There is a food, made of pork shank as raw material, salted or smoked, with a soft and fragrant taste, what is this? Ham is also. Speaking of ham, we have to mention the Spanish ham (Jamon), one of the 3 largest hams in the world, which should only be available in Spain! Want to know the secret of this delicious taste? Let's take a peek at the encyclopedia.
1. Spanish ham: the most expensive ham in the world
Spanish ham is expensive, and people who haven't eaten it can't understand it, but people who have eaten it will appreciate that it is a delicacy on earth, and it is reasonably expensive. You know, the top Spanish ham takes 5 years to sell, the lowest price is about 100 euros per kilogram, plus tariffs, in the country to sell to nearly 10,000 yuan, can be described as a lot of price. But this bright red color, with snow white fat grain, glittering with a faint oil, emitting an intoxicating aroma, is an extreme temptation for anyone.
It is worth mentioning that the top Spanish ham comes from a small Spanish village called Jabugo, which is located in the province of Huelva, which is synonymous with Spanish ham, and people who like to eat ham are eager for it.
2. Spanish ham: delicious from free-range black-hoofed pigs
Why does Spanish ham have such a wonderful flavor? This is thanks to the Iberian pig that is used as a raw material. They are free-range and eat natural food and water.
The stocking of black-hoofed pigs is mainly divided into two stages. The first is the preparatory stage, when the piglet ends its lactation period, feed it grass, seeds, stems and some grains until it grows to 90-110 kg.
This is followed by the formal stocking phase, where the main food is replaced by oak fruit and some aromatic plants. These natural foods are rich in sugars, fats and oleic acids. As a result, black-hoofed pigs have clean and transparent fat, low cholesterol content, and a unique flavor of meat. During the stocking phase, black-hoofed pigs continue to grow fat, and the breeder will improve the texture of the ham by letting them look for oak fruits to achieve a workout effect.
3. Spanish ham: a natural work of art that is carefully crafted
In addition to the natural purity of the raw materials, the same is true of the craftsmanship of Spanish ham.
(1) Slaughter and cutting: After slaughtering, black hoofed pigs will be carefully cut, take the part of their legs, and remove dirt.
(2) Marinate; put the pork leg in a room at 1-5 degrees, humidity 80-90%, and marinate with salt.
(3) After marinating: remove the salt on the surface of the ham and leave it in a space of 3-6 degrees Celsius with a humidity of 80-90% for 1-2 months.
(4) Air drying: put into the natural sun drying room to stand, from April or May until the end of summer or the beginning of autumn, during which ventilation should be carried out from time to time to maintain the balance of temperature and humidity. In June and August, the temperature rises and the fat of the ham melts and soaks into the muscles, which is conducive to the formation of the aroma and taste of the ham.
(5) Maturity: Finally, hang the ham in the cellar and mature (temperature 15-20 degrees, humidity 60-80%), the time depends on the weight, generally 6-18 months. This stage produces fungi that promote the formation of ham-scented substances, and the weight of ham is also reduced by 30-50%.
In addition, the processed ham meat must pass a special smell test (take a special rough needle cala into the ham, and judge whether the ham is marinated in place by smell).
4, Spanish ham: various types, each with its own advantages
(1) Jamon Serrano ham
This is a common pickled ham from Spain, made from white-hoofed pigs and fed as a compound feed. There are three varieties of ham: Jamon Serrano, Jamon Serrano Curado and Jamon Serrano Reserva, and the quality varies greatly between different brands, and it is recommended to buy them according to the price criterion.
(2) Jamon Iberico
Iberian ham belongs to the high-grade ham, many people call it "patanegra" (black hoofed pig). Only ham made from Iberian black-hoofed pigs can be called "Jamon Iberico". If the packaging does not mention that it is Bellota (ham made from black-hoofed pigs fed oak fruit), it is made from pig breeds fed compound feed and grass, and its flavor is much finer than that of Serrano.
(3) Jamon Iberico de Bellota
This is the most refined Iberian ham, and the difference in quality is mainly due to the time of pickling and the process of making. Its raw material, the Iberian black-hoofed pig, is breast milk and feed 10 months ago, and then placed on oak pastures for stocking, eating oak fruit and grass to achieve the best slaughter weight.
(4) Iberian wild grain and oak fruit mixed feeding pig hind legs (Jamonlbericode Recebo)
This kind of ham is not as expensive as the previous ones, and the taste is good, which is a more affordable choice. The raw material is also the I libyan black-hoofed pig, but relatively few oak nuts are eaten and compound feeds are used to achieve the optimal slaughter weight.
(5) Paleta o paletilla
The first ones are made from the hind legs of pigs, and this one is a ham made of pig front legs. Because the marinating process is the same, its taste is not inferior to that of hind leg meat. However, it is smaller in size and contains a little more fat, so it is much cheaper.
5, Spanish ham: slicing is a technical job
It's not easy to cut a Spanish ham, but practice step by step according to the following points, and sooner or later you will be able to find the feel.
(1) First of all, the pig's trotters are up, the ham is placed on the ham rack, and the outer skin and external fat are cut off. Eat as much as you cut. so that the rest of the part does not become dry.
(2) Prepare a special knife (slender, thin, sharp) for cutting ham and cut the meat into thin slices. When cutting, cut it thinly, the meat slices are transparent, be careful not to cut into the hand.
(3) After that, change the pig's trotters to one side, cut off the outer skin and external fat on the other side, and then slice.
Tips:
(1) Do not freeze the ham so as not to lose its original flavor.
(2) When slicing, proceed one small piece by one to avoid drying of the ham.
(3) If the cut part cannot be eaten, it can be stored with olive oil smeared on it.
6, Spanish ham: delicious taste, nutritional value is also very high
Good Iberian ham is full of fruit and oil aromas due to the choice of oak nuts, which is not too salty and can be eaten directly. It should be noted that instead of using a knife and fork, send the sliced ham directly into your mouth by hand to enjoy the delicate flesh and non-greasy fat.
In addition to its delicious taste, the nutritional value of Iberian ham is also very high. According to the latest research, it is not only rich in protein and vitamins B1, B6 and B12 needed for human tissues, but also contains folic acid, which is beneficial to the human nervous system and brain, and minerals such as copper, iron and phosphorus, which are beneficial to bones.
Since black-hoofed pigs grew up eating oak fruit, almost half of the fat in Iberian ham contains natural oleic acid, which has some effect on the treatment of cardiovascular disease. In addition, Iberian ham is also rich in vitamin E (antioxidant), which doubles the antioxidant effect if eaten with tomatoes. Each 100 g of Iberian ham contains 300 calories and is suitable for pairing with a low-calorie diet.
Source: Red Wine Encyclopedia (Compilation/Zhu Yan, Text/Spanish Ham)
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