Contributed by Info Guru Paul Seaburn
The pork industry’s famous ad popularized the expression “The Other White Meat,” but one big reddish part of the pig has never needed a publicist – the ham.
The rear leg of the hog can be purchased in two forms. Dry-cured or country hams are preserved by rubbing with salt and spices and then hung and air-dried for 6-to-18 months in a cool building. Wet-cured or city hams, are preserved by soaking in a salt water solution or by being injected with brine, spices and flavorings. Dry-cured hams are ready-to-eat, while wet-cured hams can either be pre-cooked or uncooked – check the label carefully before serving.
Because of its long history as a food staple, there are many types of ham defined by the regions where they originated, the type of hog it came from or the method of curing. One general rule is that the longer the ham was cured, the more expensive (and tasty) it will be. This list of ham types will help choose the right one for your next picnic, party or family dinner.
10. Canned Ham
The canned hams found in most supermarkets are wet-cured and usually come from parts of multiple hams. Most are pre-cooked in the can (check the label) and some require refrigeration.
9. Spiral-Cut Ham
Those spiral-cut hams sold by retail chains and online ham catalogs are fully cooked, wet-cured, smoked hams cut in one continuous slice by machine. These ready-to-eat, sometimes glazed hams can be served cold or heated.
8. Black Forest Ham
Black Forest ham is a smoked ham named for the Black Forest region of Germany. In Europe, any ham labeled Black Forest must come from the region, but this is not the case for the Black Forest deli hams found in the U.S.
7. Bayonne Ham
Also called Jambon de Bayonne, Bayonne is an air dried salted ham from the city of Bayonne in southwest France. They’re cured for 7-10 months and must come from one of eight breeds of hogs raised in the area.
6. Jamon Serrano
Jamon Serrano is a less-expensive dry-cured Spanish ham made from the Landrace breed of acorn-fed white pigs.
5. Jamon Iberico
Jamon Iberico or Iberian ham is a dry-cured ham made in Spain and Portugal from black Iberian pigs that are fed acorn diets. The most expensive cuts come from free-range pigs.
4. Smithfield Ham
Smithfield Ham is a dry-cured ham from Smithfield, Virginia. The original Smithfield hams had to come from peanut-fed pigs but this is no longer the case. Check the label to make sure your ham is from the town of Smithfield and not from the company of the same name.
3. Presunto Ham
Presuntos are dry-cured hams from Portugal, often made from Alentejano pigs from the Alentejo region. Presunto hams are also popular in Brazil.
2. Westphalian Ham
Westphalian Ham is a dry-cured and smoked ham from hogs raised on acorns in Germany’s Westphalia forest. The meat is smoked with a mix of beechwood and juniper branches.
1. Prosciutto di Parma
Prosciutto or Parma ham is from Italy’s Parma region and is generally recognized as one of the world’s best hams. Sometimes made from wild boars, Proscuitto is dry-cured and served thinly sliced.