Luo Wendi
Jinhua, Zhejiang is my hometown.
When I was young and studying outside, when people asked where I came from, I would always be a little screwed. Many times when I say that I am from Jinhua, Zhejiang, the other party will ask with a curious look, "Where is the place where there is ham?" "That's right, it's the place where Jinhua ham is produced."
In the years of the Spring Festival in a foreign country, the red and white, salty and sweet delicacies are the warmest "hometown flavor".
Seeing that Jinhua ham is famous as a "Chinese food IP" and has endured for a long time, Jinhua people are proud.
Whole Jinhua ham
A masterpiece created by landscapes
Compared with Jinhua ham, the ham in other places is indeed younger. As early as the 6th century AD, during the Southern and Northern Dynasties, Jinhua ham has become famous.
The picture of this article is provided by the author unless marked
The book "Materia Medica" compiled by Chen Zangqi, a Ningbo native, first recorded that "the fire beard, the best producer of Jinhua", has been 1280 years ago. Now the most widely spread saying is that Zong Ze, a famous anti-Jin general in the Song Dynasty, brought the "pickled legs" of his hometown to the front line to reward the soldiers, and presented this thing to the imperial court, and King Zhao of Kang saw that its color was red and bright, its flesh was fresh and tender, its fat was like gelatin, and the legs were as fine as Songming, and it was more prolific in the eight counties of Jinhua Province, so it was given the name "Jinhua Ham".
Jinhua Shuanglong Scenic Area Data Map
"Surrounded by mountains and rivers on three sides, the basin is staggered with three rivers", it is Jinhua. Due to its location in the Jinqu Basin, the surrounding mountains block the humid air blowing from the East China Sea, the summer is long and hot, the spring rain is abundant, the winter climate is cold, and the sunshine is abundant throughout the year. It is precisely because of the unique local climate and geographical environment that it provides the most important natural conditions for the salting, fermentation and drying of high-quality ham.
The traditional pickling process of Jinhua ham is very complex, and it takes up to 80 processes to go through before and after, which lasts 8-10 months. Among them, embryo repair, salting, washing, shaping, and smelling incense are the five most important processes that determine the quality of Jinhua ham.
Embryo repair refers to the surface of the pig leg is trimmed and smooth, and the pig leg is repaired into a "bamboo leaf shape"; salt refers to rubbing salt on the pig leg, this link in the operation should consider the meat quality of the pig leg itself, but also consider the influence of temperature and humidity, to achieve "varies from leg to leg" and "varies from temperature to humidity", this link is generally divided into six times with salt, lasting 25-35 days.
Washing and drying refers to the washing and drying of salted pork legs to avoid deterioration and create conditions for natural fermentation; plastic surgery refers to the removal of excess skin and flesh on the ham to ensure the beauty of the ham's appearance; smelling incense refers to inserting a special bamboo skewer into a specific part of the ham, and then quickly pulling it out, while judging the quality and grade of the ham by smelling the taste in the process.
Sunbathing ham Xinhua photo
In the hometown, "sunning" is synonymous with several seasons, and the locals hear this word, in addition to thinking of the pleasant afternoon sun, lazy winter, the aroma of various dried vegetables and wax flavors, but also represent a ham containing pyrotechnics.
When introducing me to Master Chen Shuntong, the non-hereditary heir of Jinhua ham, he said: "In the three months before Lidong to Lichun, the sun is the best, and it only takes two or three days to dry the whitish pork legs until they are yellowed." ”
In the traditional pickling method, after the pig leg is salted, it also needs to go through a series of complex processes such as fermentation, pruning and shaping, and the famous Qing Dynasty world yuan also said: "Three years can get a yuan, three years can not produce a good ham." "So in modern times, in order to be able to mass-produce ham, all the process of curing is done in a sealing workshop that simulates the natural state.
Ham production workshop
"Ham is still the most distinctive way to follow the traditional process of pickling, no matter how the technology develops, only one season a year to make ham, so the traditional craft still needs to be passed on." Master Chen sighed.
Jinhua two-headed U-um infographic
The birth of Jinhua ham is also inseparable from the ancestors for the ham cultivation of excellent raw materials "two heads of wu", this breed of pig skin thin bone, meat fat appropriate, muscle tender, delicious meat quality. "But the limitations of the two-headed black are also obvious, this breed of pigs has a long production cycle, the lean meat rate is low, and our ham generally uses hind leg meat, which leads to a significant increase in production costs." Master Chen said, "Around the 1980s, fast-growing and lean pig breeds were introduced from abroad, so most of the hams on the market are no longer two-headed blacks." ”
Millennia-old famous food also has a modern taste
Jinhua ham through winter and summer its quality is unchanged, the taste is fresh, fragrant and sweet, and most only insiders will know that different parts of ham are suitable for different ways to eat. A finished Jinhua ham is divided into dripping oil, Chinese side, upper, fire heel and fire claw.
Different parts of the ham
Oil-rich dripping oil and fire claws are more suitable for stewing soups. The fire heel can be used as a whole stew or cut into pieces, cut into round slices, etc., most of them are eaten with skin, so the fire should be sufficient. There are more bones in the Chinese side, which are generally cut into shreds or deboned and sliced and stewed and stir-fried with other ingredients, such as mushrooms, which are not strong in their own ingredients, and can be complemented by salty ham. Above is the best part of the whole ham meat, salty and moderate, the meat is delicate, suitable for making large dishes, such as the familiar honey sauce fire recipe.
Today, compared with the traditional ham cooking method, today's ham companies will also "eat raw ham" as a breakthrough point.
Ham slices
"In fact, more than 100 years ago, Jinhua also had a kind of ham called 'tea leg', because of the low salt content, low saltiness, you can directly eat raw when drinking tea leisure, but this production process has not been passed down," Master Chen said, "and raw ham has high requirements for the size of pigs, although the two heads of wu are suitable for traditional ham, but as raw materials for raw ham, it is too small." Nowadays, many ham companies have made delicious "raw ham" and promoted it to the market as an instant snack, which has also increased the awareness and popularity of ham.
In addition, in order to expand the industrial chain of Jinhua ham, the so-called "hot pot ham" was born - that is, the use of light ham shabu-shabu, while retaining the flavor of ham, but also make the taste of ham become crisp and tender, so that Jinhua ham can be accepted by more people.
Hot pot ham
The taste of hot pot ham is a bit like bacon, but because it is fermented, it has more nutritional value than bacon, and the change from side dishes to staple foods has made Jinhua ham have broad prospects for development.
Editor-in-charge: Zhu Zhe
Proofreader: Liu Wei