Do you know how to choose a good ham

As a good ham lover, your task when buy ham online is knowing how to choose the perfect product. Do you know that you can even tell if it is a good ham at a glance?

At Your Spanish Shop we want to give you more than just good products, so our goal is to also give you valuable content. For this reason, we are going to give you some of the best advice so that you know how to choose a good ham and not fail in the attempt.

Tips for buying a good ham

To know how to choose a ham you must take certain considerations into account. First of all, don't fall into the bargain trap. If you know a little about ham, we understand that the quality of the product is achieved thanks to laborious and artisanal processes that require considerable time and economic effort. For example, only with the white layer ham, a time of 9 to 12 months of curing in the cellar is required.

For its part, the reserve ham needs 12 to 14 months and the gran reserva more than 15 months. And we are talking about the white race.

If we focus on Iberian pigs, the curing time to obtain the ham is even longer, a minimum of 18 months. And this is even exceeded with certain types of Iberian hams, such as cebo de campo, which requires a minimum of 18 months, or acorn-fed ham, which needs a curing time of between 26 and 48 months.

For this reason, you will understand that quality is paid for and that you should not trust too cheap offers that do not really match the quality of the product.

The outside of the ham

As I mentioned at the beginning, sometimes it is enough to see a ham with the naked eye to know if it is good or not. Therefore, the best thing you can do before choosing the ham and buying it is to analyze its exterior, which will tell you many things.

For example, in the case of having a physical product, one of the ways to check if it has gone through an adequate curing process is by touching it. If when you touch it with your finger, it sinks, it means that the ham has not reached the minimum curing time it needs.

If, on the other hand, the ham is too hard, it means that it has been cured. Therefore, what do you have to feel when you touch the piece to know if it is a quality ham? Well, the middle ground, the balance between softness and hardness. In other words, when you touch it, your finger sinks slightly into the ham and you instantly notice that it is hard.

Fat and muscle are another of the factors that indicate the quality of the ham to know how to choose it. A good ham has a good amount of these two elements and this can be seen in the area of ​​the leg or knuckle, which must be well filled, whose shapes must be rounded and without indentations.

And speaking of fat, visually it is easily noticeable when it comes to a quality ham or not. If it presents a yellowish white color, you will want that ham on your palate. If, on the other hand, it shows a brown or orange color, you don't want a rancid oxidized ham, do you? In addition, the bacon must cover the lateral area of ​​the mace and continue towards the tip or hip and be at least one and a half centimeters thick.

Iberian Ham bellota Guijuelo El Rubio 8 y 9 kg.€393.56Iberian Cebo Ham Hnos. Hoyos 8 a 9 kg.€219.78Iberian palette of Bait Guijuelo El Rubio 5,5 - 6.5 kg.€134.99Serrano ham of Winery loncheado Torre de Nuñez 120 gr.€3.99

How to choose a quality ham: Iberian and Serrano

As you already know, when we talk about hams we have to know how to differentiate between the different types of products that Spanish gastronomy offers us. Although broadly speaking we can differentiate the Iberian ham from the Serrano ham, we also have to do it within the Iberian ham itself, since the Iberico de cebo ham is not the same as the acorn-fed ham.

So, let's first see what we have to take into account to choose an Iberian ham and then a Serrano ham.

Choose Iberian ham

In Iberian products the shape of the leg is elongated, narrow and stylized. In fact, the fact that Iberian pigs are known as "pata fina" comes for a reason.

Another point to analyze is its hoof, which usually has a black color and some wear from having grazed freely in the field.

And the labeling, which indicates the percentage of the pig breed that makes up the ham and the type of food that has been given. And there are four labels with their respective colors:

Black label: belongs to the 100% pure Iberian breed. It is the acorn-fed Iberian ham that comes from pigs raised in pastures and fed on natural pastures and acorns.
Red label: acorn-fed ham, 75%-50% Iberian, raised in pastures and crossed with the Duroc breed of pigs.
Green label: this is the Iberian field-fed ham whose crossbred pig breed does not eat acorns, but is fed barley and natural pastures.

White label: Iberico de cebo ham. This breed of pig has not been raised in freedom, but on farms where they are fed cereals and legumes.
The choice within these labels will depend on your taste and the capacity of your pocket, but as long as they meet the basic characteristics of an Iberian ham, you can enjoy a quality product.

Choosing serrano ham

On the other hand, if what you are looking for is a good Serrano ham, to know how to choose it you will have to analyze some differentiating details. For example, this product also has a label that categorizes it as such. This is the label with the denomination "serrano ham" on which its curing time must appear. And remember that this should not be less than 9 months.

In addition, it will have a stamp indicating the week and year in which the product was cured, as if it were your birth certificate.

Like the Iberian, the leg and the muscle must be consistent and have a good amount of fat and must meet the same requirements in terms of both color and thickness.

And in the case of seeing white dots if you have slices, check if they move because if so, it means that it has mites and that you will have to clean the piece in depth.

On the contrary, if these white dots are immovable, it will be an indication that it is a high-quality meat, since they are proteins from the ham that increase and intensify its flavour. But it usually happens especially in Iberian hams with a long curing time, so if you see them in a Serrano ham, pay attention to the data.

Look for the ham in a professional store

And another of the most important factors when choosing a good ham is to go to a professional store that guarantees a catalog of quality products. At Your Spanish Shop, in addition to having a wide range of exquisite Spanish cured meats, we have the best Iberian and Serrano hams on the market.

Also, if you need professional advice to properly choose the product, you can count on the great experience of our palate.

Related recipesHow to make ham croquettes step by stepSkewers of mozzarella and ham