{"id":910,"date":"2019-06-18T13:49:58","date_gmt":"2019-06-18T13:49:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.gastronomicspain.com\/blog\/?p=910"},"modified":"2021-09-20T12:15:35","modified_gmt":"2021-09-20T10:15:35","slug":"buying-iberian-ham","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.gastronomicspain.com\/blog\/en\/buying-iberian-ham\/","title":{"rendered":"Three Factors to Consider before Buying Iberian Ham"},"content":{"rendered":"

Spain<\/span><\/span><\/strong> is famous all around the world for its delicious and healthy range of food items. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span>There is a wide variety of them- right from a smorgasboard of tapas, churros, with hot chocolates, to gin and tonics. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span>But one item that foodies love about this country is <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span>Iberian Ham<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a> . <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span>It comprises an exquisite aroma, cherishing its beautiful marbling and letting it gently melt on the tongue. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span>Iberian Ham<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/strong> is an integral part of Spanish cuisine and adds so much flavor to any simple dish. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span>It’s often combined with fried eggs and potatoes, with some fresh artichokes or porra soup. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span>But the best way to enjoy the unique taste of ham is to simply eat it without anything. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span>Just pair it with a good wine.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span>If you are looking to buy Iberian Ham for the next meal, then there are multiple factors that have to be considered. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span>Read on here to know about them:<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\"iberian<\/a>
iberian ham<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Color<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Made from pure or crossbred Iberian pigs, Jamon Iberico is available in four varieties – determined by diet, breed and how they are raised. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span>If you spot white tag on the Iberian Ham, then that indicates it is <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span>Jamon Iberico de cebo<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a> , which is commercially raised on an open farm and fed a diet of cereals. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span>The green Iberian Ham indicates that it is commercially raised on an open farm and fed a diet of cereals. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span>A white tag indicates Iberian bacon, which are commercially raised on an open farm and fed a diet of cereals. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span>Green color specifies ham Ib\u00e9ricocebo field, in which the swine are also fed a diet of cereals, but are free range.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span>In case you spot a red tag, then that means you’re purchasing acorn-fed ham from free-range, non-purebred pigs that have been fed with only acorns during their final months. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span>The highest grade, though,<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

When purchasing Iberico ham, try to find wafer-thin slices with a bright red hue and transparent fat. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span>Meats with white dots are also considered one of the best because they are formed by crystallization of tyrosine.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong>IBERIAN BREED<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

The best Iberian ham is sourced from Iberian pork which is a black pig, having a mix between wild boar and the pigs that were brought by Phoenicians to the Peninsula thousands of years ago. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span>You can find 100% Iberian hams as well as 75% or 50%, depending on the fact that the pigs were crossed with other pigs like the Duroc. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span>The diet on the other side can be divided into three groups – Bellota (100% acorn fed), Field bait (some acorns, resources of the pasture, grain, and feed), and Cebo (only commercial feed). <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span>Among the three, acorn is of the highest quality, since pigs roam in pastures and oak groves to feed themselves on acorns, aromatic plants, grasses, and herbs.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong>LABEL<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

In order to help the customers choose the right quality of Ham, an official labeling system was introduced in 2014. Black ham is said to be 100% Iberian and acorn fed. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span>Similarly, the red one is 50% Iberian, acorn fed. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span>Green and white hams also contain at least 50% Iberian. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span>The elaboration of the ham itself is simple – that is needed, it is necessary to maintain an optimum temperature and humidity throughout the process. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span>The curing of the ham then takes at least 14 months and up to 36 months.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Well, these were a few tips for choosing the best quality of Iberian ham. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span>Besides its taste, ham is good for health. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span>It’s rich in protein, calcium and phosphorous, as well as Vitamin B1, B2 and iron. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span>Above all, the acorn-fed pigs have a higher proportion of monounsaturated fatty acids and iron.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

In case you are looking to get some of the best qualities of Iberian ham, then look no forward than <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span>Gastronomic Spain<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a>. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span>We offer organically soured, and fresh Iberian hams, that too at affordable prices. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span>Just place your order, and get it delivered right to your doorsteps.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Spain is famous all around the world for its delicious and healthy range of food items. There is a wide variety of them- right from a smorgasboard of tapas, churros, with hot chocolates, to gin and tonics. But one item that foodies love about this country is Iberian Ham . It comprises an exquisite aroma, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":954,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1259,1257],"tags":[86,79,64],"class_list":["post-910","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-iberico-ham","category-spanish-ham","tag-iberian-ham","tag-spanish-food","tag-spanish-food-online"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gastronomicspain.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/910","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gastronomicspain.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gastronomicspain.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gastronomicspain.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gastronomicspain.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=910"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.gastronomicspain.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/910\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5800,"href":"https:\/\/www.gastronomicspain.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/910\/revisions\/5800"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gastronomicspain.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/954"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.gastronomicspain.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=910"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gastronomicspain.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=910"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.gastronomicspain.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=910"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}