselves need to tune in the right way.

Jamon is an everyday meal.
Answer: Well, serrano sandwich - yes. And the best Iberico is just the opposite - the Spaniard's holiday food. A tourist pounces on shrimps and jamon, sparing neither his belly nor his wallet, and the Spaniard is forced to limit himself, and in the minds of an ordinary Spaniard, "mariscos" and jamon are festive food. For the New Year, for example.

The Spaniards love jamon so much that they hang it under the ceiling at home and in the restaurant for decoration.
Answer: not entirely true. Home Spaniards do not buy whole jamon often, a leg of a good jamon costs about 500 euros, plus you need to be able to cut, you need to have a cool storage space. But the Spaniards explain the tradition of hanging a leg not by a craving for decorating a home, but by historical necessity: during the years of the Great Inquisition and persecution of the Jewish people, the hanging legs of jamon served as a protective letter, a simple way to separate the houses of Christians and the houses of Jews.

Jamon is made all over Spain.
The answer is yes, but the best ham is made only in the protected natural areas of Dehesa. There are several such protected areas, the best are in Andalusia and Extremadura: Dehesa de Extremadura, Guijuelo, Teruel, Huelva.

Only a professional cortador will cut the jamon correctly by hand, and the entire machine jamon will be hack-work. And you yourself can not try to cut, it will not work.
The answer is yes, in Spain they take slicing seriously. But this is more common sense than mystics: cutting a leg is not easy, it is not uniform. And jamon is an expensive product, and you have to use your leg and cut everything to the maximum, and this requires skill. And most importantly, imagine you have a full restaurant or, say, a wedding, and everyone is waiting for a ham. And cutting into the finest petals is not a quick matter. Therefore, in these cases a separate person should be “on the jamon” so that people do not wait for hours. Well, it is better, of course, if it is a cortador that can cut correctly. Otherwise, it's a disaster.

Jamon Iberico de Beyota and Jamon Serrano are two different types of jamon, and therefore cannot cost the same. Iberico de beyota is made from the meat of open-air pigs that feed mainly on acorns and grasses. The first thing that comes to mind is the high price of Iberico jamon compared to other types - Serrano, Parma ham or French de Bayona, but its aroma and flavor characteristics are certainly different from other types of jamon. Jamon Iberico is a unique product. The buyer choosing Iberico should be aware that the product is made from free-range pigs. It should be noted that only natural herbs and acorns make up their diet, and the cooking time for ham is from 8 to 36 months. The color of the meat varies from purple-red to pale pink, its taste is characterized by a varied range: the ham is fatty, salty and sweet at the same time. This combination will allow you to experience the unusual taste of the main Spanish delicacy... In addition, jamon has a high content of oleic acid, known to fight cardiovascular diseases, and unsaturated fats, which do not affect cholesterol levels. Jamon Iberico. The main secret of making: grazing pigs in the fresh air Jamon Iberico is made from the meat of a unique Iberian pig breed. These pigs are found only in the Iberian Peninsula, in the pastures of the southeast. Iberian pigs live and graze in the wild, their pastures are a special ecosystem: the forest. consisting of two types of oak (stone and cork). Hence, the main food for pigs is acorns, various types of herbs, including aromatic ones. The process of grazing pigs is quite expensive: there are about two hectares of pasture with valuable feed for about a trail of pigs. During the period when acorns ripen and fall to the ground, they become the main food for pigs. This is no coincidence: acorns help pigs gain twice their previous weight. Oils, which are rich in acorns, penetrate the meat of animals. This food is one of the features that provide the special taste and aroma of the ham. Iberian pigs live and graze in the wild. In order to find food for themselves, they have to move a lot. The activity of animals affects the quality of their meat: movement prevents weight gain and fat stays between the muscles, which makes the meat more juicy and tasty. ... During the period of weight gain, an Iberian pig can eat up to 12 kg of acorns per day. Oak fruits contain a large amount of mono- and polyunsaturated fats and carbohydrates. All these substances give meat special aroma and taste characteristics. Thanks to such nutrition of animals, jamon has the ability to prevent cardiovascular diseases. The product owes its characteristic aroma to the presence of special essential oils in acorns. Serrano jamon, Parma ham and this type of meat products are made from the meat of white pigs, which are usually fed with dry feed, and their growth process is often accelerated: the motor activity of animals on farms is very low and their diet is monotonous. From this information, the following conclusion can be drawn: Iberico jamon cannot be compared with Serrano and Prosciutto di Parma and similar types of ham. Another feature of the Iberian pig breed is that their genetic structure gives the fat special characteristics.

Features of Jamon Iberico and his differences from Jamon Serrano

The main organoleptic characteristics during direct tasting of the ham are its color, aroma, taste and texture.

The following tips will help you distinguish between Iberico jamon and Serrano jamon

One of the main differences in terms of taste is that jamon Iberico is juicier and its fat stimulates the secretion of saliva.
Iberico jamon has a shiny, oily consistency, delicate fat that forms on the surface. When you touch the food, your fingers should feel the softness of the fat, which is up to color, then the fat in the ham should be ivory. In serrano jamon, the fat, on the other hand, is harder and has a characteristic white color, sometimes with yellowness. These features are the difference between Iberico jamon and Serrano jamon, and other varieties made from white pig meat.
Another important quality is flavorwhich turns jamon Iberico into an absolutely unique product. The aroma of jamon Iberico is much brighter and more expressive than the aroma of serrano.

Colorjamon Iberico ranges from purplish red to pale shades of red. The product is characterized fibrous texture streaked with fat. Serrano jamon, in turn, has a lighter, pinkish color and does not have fatty layers that give jamon a unique taste.
The cooking times for both types are different: jamon Iberico takes longer to cookthan serrano.

Jamon Iberico: ripening from 8 to 36 months

Jamon Serrano:ripening period is approximately 210 days

... Jamon Iberico contains less salt, which emphasizes its taste and aroma ... Serrano has a lower content of healthy proteins and has a higher level of sodium, which is harmful to hypertensive patients.

The quality of a jamon is determined by the type of nutrition of the pigs from which it is prepared (herbs, cereals, acorns or chestnuts), the amount of acorns eaten, the physical activity of the animal, and finally, the ripening process of the jamon. Based on the above conditions, the highest quality jamon is the Iberico de Beyota Jamon, made from the meat of wild pigs that feed mainly on acorns. This variety is the most expensive, but it is rightfully considered the best.

This type of jamon has been cooked the longest and is made from wild-raised pigs that eat the most natural foods. A person who has tasted Iberico jamon will undoubtedly be able to confirm this.

Jamon Iberico de Beyota is a sophisticated product that tastes incomparable to other types of jamon, such as curado. There is no other type of this delicacy that would combine the properties of Iberico de Beyote or Pata Negra.

Jamonify offers the highest quality Iberico jamon, true Iberico de Beyota, with a preparation time of 36 to 42 months.

We invite you to taste a special, unique delicacy, a real Spanish treasure: thin and juicy slices of Jamon Iberico de Beyote Pata Negra, cut by hand.