Jamon - how to cook this dry-cured pork ham. What it is

© Anton Tushin/website

In August 2014, Russia imposed a ban on the import of a number of food products from the United States, Australia, Canada and most European countries. Under the embargo, not only products familiar to most Russians, but also expensive delicacies fell.

At the end of June, Moscow extended the sanctions for another year. Thus, Russian farmers and enterprises were once again given the green light to increase and expand production. And if the volumes of traditional products produced in Russia are really growing today, then the situation is different with delicacies: there are still no domestic jamon or foie gras on the shelves of chain supermarkets.

Reedus tried to find out whether Russian producers made attempts on their own to recreate the delicacies that had left the market, and if so, how did they end up.

Jamon

Jamon is a Spanish meat delicacy known far beyond the borders of this country. It is a dry-cured pork ham, which, after salting, is aged for a long time in special conditions.

© Boca Dorada/flickr.com

The history of ham has more than two millennia. The Cantabrian peoples salted pork meat and hung it from the ceiling in cellars. There, the hams “ripened” throughout the winter, acquiring a unique taste and aroma. Dried pork was perfectly stored, it could be transported over long distances, used as food for sailors. The fame of jamon quickly spread throughout the country, and then Europe. In the 18th century, jamon was already being sold through the Spanish colonies on all continents.

In modern Spain, jamon is produced throughout the country, except for the coast. This product has a special quality mark, which confirms that it is made in a certain province in compliance with unchanged local standards. In almost any Spanish restaurant, you can see impressive pork hams hanging from the ceiling, and jamon is also often found in local stores.

© Robert Young/flickr.com

Similar meat delicacies are also produced in other countries. For example, in Italy, dry-cured pork ham is called prosciutto. The products have a similar production technology, however, jamon, as a rule, is aged longer.

What is called jamon in Spain was also produced in pre-revolutionary Russia. Moreover, dry-cured meat was even exported, for example, to the UK.

Today in Russia such a product is practically not produced. At least on some serious scale, allowing it to be delivered to stores or even just sold. However, in one of the metropolitan establishments this summer they offered to taste jamon of their own production.

"Friends! Today we officially open our new "Khleb" on Tverskaya 12/str2. Today I will work as a bartender: as a gift to each guest I will pour a glass of Villa Antinori and cut seven-month-old jamon (we did it ourselves, by the way),” writer and businessman Sergey Minaev, who owns the Bread and Wine chain of wine shops and bars, wrote on his Instagram. .

In a commentary to Reedus, Sergey Minaev admitted that in fact the presented product is neither jamon nor its Russian counterpart.

“It was beef jerky aged 8 months. To taste, of course, the difference from jamon is very significant. It turned out such an improved balyk, ”the businessman said.

Dried meat was prepared by the employees of the institution, after which it was served to the guests. The action was of a one-time nature, but in the future it is planned to put the production of delicacies on stream.

“Practically, this can and should be produced in Russia. Both pigs and cows are available. Today we are negotiating with farms in the Moscow region to start growing chicken for our restaurants and curing meat,” Minaev said.

According to him, under guaranteed sales, they will be able to withstand the quality and price. “We hope to complete and launch such a project within a year,” the businessman added.

As it became known to Reedus, a larger production of Russian jamon is planned to be deployed in the Krasnodar Territory. This will be done by the domestic company "Nikolaev and Sons", which managed to make a name for itself in the production of wines, as well as cheeses of French varieties under the brand name "Lefkadia".

“Now I act as a consultant for them to create authentic meat products. A specialist from the Basque Country will help prepare the project for the launch,” Andrei Kuspits, development director of the gastronomic company LeBonGout, told Reedus.

He admits that the process of organizing a production shop will be long. To date, only a paper draft has been completed and financial discussions are underway.

Foie gras

Foie gras is the fatty liver of a force-fed goose or duck, from which the delicacy of the same name is made, as well as mousse, pâté or terrine.

© MaineLobsterCurmudgeon Meets The RealEstateGeezer/flickr.com

The origin of foie gras has a deep history: the ancient Egyptians were engaged in forced fattening of geese. Today, however, France is rightly considered the “country of foie gras”: it has not only the necessary technologies and experience, but also a developed production cycle.

In France, mass industrial production of foie gras began in the 1980s. Today, the country produces more than 90% of this product. The remaining percentages are divided between countries such as Bulgaria, Spain, Hungary, and China.

In France, the production of foie gras is part of the country's cultural and gastronomic heritage and is regulated by national law. This contributes not only to large production volumes, but also guarantees the quality of the product. Therefore, Andrey Kuspits went to France, who at one time organized the production of French delicacies from Russian meat in Moscow, and now wants to establish the production of foie gras.

In a comment to Reedus, the culinary specialist admitted that earlier, at his request, a farmer near Moscow, Dmitry Klimov, tried to produce foie gras, but nothing came of it.

“As a result, in March we went to France to the farmer Thierry, where we looked at the production with our own eyes. We also bought a feeding machine, eggs and thoroughbred ducks, brought them to the farm, hatched chicks,” Kuspits said.

© Steve Jurvetson/flickr.com

At present, French ducks have grown up, they will become the ancestors of those birds from which foie gras will be produced in the Moscow region in the future.

Meanwhile, no one abandoned attempts to make a completely Russian delicacy: now the farm is conducting a second experiment to feed Russian breeds of ducks, and the first results will be visible this fall.

“Some normal amount of foie gras will be produced by next summer. However, the volumes in general will not be large: about 200 units of liver per month,” shared Kuspits.

According to him, large volumes of product production are in principle possible, but this requires a developed production cycle, which involves different farms and entire cooperatives.

“For example, in the departments of Gers and Gascony, the main producers of foie gras for France, this is put on stream: one farm produces a mother's egg, another raises adult ducks, sells them to farmers who are engaged in feeding, a cooperative takes the bird from them, which deals with slaughter, - said Kuspits. - We do not have this cycle, so we do it within the framework of one farm. However, our experience, a kind of know-how, can be shared with those who wish to deal with this issue.”

The deli specialist said that the end product of Russian foie gras liver would be terrine. However, it is not known how much the delicacy will cost: Kuspits admitted that he did not even make approximate calculations.

Meanwhile, the production of foie gras has already been launched at a goose farm in the Chekhov district of the Moscow region. Those who wish are offered fresh goose liver at a price of 850 rubles per kilogram. However, Reedus could not find out about production volumes and product quality: the farm employees did not provide a comment, citing the lack of management.

Cheese

With the production of dairy delicacies, the situation looks the best: at the moment in Russia, French and Italian cheeses are produced by at least two enterprises, which can be called relatively large.

The already mentioned company "Nikolaev and Sons" in the Krasnodar Territory produces camembert and buch, and from October it is going to produce brie.

“In our production technology, we adhere to traditional methods and recipes. All processes related to shaping, whey drainage, inoculation, turning are carried out manually by the employees of the cheese factory. Also, a particularly important step is the care work in the process of cheese maturation, which is again carried out manually. And, of course, a French consultant has been advising us on technological processes for 3 years,” the press service of the company assured Reedus.

© lefkadia.ru

Today, the company is striving to reach the level of processing four tons of milk per day. Cheese makers admit that they are limited in the accelerated growth process, due to the technological features of production. However, cheeses under the Lefkadia brand can already be seen on the shelves of a number of Russian retail chains.

“The products are also in demand in the HoReCa segment in many regions of the country. For example, in Moscow we are represented in the restaurant chains Jean Jacques, Goodman, Filimonova and Yankel and many others,” the press service added.

Another major player in the dairy market is Umalat. The company is engaged in the production of cheeses, including Italian varieties such as ricotta and mascarpone, and in terms of sales of mozzarella, the company occupied a quarter of the market even before the embargo.

© cyclonebill/flickr.com

“The production cycle is carried out under the guidance and control of foreign specialists who have found the opportunity to combine traditional recipes with modern technologies,” the company says.

The manufacturer's portfolio includes three federal brands: Unagrande, Pretto, Umalat. Products are sold in federal retail chains, as well as served in cafes and restaurants throughout Russia.

The fashion for farm products has led to the fact that in recent years small cheese dairies have appeared in Russia. One of them is located in the village of Maslovka in the Tambov district of the Lipetsk region, where Vladimir Borev, a Russian enthusiastic farmer with a journalistic background, brought a couple of professional French cheese makers, Nicole and Gilles de Vouge.

© Anton Tushin/website

“By the time we accepted the invitation to visit our friend in Russia, my husband and I had been making cheese in our own cheese factory for 40 years,” Nicole told Reedus. “In France, they are well aware of the healing effect of cheese, so all the ingredients, starter cultures and various enzymes are sold exclusively in pharmacy chains.”

© Anton Tushin/website

According to her, the Russian workers were able to exactly comply with all the technologies used by French farmers. “We are glad that when we leave, we leave our equipment and cheese production technology in Russia,” added Nicole.

Farmer Vladimir Borev, in turn, revealed several secrets used in the production of French miracle cheese. According to him, the product is made from not heated, not pasteurized and not boiled milk.

“Milk temperatures above 25 degrees kill lactobacilli. And, after all, it is known that these are healing microorganisms that have a healing effect on humans. For example, the probiotic bacteria Lactobacillus Plantarum TENSIA have a positive effect on the functions of the cardiovascular system, such cheese is also called “heart cheese,” Borev explained.

© Anton Tushin/website

The technology "captured" from France must be used in the Russian Federation, he is sure. But in order to reach an industrial scale, it is necessary to unite a dozen such farms. The next step, according to Borev, is up to the authorities.

“In France, this kind of cheese is not sold by the kilo: it is the Rolls-Royce of the cheese world, piece-assembled. The concept of weight for such cheese is relative, it lives and constantly transforms,” the farmer noted.

The main difficulty for French farm cheese in Russia is its certification. Rospotrebnadzor simply cannot assume that cheese can be produced without boiling milk.

What hinders the Russian manufacturer?

90% of Russian citizens did not even notice the embargo on European delicacies: they had neither the desire nor the opportunity to buy these dishes even without sanctions. At least this applies to jamon and foie gras. Nevertheless, premium products have found their regular customers among people with high and middle incomes.

With the imposition of the embargo, Russian cheese makers began to report a sharp increase in demand for their products. Moreover, Europe quickly got its bearings in the situation, starting to supply traditional cheeses to the Russian Federation under the guise of lactose-free products. The gap was eliminated only by the second year of sanctions: now suppliers must receive a specialized state certificate, according to which they will be able to import to the Russian market only lactose-free products for dietary, therapeutic and preventive nutrition. This should prevent traditional low-lactose cheeses from hitting the shelves and spur demand for Russian dairy products. However, whether domestic producers will be able to meet the increased demand is a separate issue.

Another problem in filling the Russian markets with local producers is the pricing policy. Small farms simply cannot sell cheese for a penny: for example, about 2.5 thousand rubles will have to be paid for a kilogram of cheese made in Maslovka.

© Anton Tushin/website

The situation is similar with Lefkadia cheeses: larger European producers are able to offer a similar product at a much more attractive price. And their products are still available on the market despite the formal elimination of the lactose-free hole.

So in the supermarket "Okay" 270 grams of Camembert from "Lefkadia" will cost 629 rubles. At the same time, a similar product from the Danish food giant ArlaFoods, sold in the same store, costs almost half as much (around 350 rubles for the same 270 grams).

Even if we imagine that all “sanctions” will disappear from online trading platforms and counters of Russian stores, not all gourmets will be able to afford expensive Russian counterparts.

Summing up what has been said, it must be admitted that attempts to produce European delicacies in Russia are being made. Some of them can be called successful, the results of others can only be judged in the future.

In any case, the first year of the embargo for real and potential producers of delicacies did not bring the expected super-benefits: lactose-free products interfered with cheese making, meat producers - long-term storage of foie gras and jamon brought to Russia before the sanctions, and the absence of a ban on the trade in "sanctions" left opportunities to smuggle goods.

© Steel Wool/flickr.com (CC BY ND 2.0)

If the sanctions wars continue for several more years, and smuggling is completely suppressed, then domestic producers will have real chances for success. With the increase in production, the turnover of the products of Russian companies will also increase, which will reduce prices.

In the meantime, unfortunately, compatriots offer Russians European quality for a very unattractive price. At the same time, authentic European-made goods can always be ordered in an online store: the attempts of the Prosecutor General's Office to block such resources today look ineffective.

Kublog went to the Krasnodar supermarket "Tabris" to buy a real Spanish jamon (raw-cured pork ham). About what kind of jamon was found on the shelves of "Tabris" - photo report Boris Maltsev. About how the main Spanish delicacy is made - narration Juana Carlos A.

In Russia, jamon is a rather expensive product, and its consumption is not a tradition (we are increasingly specialized in bacon). However, in Spain, jamon is one of the main characters of the national menu.

Juan Carlos Escudero told Kublog what to look out for when buying ham:

“A whole leg of ham is shrouded in fat. When you start cutting, this layer of fat must be removed.
If there are many requests for slicing and it happens continuously, then everything is in order with jamon. When no one cuts off the jamon for 30 minutes, then the fat that was cut off from the top must be put back in place so that the jamon does not dry out. When the next client comes, the fat is removed and fresh jamon is cut again.

Be sure to cut off the fat, which is located on the left and right sides of the ham, because it gives the jamon weight. But it's not jamon, it's fat. The client cannot weigh it.

In Tabris, where jamon is sold, it must also be covered with a “lid”. But all the jamons that I saw in Tabris were dried up. The customer who buys it does not eat real ham, he eats dry ham. In addition, he eats very salty jamon, because when the meat dries out, it becomes saltier.
The next client either has to come 10 minutes after the first one, or they will receive dry jamon. Conclusion: all Tabris customers buy dry and salty jamon.

In general, the jamons themselves in Tabris are good, but very expensive. If we talk about the price, then this is one in six, compared with the Spanish price, and maybe even more.

Boris Maltsev, who went to photograph jamon in the Krasnodar supermarket "Tabris", spoke about how this happened:

“I visited two supermarkets: Tabris at Stavropolskaya-213 and Tabris at Stavropolskaya-222. The first of them indicates the price per 100 grams, the second - per kilogram.

In the store on Stavropolskaya-213 (the former Volna store), they refused to cut the jamon, they told me to buy already chopped earlier. I left.

In Tabris, which is located near the University, they kindly agreed to cut it, but when I started taking pictures, a quite friendly security guard came and tried quite kindly to forbid filming. But we kindly agreed not to bullshit.

The fat on the sides of the jamon was cut off (that is, the excess was not weighed), but it is really stored without a film and is not covered with a special “lid” of fat. The meat on top is really dry and different in color from what's inside."

Continuation of the story of Juan Carlos Escudero - about how jamon was prepared in the old days and how it is done today:

“Jamon is a tradition that was born in Spanish villages and villages where they were engaged in agriculture and grew something in the fields. In order to cope with hard work, people need energy food. She had a ham.

The pig was raised for a year or a year and a half, then slaughtered. So that the meat would not disappear, they were looking for a way to preserve it.

In September-October, the pig was salted. Winter began - the leg was hung out to dry. Before that, it was necessary to bleed this piece. Chorizo ​​and other dishes were made from blood (when a pig is killed, nothing is wasted, everything is completely used).

And now winter has passed, spring begins, temperatures change. For example, in Teruella in winter it is very cold and dry, the temperature drops to -20 C. Accordingly, jamon is very well preserved during this period. Then spring begins, it becomes warmer, but the jamon has already lost a lot of water and dried up. Summer begins with intense heat. In order for the jamon to be preserved, it is coated with oil or fat, and it will be ready for use in October, when a new pig is already slaughtered and the next batch is made.

That's what our grandmothers did.

Now the same thing is done in an industrial way. Depending on the weight of the leg of the ham, it is kept longer or less in salt, then it moves from one chamber to another with the maintenance of temperature and humidity corresponding to a certain season.

The Chinese really like jamon. They copy us, but do not know the subtleties and technologies. They make it salty, because temperature, humidity and holding time are very important.

Grandmothers knew this so well that if it was too cold in winter, they would bring jamon into the room. If it is too dry, they cover it with a blanket so that excess moisture does not evaporate.

There are two main types of jamon - Serrano (white pig, the jamon has a white hoof) and the more expensive Iberico jamon (black pig, the jamon has a black hoof), it is also called "pata negra" - "black paw".
Iberico comes in recebo (pigs fed on vegetable matter and acorns) and beiota (pigs on an acorn-only diet).

Jamon is also divided by location (like wine). For example, the famous Teruel jamon (which is not yet available in Russia, but we will bring it) is also made from a white pig, but it is a mixture of two breeds - langras and fool. In the line of hams, it is in the middle between Serrano and Iberico. The difference is that it has a certain status according to the place of origin and the aging period is longer.”

Bon Appetit everyone!

Reference:
Juan Carlos Escudero Regidor is a Spanish marketer and entrepreneur, organizer of the first International Seminar and Salon-Workshop "Spanish Stars" ("Spanish Stars"), which will be held in Krasnodar from 4 to 10 November 2013.

Juan Carlos is the owner and manager of the marketing company MacArt Publicidad S.L. (www.macart-publicidad.com), he now works closely with Diluvia S.L. (www.diluvia.es). Juan Carlos is also a co-owner of AZU NEVEX 2009 S.L., a company specializing in the sale of real estate, a co-owner of EDE S.L., an exporter of Spanish delicacies.

I offer a selection of the best Russian products made to replace forbidden delicacies. And how do you feel about Russian analogues of Western products banned by sanctions?

The idea for this post came to me yesterday. Brought me into the community pora_valit where I started a small conversation with a friend mefed47 . He told me that the production of oysters was re-established in the Crimea, which had been considered dead forever for more than a dozen years. Oysters are finicky creatures, they are very sensitive to the environment, they love only clean and calm water.

And now, it turns out that for the resuscitation of the oyster farm, quite a bit was required: to stop dumping all sorts of rubbish in the Black Sea. I do not think that the improvement of the environment is associated with a change in the status of Crimea. Most likely, the fact is that production has ceased to spit on the environment and somehow comply with environmental standards. For example, I wrote a post about Tuapse, where only after the introduction of new hydrotreating systems as part of the modernization, enterprises stopped polluting the sea. Can you imagine what it looked like 20 years ago? The consequences are being eliminated by the new leadership so far, and only by 2014 is the work coming to the final stage.

There are also many production projects in the Crimea, and, apparently, the oysters somehow did not go well before, because the mollusks were mercilessly flooded with chemical waste.

Now the oyster farm has existed in the Crimean village of Katsiveli since 2005. It is located under water on an area of ​​five hectares, three hundred meters from the shore. Only "buoys-beacons" are visible on the surface. Scuba divers harvest at a depth of five meters. In a year it is half a million pieces of oysters and about 60-80 tons of mussels. Pretty good results for just one farm, it will be even better in the future.

The loss of jamon caused a lot of resonance in society. I don’t know how anyone, but speaking personally for myself, I wouldn’t say that I often ate it, but the point is not that. In Krasnodar there is a real "meat king" Takhir Kholikberdiev, who always emphasized his love specifically for Kuban meat. The restaurateur made the delicacy at home in just 8 months and is now trading it.

But if you think about it, then to make spanish ham just:

pork ham - 4-5 kg;

sea ​​salt - 3-5 times the weight of the ham;

Well, hands from the shoulders, of course.

More than the disappearance of the jamón, the news of the foreign cheese made people suffer. Here I can understand the general indignation: all Russian cheese tastes about the same and is only suitable for melting it for meat in French when visiting my grandmother. If you want an exquisite delicate taste, then the choice from a Russian manufacturer tends to zero.

And after all, they made cheese with mold, including in the Kuban somewhere in the 30s of the 20th century. There are more modern examples, the Kuban company "Kaloriya" three years ago began to develop a technology for making cheese with mold like Brie and Camembert. But no matter how boasted of regional achievements, the taste of cheese was far from ideal.

But the monks of the Spaso-Preobrazhensky Valaam Monastery (Lake Ladoga region) will produce cheeses of brands that have come under anti-sanctions. And I have the best expectations about this cheese: the monks took cheese-making courses in Italy and bought equipment there. For example, Father Agapios, who manages the monastery farm, learned how to make five types of cheese: mozzarella, cachotta, morlacco, smoked ricotta and cheese with white mold bianca.

And what examples of the preparation of forbidden delicacies in our country do you know?

The image of each country carries some set of stereotypes by which others unmistakably recognize it. Bear Vodka Balalaika. Beer - sausages - cabbage. Bullfight - football - jamon.
Today we have Jamon, Spain.

It is believed that the production of jamon on the Iberian Peninsula was born in the shaggy centuries, as the only way to preserve pork in a hot climate in the absence of refrigerators, and also given the many months of sea travel, the once mistress of the seas.

Taking into account the mountainous climate of certain regions of Spain, where winter temperatures and natural humidity coincide with those required for salting, drying and curing pork, God himself ordered to produce this delicious, saturated with all the necessary vitamins and minerals, compact product.
We managed to arrange a visit to a factory that produces jamon and sausages in the La Rioja region in the town of Baños de Río Tobía.

The Martínez Somalo factory has existed since 1900 and continues to be a family business, now in its fourth generation.
In general, it is interesting that in a small town with a population of about 2000 people, there are 5 large-scale production of sausages and jamon, which is explained by the ideal location in a ravine between two mountains, where the climate is ideal for aging this delicious product.

Here is the list produced by Martínez Somalo:
CHORIZO SARTA EXTRA
CHORIZO SARTA 100% NATURAL DULCE Y PICANTE
LA GLORIA RIOJANA
CHORIZO SARTA IGP RIOJANO
CHORIZO EXTRA GRAN VELA
CHORIZO BARBACOA DULCE Y PICANTE
CHORIZO SEMICULAR 100% NATURAL
SALCHICHÓN SARTA
SALCHICHÓN SEMICULAR
LOMO EMBUCHADO EXTRA DUROC
JAMÓN SERRANO
JAMÓN PIMENTONADO
CHORIZO SARTA IGP RIOJANO
CHORIZO CON VINO 110
Unfortunately, or maybe fortunately, we were not allowed to photograph the process of cutting carcasses and working with raw materials, but they showed everything, answered all questions.
The factory is located in an old 6-storey building, where production is located on the lower floors, and the upper ones are equipped with modern chambers for salting and drying. Also, another complex was built outside the city for the final aging of jamon and shipment of products.

sausages
Traditionally in Spain, the main spice added to sausages is red pepper of various varieties. According to the technologist, pepper is an excellent natural preservative and antioxidant, which creates the authenticity of the recipe.
Of course, being an experienced homemade sausage maker, I did not fail to squint and ask about the use of nitrites, flavor enhancers and other chemicals. Moreover, it is easy to check this: according to EU laws, all additives must be indicated on the packaging.

The technologist happily revealed all the recipes, which boiled down to the basic one:
Meat, red pepper (various), garlic, salt. There is a variety of sausage with the addition of 9% red wine.
For salting jamon, the prescribed amount of sodium nitrite is used.

After stuffing, the sausages are placed in a chamber where they dry at a temperature of +3 to +17 and a humidity of 80 to 63%, while drying, reducing the humidity and raising the temperature. With a loss of 28-35% of the weight, the sausage is ready and goes to the consumer.

Jamon
Of course now everything is automated in the factory. It’s fun to watch how huge pig legs pass along the conveyor, fall into a drum, where they crumble in nitrite salt, each is weighed, marked and placed in a box for a hundred legs, sprinkling each row with a lot of salt, after which the boxes are taken to the chamber, where at + 2C legs will be salted according to the classical formula 1kg - 1 day.

Then the salt is washed off the feet and sent to the chamber for salt leveling and drying at +4 +11C for 5-6 months. This is followed by maturation and fermentation of meat +14 +20С 6 - 12 months.

Due to mutual sanctions between the West and Russia, the supply of Jamon to Russia is prohibited, which only contributes to the popularity of Jamon and the development of its production in Russia.

Boris Akimov in the village of Knyazhevo, Pereslavsky district, Yaroslavl region, began to produce "Yaroslavsky Jamon": his own pigs, the product is aged for 8 months. According to the reviews of those who managed to try, the taste is even better than that of the Spanish Jamon.

The village of Knyazhevo is located north of Lake Pleshcheyevo, about 19 km. from my dacha - you will need to go to visit Boris.

Here is an interesting product review on Boris Akimov's Facebook page:

Jamon is still like "cognac" - a product strictly standardized by the Spaniards. And what I see in the photo - it would be more correct and honest to call it "prshut". I hope it's good.) Because I personally like a good Balkan Prosciutto even more than the Spanish serrano jamon, but we still won’t compare it with Iberica, because the original pig is not the same ;-).

Since I am going to grow in an eco-park, I decided to write on this page the available information about Jamon and the production technology of Jamon.

Here is information about Hamon from Wikipedia:

Serrano - a distinctive feature: a white pig, a jamon has a white hoof;
curado - exposure 7 months;
reserva - exposure 9 months;
bodega - exposure 12 months;

Iberico - a distinctive feature: a black pig, a jamon has a black hoof;
de cebo - made from pigs fed with fodder and acorns;
bellota is made from pigs fed on a clean acorn diet.

Jamon is commonly referred to as a product made from the hind legs of a pig, while the front legs are called pallets.

Cooking

Jamon is sprinkled with plenty of salt to speed up the dehydration process. Salting time depends on the weight of the leg and the climatic conditions of each area, but on average it is one day per kilogram of weight.

Depending on the weight of the ham and the climatic conditions of the geographical area, the drying process takes from 6 to 36 months. Drying usually begins in winter or early spring to take advantage of the slow and gradual increase in temperature until late summer.

In autumn, jamon is moved to the lower floors of the room, where it is kept for 9-12 months at a temperature of 8-10 °C. Here the curing process begins: under the influence of microflora, the meat acquires its characteristic structure, taste and aroma.

Maturation

After drying, the product is sent to the cellars, where it is classified by weight and quality. Based on this classification, the time required for the “ripening” of each “leg” is determined, after which they are left to “ripen”, still in limbo. At this stage, thanks to the microclimate of the cellars, the “legs” acquire their unique taste and aroma.

Try- this is the last check: with a thin long needle (made from the bone of a cow or horse), experts make two or three holes in the jamon to smell the aroma, indicating the end of the curing stage.

Jamon is consumed cut into very thin slices; slicing jamon is a special art that is practiced by a trained specialist - cortador, using a special tool.

The stand on which the Hamon is placed for cutting is called Hamonera. The place where Jamon is served is called Jamoneria.

slicing

For slicing Jamon, Jamonera (Spanish: portajamones, soporte jamonero) is used - a special stand of the appropriate length.

According to culinary specialists, the quality of cutting directly affects the organoleptic properties of Jamon, so Jamon must be cut by hand using Jamonera and a special knife. Mechanical cutting of Jamon degrades its quality.

As a rule, coasters are made of wood and have a length of 45-50 cm (may vary depending on the size of the pork leg) and a width of 15-20 cm.

The sharp screw on the Hamonera bracket serves to secure the leg with the hoof, and the other part to install the wide part of the Hamon.

By loosening the screw on the ring, you can turn the jamon over to cut the meat from the opposite side.

Cutting takes place parallel to the leg fixed on the Hamoner. At the same time, in order to avoid injury, the Hamon must be firmly fixed on the Hamoner without slipping, so that the foot is pressed against the stand in all directions and does not loosen.

When making an incision, the left hand is always above the operating hand with a knife (for a left-hander, the rule is the opposite).

Places of production

Jamon is produced throughout Spain except for the coast. Like Spanish wines, there is Denominacion de Origen- a quality mark that guarantees that Jamon is produced in a certain province in compliance with unchanged local standards (each province has its own).

Storage at home

At home, Jamon is kept in a cool, dry place (15-20°C). After cutting, consumption is allowed for five months, while the cut site is treated to prevent contact with air (closed with a cotton towel, lubricated with olive oil).

Here is more information about Jamon and a description of how to make Hamon at home:

Dry-cured delicacies are loved by everyone who does not shy away from meat. And, contrary to the opinion of the literary professor Preobrazhensky, they can still be useful.

However, the tastiest (and least harmful) foods like Spanish Jamon are so expensive that you can only convince yourself that they are cholesterol-ridden.

Or learn how to cook the same Jamon at home. Here we will consider the probability of the successful implementation of this “hopeless enterprise”.

What it is

If we mention only the origin of meat and the general features of the process, then this is the name of dry-cured pork.

For the whole world, only the ham of an animal fits the definition, although the Spaniards Jamon is made from the whole carcass. The second word specifies from which part of it.

It is unlikely that Jamon is cooked at home, especially in the realities of a city apartment.

The first problem is the lack of suitable raw materials. For Jamon, only the meat of Iberian animals is suitable, which are bred on the peninsula of the same name. Worse, the pigs must be fed a strict diet that is almost entirely acorns.

Moreover, acorns are required from a cork oak. Of the rest of the animals, there will be no real delicacy - not the same taste of meat.

Based on this, Jamon at home becomes available only to a cattle breeder who has brought the desired breed of pigs, grown the “correct” oaks and equipped the basement with special installations needed for drying.

Delicatessen production technology

It is noteworthy that the Spaniards do not make a secret of the process of preparing this dish. They have been making jamon at home for centuries, not considering it a national treasure.

Industrial production of this delicacy has become quite recent. And it consists of the following steps.

1. Fat and simply “ugly” places are cut off from the ham; the leg itself falls asleep with a very large amount sea ​​salt and left for two weeks at a temperature not lower than zero and not higher than plus five.

2. The meat is washed, dried and hung up. It is dried at different factories from six months to a year. Initial temperature +7; Gradually, it gradually, according to a certain schedule, rises.

3. Ripening: occurs with strictly observed temperature and humidity, in the course of several months (up to one and a half years).

4. Sampling. A specialist, specially trained and versed in the shades of Jamon flavor, pierces the ham with a needle and sniffs.

As you can see, to cook Jamon at home, you will need not only special pigs, but also devices that can maintain the physical characteristics of the air in the room at the right level.

Almost Hamon

However, you should not give up. If you like Jamon so much, a recipe at home will help you achieve the result as close to the original as possible. However, you still cannot do without a basement and an empty ventilated room (pantry or barn).

You still won’t get a completely authentic Jamon, unless you go to Iberia and buy the right pig, but only the very expert taster will notice the taste differences. So…

A 4-kilogram ham is taken from a young pig, cleaned of everything superfluous, placed in a free, large container and filled with a dozen kilograms of sea salt.

At least four days (a day per kilo) the pelvis should stand in the dark and cool; occasionally it should be turned over for uniform salting.

Then the future Jamon at home is cleaned of adhering salt, washed and hung in the same place.

If possible, the temperature rises by a degree once a week. The delicacy should dry for at least six months.

Quick Jamon

Its advantage will be that few city dwellers will dry up a whole leg, and even not butchered, with bones. However, residents of megacities love Jamon!

The recipe at home for them will be as follows: a loin is bought, rubbed with a mixture of salt and sugar (proportion 2 to 1), placed in a flat container (a large bowl, for example), pressed down with a load and put in the refrigerator for three days.

In the morning and evening, the workpiece for Jamon at home is turned over, and the liquid is filtered from it.

The meat is dried with napkins and rubbed with spices (at least the composition should include ground laurel with pepper, garlic and coriander).

Then the pork is wrapped in gauze, tied tightly with twine and hung in the shade on the balcony. If the summer is hot, take it off for a day and hide it at the bottom of the refrigerator, and return it back in the evening.

Such Jamon becomes edible at home already on the fourth day. However, the duration of drying has a positive effect on the taste, so it is better to wait at least 2-3 weeks.

Culture of consumption

During the cooking process, pork loses a lot of weight and moisture, so cutting it will require some effort.

In Spain, there is a position of a cortador at all - a delicacy cutter (and this is always a strong man). However, Jamon at home is not so hard, so a woman can handle it too.

The main thing is to master the thinnest cut, this delicacy is not used in slices. And so that the incised edge does not become weathered, it is advised to grease it with melted butter or fat.

To protect against insects, you can rub Jamon with red pepper.

When dried, Jamon loses about a third of its initial weight.

The price of Spanish Jamon in Barcelona is 8 - 9 euros / kg. Serrano and 20 – 30 euro/kg. Iberica. The price of the Kuban Jamon in the Kuban is 999 rubles / kg, and the price of dried goose is 2490 rubles / kg, that is, 2.5 times higher - draw your own conclusions ...

Personally, I will try to master the production of both Yaroslavl Jamon and dried Goose - and then I will determine what makes sense to produce for sale, and what is mainly for myself.

Here are two photos showing the process of slicing Jamon:

A special stand called Hamonera is easy to make from wood with your own hands. To get the thinnest cut of Jamon, you need to use a special long narrow sharp knife and train more often :-)) The main thing is not to get so fat that you have to change all your clothes!

I invite everyone to speak in