351Chapter 20
Dry - Cured Ham
Fidel Toldr á and M. Concepci ó n Aristoy
Introduction
Dry - cured ham constitutes a typical meat
product with high consumption in many
countries, especially in the Mediterranean
area. For centuries, the traditional processing
of hams consisted of rearing pigs at home and
slaughtering them by the beginning of win-
tertime (i.e., the end of November). This
practice was more common in old times, but
today it is restricted to rural areas located
near the mountains where cool, dry winds
blow most of the year. Hams were hand -
salted by rubbing salt on the surface and left
for a couple of weeks in the cold. Hams were
then hung in big rooms at the top of the house
for the drying process (during spring and
summer). The drying was controlled through
manual opening of windows, depending on
the weather conditions. The end of the
process was based on subjective evaluation
of the hams, and manufacturers transmitted
the experience from generation to generation
(Toldr á et al. 1997a ). Today, the processing
technology has changed and substantially
improved, thanks to the scientifi c knowledge
developed in the last 30 years. This mainly
affects the knowledge of the proteolysis and
lipolysis phenomena during the ripening
period, which have a decisive contribution to
fl avor and texture development (Parolari
1996 ; Toldr á 1998, 2004a ; Toldr á and Flores
1998 ; Toldr á et al. 2004 ). The processing
technology for the production of dry - cured
ham is discussed in this chapter.
Types of Dry - Cured Hams
There are many varieties of dry - cured
hams, depending on the genetics, type of
feed, rearing conditions of the pigs, the type
of processing conditions (i.e., additional
smoking), and the region or country of origin.
As a result, many different types of hams are
produced throughout the world. The European
Union (EU) gives different labels to protect
these hams, such as Protected Designation
of Origin (PDO), Protected Geographical
Indication (PGI), or Traditional Speciality
Guaranteed (TSG). Hams are then controlled
by consortiums (i.e., the Parma Consortium
or the Serrano Foundation) that inspect the
compliance with all the specifi c requirements
(Toldr á 2006a, 2007a ). Mediterranean hams
are characterized by a long drying period and
eaten without further smoking or cooking,
while those produced in northern areas are
typically short - ripened and smoked (Toldr á
2004b ).Hams in the Mediterranean Area
The Spanish Iberian hams have four PDO.
These hams are produced in southwestern
areas of Spain, from free - range reared pigs,
through a very long process that may reach
up to 2 years or longer. The genetics comes
from autochthonous Iberian heavy pigs, pure
or crossed with Duroc, that are bred exten-
sively and fattened with acorn and grass
essential for the fi nal characteristic and