Buying
a Spanish ham is a significant purchase and it pays to
make the right choice ensuring you receive a succulent,
well cured and flavoursome ‘Jamon’. All Spanish
hams are different – quite literally but they can
be grouped by grade and curing time, in this article we
will concentrate on the serrano or ‘mountain ham’
and what to consider before you make your purchase.
Each
curing house or ‘secadero’ in Spain is regularly
inspected by European Union bodies and only when the establishment
meets the required grade is it allowed to sell its cured
hams. Each leg, similar to other meats in EU countries
such as pork, beef and lamb comes with a CEE stamp of
approval. This means that the curing house has met all
the standards required from cleanliness to slaughter.
There are often two stamps on a serrano ham which you
will find on the skin side, one will be the CEE stamp
of approval and the other, although not required by law
is a date. This date will consist of either three or four
numbers, the latter two numbers refer to the year when
the animal was slaughtered and the first number (s) indicates
the week in the year so for example if we have stamp of
8 / 10 then this would indicate that the ham has come
from an animal slaughtered in the last week of February
2010.
The
‘etiqueta’ is the label which is always tied
around the hoof of the leg, these labels vary greatly
in size and design, most labels although again, not required
by law will have information on the CEE number and also
ingredients (if applicable). Etiqueta’s do not necessarily
mean a well matured and high quality ham, in fact throughout
the Granada region some curing houses do not don their
hams with them at all, relying only on reputation for
flavour, consistency and premium quality.
There
is however a lot to be said for presentation . . . especially
when a ham is purchased as a gift, the etiqueta sets off
a ham nicely, a unique colourful label with the secadero’s
logo and quite often the ham’s curing time detailed
on the front. Other aspects of presentation to look out
for are knotted rope, the ‘funda’ (ham sock)
and a ‘malla’ (ham net). A combination of most
of these will ensure a tightly wrapped and very well presented
Spanish ham indeed. Traditional curing houses still cure
their hams tied high up on knotted rope, this process
dates back generations but for presentation a simple string
is replaced for rope which can be a variety of colours
from reds and blacks, to creams and greens, a handy feature
to look out for if you are planning to hang your ham before
use.
The
funda or ham sock plays an important role as it is a type
of breathable muslin. Spanish ham needs to breath during
transportation and the funda provides this as well as
presenting your ham in the ever popular white sock or
the smart black and dark green which are usually complimented
by the ‘malla’ or contrasting presentation netting.
So
what about the ham itself? Knowing how your ham will be
chosen should play an important role in making an informed
buying decision, has the ham come directly from Spain
or been stored in another country? There is no doubt that
having a ham shipped direct from Spain may take slightly
longer but for something as authentic as a full bone in
ham the wait is certainly worth it, especially considering
that the ham will have been hanging in natural curing
conditions at the right temperature and in the care of
the experts just a few days earlier. Hams chosen from
Spain and directly from local artisan businesses are always
tested for maturity too, this process involves carefully
inserting a long thin bone into the ham where it is then
withdrawn and the aroma expertly analysed before being
accepted. Testing for maturity in this way goes back generations
and you can rest assured that the ham curer will have
an expert nose in the matter!
Walk
into any butchers or secadero’s ‘tienda’
and you can choose your own serrano ham, we believe that
this should remain the case to a large degree and as such
have adopted the philosophy of choosing the very best
on offer from all of your suppliers. Letting us do the
choosing for you guarantees the finest hams on offer making
sure only the most proportioned legs are selected as well
as noting other characteristics such as ripeness (mentioned
above), curing time, aesthetics and to a degree, fat content.
Buying
your Spanish ham direct from Spain is without doubt a
decision well made ensuring premium quality and finest
examples hand picked from local family run curing houses.
If you have any questions on any aspect of purchasing
a Spanish ham from Spain then we welcome your enquiries
~ simply email or call us and ask to speak to Iain or
Gayle.
Hand
picked
