Jamón

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Jamón, in general English parlance, refers to a cured ham from Spain. There are two primary types of jamón: Jamón serrano (meaning ham from the sierra or mountains) and Jamón ibérico (ham from the Black Iberian Pig).

In Spanish jamón simply means ham, thus cooked sliced ham, for example, is called jamón de York. This is exactly the same as with the Italian prosciutto, which in Italy is any ham, in English is only dry-cured uncooked ham.

[edit] Types of Jamon

It has been suggested that Jamón serrano#Other hams be merged into this article or section. (Discuss)

The four major quality categories of dry-cured uncooked ham are as follows, from highest to lowest quality:

• Jamón Iberico de Bellota (also known as Jamón Iberico de Montanera): Free-range, acorn-fed Iberian pigs

• Jamón Iberico de Recebo: Acorn, pasture and compound-fed Iberian pigs

• Jamón Iberico: (was also known as Jamón de Pata Negra, but use of this name was prohibited on April 15, 2006 in order to avoid confusion). Compound-fed Iberian pigs.

• Jamón Serrano: (also known as Jamón Reserva, Jamón Curado and Jamón Extra): “ordinary cured ham” from white pigs, fed with a mixed diet of authorized commercial compound feed. The words Serrano, Curado, Reserva, Extra are just marketing terms and don’t reliably indicate quality, which can differ markedly between different brands and is not easy to recognize. Price may be a good indication. 'Jamon serrano' has TSG status.

Spanish Jamóns are covered by European law with PDO or PGI:

• Jamón Dehesa de Extremadura has PDO status.
• Jamón de Guijuelo has PDO status.
• Jamón de Huelva has PDO status.
• Jamón de Teruel has PDO status.
• Jamón de Trevélez has PGI status.

A final ham-type product to be covered with a geographical indication is:

• Lacón Gallego, which has PGI status.

[edit] External links