Jamón ibérico

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"Black leg" Jamón Ibérico .

Jamón ibérico is a cured ham found only in Spain. It is made from the black-coated ibérico pig (also called the cerdo negro or black pig), although according to Spain's Denominación de Origen rules on food products, jamón ibérico may be made from cross-bred pigs as long as they are at least 75% ibérico.

The ibérico pigs live primarily in the south and southwest parts of Spain, including the provinces of Salamanca, Ciudad Real, Cáceres, Badajoz, Seville, Córdoba and Huelva. Immediately post-weaning, the piglets are fattened on barley and corn for several weeks. The pigs are then allowed to roam in pasture and oak groves to feed naturally on grass, herbs, acorns, and roots, until the slaughtering time approaches, at which point their diet is strictly controlled. First-class jamones (bellota) come from pigs fed only acorns during this last period; second-class (recebo) are from pigs fed a combination of acorns and grain; third-class (pienso) are from pigs fed only grain. Bellota jamónes are prized both for their smooth texture and rich savory taste. A feature of good ibérico ham are the regular flecks of intramuscular fat in the slices of ham. Because of the pigs diet of acorns, much of the jamón's fat is comprised of oleic acid, a monounsaturated fatty acid that has been shown to lower LDL cholesterol and raise HDL cholesterol.

Jamón ibérico on display on a market in Barcelona, Spain.

The hams from the slaughtered pigs are salted and left to begin drying for two weeks, after which they are rinsed and left to dry for another four to six weeks. The curing process then takes about nine months, although some producers cure their jamones ibéricos for over two years.