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Spanish ham means a group of meat products produced by processing pork legs ( Sus scrofa hind limbs), suitably preserved by salting, drying and maturing.
Today, some Spanish hams are famous all over the world and compete for quality leadership with Italian products (especially Crudo di Parma and Crudo di San Daniele ) and Hungarians (especially Mangalica and Hundok ).
The most prized Iberian hams are: the Ibérico jamón (commonly called Pata Negra ) and the Serrano (or mountain) jamón .
In the common language Italian, Spanish ham, pata negra and jamón ibérico are mistakenly overlapping and used as synonyms.
Jamón Serrano
The jamón serrano ("sierra" means mountain in Spanish) is a type of ham obtained from a breed of white pig ( Sus scrofa domesticus ) bred mainly on the eastern side of Spain (similar to the Italian side of the well-known Parma and San Daniele) .
Serrano jamón is also known as "mountain ham"; however, the word "serrano" does not indicate a specific quality of ham and represents an adjective of a qualifying nature.
The Serrano jamón that enjoy the "Denomination of Protected Origin" (DOP) are: jamón del Teruel and jamón del Trévelez .
Jamón Ibérico (Pata Negra)
Iberian ham is a type of Spanish ham made from the breed of alentejano (or related) pig, also known as "black ibérico"; this breed, bred mainly in the western part of the peninsula and in Portugal, is typically dark in color, which is why it is better known abroad as Pata Negra (in Spanish “zoccolo nero”).
Iberian pigs are NOT breeds derived from Sus scrofa domesticus and are much more similar to the archaic Sus scrofa mediterraneus . To be called jamón ibérico, this Spanish ham must be obtained exclusively from the alentejana or from its pure crosses not less than 50%.
Outside Spain, the jamón ibérico is better known as "pata negra" (translated: black hoof); however, this term represents a more commercial and tourist adjective than food.
Pata negra and jamón ibérico are therefore NOT a real specific type of ham, but rather indicate a "requirement" of an attributive nature; in fact, some enjoy DOP recognition, but they are all identified with very specific wordings: jamón de Huelva, Los Pedroches, jamón de Guijuelo, Dehesa de Extremadura.
There is also a further classification of qualitative type, which differentiates Iberian DOP Spanish hams on the basis of the breeding and feeding conditions:
- Bellota or Montanera - wild state
- Recebo - semi-wild state
- Cebo or Cebo de campo - extensive breeding.
Nutritional Features
Unifying the nutritional characteristics of Spanish hams is not an easy task since, in addition to belonging to distinct breeds, the various pigs can follow quite different diets.
Spanish ham is a product that could be placed in the fundamental group of foods; it is a salted and preserved meat, normally framed among sliced cured meats.
Spanish ham has a high energy supply (> 300kcal / 100g), supplied mainly by lipids (> 20g / 100g), followed by proteins (carbohydrates are completely absent).
The pata negra should be more fat and caloric than the serrano (with the appropriate differences related to the case); however, the meat of pigs fed in the natural state enjoy a distribution of fatty acids which privileges still more unsaturated than saturated (with great relevance of omega 6 polyunsaturated fats).
Peptides are of high biological value and the amino acid considered limiting is tryptophan .
Spanish ham does not contain fiber and has a rather large amount of cholesterol. Consciously of these characteristics, it is possible to state that it is not a food suitable for the customary feeding of the overweight and / or hypercholesterolemic subject.
By analyzing the mineral profile, due to the salting process, Spanish ham provides an overdose of sodium. The levels of potassium, phosphorus and iron are good.
The excess of sodium in human nutrition is considered to be potentially hazardous to health, as it is related to the onset or aggravation of primary arterial hypertension. It is also harmful to the mucous membrane of the stomach and, in reference to the foods that contain it (all "preserved", but of various kinds), it seems to be implicated in the onset of metabolic and tumoral pathologies. The abundance of sodium makes Spanish ham unsuitable for consumption in large portions and high frequency; on the other hand, if used as a substitute for fresh meat, it does not present any kind of controversy.
The iron richness of the Spanish ham makes it useful in the diet of the anemic of sideropenic nature (frequent in women).
As far as vitamins are concerned, Spanish ham has good rations of thiamine (vit. B1), niacin (vit. PP) and, to a lesser extent, of other B vitamins.
From a hygienic point of view, raw ham should not be eaten by pregnant women, due to the significant probability of microbial and parasitic contamination.
For safety reasons, it is also necessary to take into account any nitrate content. These are true preservative additives permitted by law; however, some studies show that (under certain conditions) they are involved in the synthesis of carcinogenic nitrosamines . Even for these preservatives there is a level of safety to be respected; on the other hand, the choice of portions and the frequency of consumption of the foods that contain them are totally individual and difficult to predict.
In respect of what has been mentioned so far, the average portion of Spanish ham is around 80-100g (about 300kcal); the frequency of consumption of a whole portion should be limited to no more than 2-3 times a month.
Outline of Pata Negra Production
While the production of jamón serrano Spanish ham is rather similar to that of the other hams of white pork, there are several differences regarding breeding for the Iberian ham.
Black ibérico pig lives mainly in south-west Spain (including the provinces of Salamanca, Ciudad Real, Cáceres, Badajoz, Seville, Córdoba and Huelva) and in central southern Portugal (where it is called porco alentejano or porco preto ibérico ).
Immediately after weaning, the piglets are fattened with barley and corn for several weeks. They are then left to pasture (in meadows and oak woods, so that they feed naturally with herbs, acorns, tubers, roots and bulbs) until shortly before slaughter. At this point, the diet of pigs can be strictly limited to olives and / or acorns (for the best quality of ham) or include commercial feeds (to obtain lower quality).
Slaughter and thigh separation follow. The hams are then salted, dried for two weeks, rinsed and dried for another four to six weeks.
The maturing process lasts at least 12 months, although some producers reach up to 48.
NB . Many do not know that even in Italy there is a breed of black pig, whose distribution is concentrated mainly in Sicily. Not surprisingly, on the island there is a type of breeding very similar to that of the Iberian pig, to the advantage of the nutritional characteristics of the meat. We recommend reading the article: Omega6 in pork.
Overview of Jamón Serrano Production
As anticipated, the production of jamon serrano is not very different from that of San Daniele and Parma.
After slaughtering white pigs, bred according to different criteria compared to Iberian, the fresh hams are separated, cleaned, cleaned, salted and stacked for about 15 days. In this way, the meat releases a large part of the water inside it, improving its conservation. The hams are then washed and hung to dry for about 6 months. Finally, they are placed in a cool, dry place to season for another 6 or 18 months (depending on the climate and size). In general, secaderos (driers) are placed at higher altitudes, which is why the food is called "mountain ham".
The Spanish ham jamón serrano enjoys the "Geographical indications and traditional specialties in the European Union" (TGS). This certification attests that: “the food product objectively possesses specific characteristics that differentiate it from all the others in its category; moreover, the raw materials used, as well as the composition and the production method, have been constant for a minimum of 30 years ".
Types of Pata Negra
Jamón ibérico Spanish hams are labeled according to the pig's diet; the diet based on acorns is the most valuable.
- The best is the jamón ibérico de bellota (in Spanish, "belota" means acorn). This ham is produced from wild pigs that roam the oak forests (called dehesa ) along the border between Spain and Portugal; during this last period they only eat what they find in nature. This Spanish ham is also known as jamón ibérico de Montanera . Exercise and the diet of pigs have a significant impact on the taste of meat.
This Spanish ham is aged for 36 months and is appreciated both for its soft and rich texture and for its tasty taste.
- The next degree is called jamón ibérico cebo de campo . This Spanish ham is made from pigs that graze and are fed with a combination of acorns and cereals (barley and corn).
- The third type is called jamón ibérico de cebo, or simply jamón ibérico . This Spanish ham is made from pigs that are fed only with cereals. The ham is aged for 24 months.
Furthermore, the adjective “pure” (with reference to the breed) can be added to the Spanish ham, provided that both the father and the mother of the slaughtered pig are properly registered in the herd books (held by official breeders).
We reiterate that the term "pata negra" is generally used in reference to Iberian ham, distinguishable by the color of the nails, and can refer to any of the three types mentioned. This has given rise to both obvious forms of counterfeiting and a sort of fraud within the limits of legislation.
In the first case, someone simply applied black paint on the nails of the ham that came from other pigs. In the second case, frequent especially abroad, the jamón ibérico de cebo (or, in the worst case, also the jamón serrano) is united to the bellota and sold at the same price. This happens above all because of the ignorance of the consumers who, unfortunately, do not know the characteristics of the various hams and even less the disciplines that distinguish them.
Recall that a good Iberian ham always has regular stains of intramuscular fat clearly visible ( marbling ) and that the fat content is always greater than that of the serrano jamón.
