Which one should we choose between acorn-fed Iberico Ham and acorn-fed Iberico  shoulder?

When we have to choose between ham or pork shoulder we may not know exactly which differences between both products exist.

There are many opinions about this matter, that ham is tastier than pork shoulder due to the flavours contrast and many others defend the Iberico pork shoulder is more flavourful. We are naming the differences between both types of Iberico pork products and regarding flavour it will depend on the person who is tasting it.

Ham is made from the hind legs of the pork and the pork shoulder corresponds to the front legs of the swine.

Ham is bigger and its weigh is between 7.5 y 8 Kg (16.53 to 17.63 pounds) while the pork shoulder weighs normally less, around 5 Kg. (11 pounds)

Ham possesses a longer and thinner bone measuring around 70-90 cm and pork shoulder is smaller over 60-70 cm. It also happens with width, Ham is wider than pork shoulder, moreover ham structure is more and circular, pork shoulder is flatter and cover more shoulder surface of the hip. In fact we find much many holes in the pork shoulder, so it is much harder to cut the meat with a knife than in a piece of ham

That means although the product is the same, ham offers more meat quantity per kilogram than pork shoulder.

Curing time for ham is longer than pork shoulder lasting from 15 to 36 months, ham is more expensive than pork shoulder because there is more meat in ham and it is easier to cut bigger slices.

Bone represents 40 % of the total weight for pork shoulder, while ham is only 30% bone, this is another reason that explains why ham is more expensive than pork shoulder.

Another difference is Iberico Ham has less fat than pork shoulder and because of this many people tend to claim pork shoulder is more flavourful. But as we have said it depends on who tastes it.

What is really important regarding ham tasting is to choose the best quality Iberico hams and if it is acorn Iberico ham, much better.

We can choose ham or pork shoulder, but the most important thing is we have to make sure we are purchasing a good quality piece, this is of outmost importance to taste and enjoy a good acorn-fed Iberico ham.

Why do hams traditionally hang in Spanish bars?

When we enter into a typical Spanish bar, food store or restaurant, tourists are very surprised to see many hams hanging from the ceiling.

The main reason hams hang is practical, hanging hams are cured better as humidity reduces and the fat excess drops very slowly. That´s why we see a plastic article at the bottom of each ham called sombrerito or chorrera (little hat) in Spanish that collects the fat dripping. But the question of why the hams hang at everybody’s sight at the bars still rings in our head.

The reason has nothing to do with advertising or marketing, which could be as it is a perfect product display, there are some theories about the reason and we have to dig in its historical sense.

We have to go back to the Middle Age between X and XIV centuries in Spain. During this time Christians and Jews coexist in the Iberian Peninsula.

There were more and more conflicts between Jews and Christians, the Inquisition prosecuted mainly the Jews. As Jews were forbidden to eat pigs’ meat by their religion, Christians began to hang cured pork meat products in visible places to clearly distinguish themselves from Jews and avoid being considered Jews. 

In taverns and bars especially in the city of Seville, hams were hung in very evident places so patrons could notice in these places pork was consumed and Jews were not welcome.

This habit finally became a tradition that has been followed until our days and has become the best way to cure and preserve a ham.

Therefore choose a dark dry place to cure a  good Iberico Acorn Ham like Jamonify, this way humidity and fat excess will disappear as it dries up, getting the best preserved ham, ready to be eaten the moment you wish 

The most known food of Spanish gastronomy and a star of the Mediterranean diet the ham consumption during pregnancy and other raw or not entirely cooked meats can be allowed only o women who are immune to toxoplasmosis.

The prohibition of eating ham it is one of the worst things that pregnant women go through. If the woman has not suffered from toxoplasmosis it is recommended she avoids eating raw or not fully cooked meat in order to avoid contagion of the disease during pregnancy, new studies show that the risk eating ham is less than in other meats.

It is confirmed that the more time the ham is cured the less the risk of contracting the disease. The bigger the curing time, the salt content and other factors makes unfeasible the surviving of toxoplasmosis parasite as experts have confirmed.

The physicians believe with certain logic that a woman who has not contracted toxoplasmosis before her pregnancy it is almost impossible she contracts it during her pregnancy is she keeps following the same diet as she did before. All the packed products we normally buy at a supermarket produced by well-known brands have passed rigorous sanitary test and they should be free of this disease.

If it was previously frozen, you can eat it.

One of the best recommendations is to freeze your ham and eat after it has been frozen for a period of time, The reason for freezing the ham is that toxoplasmosis parasite dies if the food is frozen under 20 ºC for 2 days or after 10ºC for 3 days or more and before eating the ham the consumer should let it defrost very slowly.

Aging time and acorn Iberico ham. 

Aging or curing time is a weapon against the parasite toxoplasma Gondi as the more curing time the less raw the meat is and it is an extra layer of protection.

In 2011 the  magazine «Journal of Food Protection»  published a pioneering study on this field made nutrition and bromatology experts of Zaragoza University about the correlation between ham curing and the survival chances of the  toxoplasma gondii  parasite in this product. The study was carried on naturally infected pigs with toxoplasmosis. The hams were analysed twice, after 7months of curing and after 14 months which was the average aging time before selling the hams. There were no parasites found able to infect a human being. Conclusions showed that curing time made the parasite incapable to transmit the disease, so ham consumption carried a minimum risk to contract toxoplasmosis.

Other interesting results are offered by the Centro Tecnológico Andaluz del Sector Cárnico (Meat Technical Centre of Andalucía) with the support of the Innovation Office of Andalucía government that could end the prohibition to eat ham for pregnant women.

This study has showed on its first conclusions that: “acorn Iberico ham consumption is positive for pregnant women”, due to the fact its curing process eradicates all toxoplasmosis risks.

This office has signed an agreement with Spanish Obstetrics and Gynaecology association regarding the results obtained in the study of toxoplasmosis and the ham consumption by pregnant women to develop a protocol, this way explains Juan Carlos Racero managing director of Telca “all Spanish physicians will have a modern and scientific protocol to inform pregnant women about ham eating during pregnancy.”

All studies made regarding the presence of toxoplasmosis in cured hams share the common ground that  there is a lower percentage of infected cases and the parasite is ineffective to transmit the disease. In this context cured ham is a particularly bad environment for the parasite as curing process is really complex. All ham pieces will be covered entirely in salt for one or many days, a draining process at 0 ºC for 24 or 48 hours, a drying process that lasts some days at  3-5 ºC  and finally the curing process taking many months at 10 ºC y 20 ºC .

The average salt concentration within a ham piece is 5-8%, bigger concentrations around 8-9 % or even superior can be found though. This is very relevant as a recent study proves that the toxoplasma parasite loses its infective capacity with more than 2% salt concentration. This effect is bigger when nitrites are used for preservation. In ham   nitrites are very important as they preserve the ham and help to contain microorganisms and give the ham the red colour and aroma.

Curing time plays a very important role to reduce the infection risk. The more curing time means less risk for the consumer.  Even so we cannot affirm categorically that there is no chance of infection but the risk is negligible. Another Spanish study tested 50 different ham samples bought in different stores and they did not find the presence of toxoplasmosis in any serrano ham sample.

One of the main problems the experts see is the lack of information, if a pregnant woman enters into a Store to buy ham and curing time is not stated in labelling it may be a risk. Curing time should be stated in the ham labelling not only for pregnant women but as useful information for any consumer.

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So as thumb rule buy the ham in a trusted store and from a well-known brand which has been correctly cured with salt at the most adequate temperatures and has been aged  for a long time, this way the ham will be totally free of the disease as the parasite becomes ineffective to transmit it and normally is completely death.

The more months used for aging (normally periods longer than 24 months), it has been proved as much safer. So if a pregnant woman cannot resist to eating a good ham, go ahead! Just take the precaution the curing time of the ham should have been at least 24 months. Much better if she chooses acorn Iberico ham a world known delicacy.

Now scientific studies have developed Medical protocols that allow pregnant women to eat ham during pregnancy. We at Jamonify have released new exclusive ham products for pregnant women. So they can savour ham after 9 months and not an average ham but authentic acorn Iberico ham and an original and funny gift for your baby so he/she can enjoy as much you will enjoy your acorn Iberico ham.

That was the best gift one of our associates of the Jamonify team had and she is the source of this brilliant idea.

In 2010 her gynaecologist forbad her to eat ham during her pregnancy, after giving birth she ask her family and friends to forget about flowers and chocolates and she asked (and required) them to give her... Guess what?   The best ham which is acorn Iberico ham. 

6 Reasons why JAMONIFY is different from any other Gift and any other iberic ham.

Jamonify is a different concept concerning ham, linking the Iberian Ham (hand sliced) of the highest quality, with the most exclusive handcrafted design to create a unique gift.

Reason 1. Breeding in liberty.

Jamonify is made from Iberian pigs that roam freely in the Dehesa, Mediterranean Forest in South-West Spain: 3 pigs every 2 hectares. Their feed is 100% natural: grass, aromatic herbs and acorns.

Reason 2. It is good for your heart.

During "montanera" pigs eat acorns, so the ham is a heart-healthy food with a juicy meat unique in taste and very low in saturated fat.

Reason 3. It is naturally cured.

The ham is completely hand-cured: covered with salt and passed on to natural drying to melt its fine fat in the muscle tissue.

Reason 4. Hand-carved.

Carving by hand preserves the oil layer that protects the jamón ibérico de bellota, preventing aromatic losses to appreciate its 4 flavors.

Reason 5. Luxury packaging.

Jamon ibérico de bellota is vacuum packaged in individual envelopes and presented in luxurious handmade boxes with a refined design.

Reason 6. European delivery in 48 hours.

Orders are prepared within 24 h, are sent by express courier within 24 h, and are delivered in any city in Europe 48 h later.

The Spanish newspaper El País published a really interesting article on its Gastronomy section called: “There is a fifth flavour and it is called umami.” If you think they only exist the 4 traditional flavours, sweet, salty, sour and acid, you should know there is a fifth flavour. It is called umami and it is beginning to be known beyond the kitchens of the most avant-garde restaurants.”- summarized the article. On it they named a few English delicatessen food stores and Spanish restaurants which were promoting actively the flavour and stressed it on some foods.

What is umami? And where does it come from?

“Umami” means in Japanese “delicious or very savoury”. The roots of the word can be found on the word “Mi” which means flavour and 'Umai' whose meaning is delicious or very savoury flavour and it is considered as the fifth flavour.

In 1908 a Japanese scientist called Kikunae Ikeda discovered the monosodium glutamate, an amino acid within proteins that produced a different flavour reaction in the tongue; this is the reason to call it the fifth flavour. What happened was glutamate increases salivation. This produces the food ingredients to be perceived with more intensity. May be this saliva increase acts as a defence barrier of the digestive system against the acids (glutamic acid) as saliva is alkaline and helps to lower the acidity of animal proteins which are harmful for our health. As he could not categorize it within the known classic flavours, he named it umami.

How you can distinguish it?

Andoni Luis Aduriz, who is the chef of Mugartiz restaurant and possesses two Michelin stars, explains what umami is: "Imagine colours were nameless and someone asks you describe yellow. Let´s say umami is tasty but not salty it fills up the whole mouth and palate, it lasts very long time keeping the taste. ".

Umami taste resembles de physiological sensation when we are eating something we like very much and that can contribute to make us think and feel what we are eating is delicious.

Umami flavour can be described as a meaty flavour that leaves an awesome very lasting taste all over the tongue and makes us salivate more than usual when eating.

Parmesan cheese , raw meat, asparagus, tomato, anchovies and Spanish Serrano ham or even better the best “jamón español” the Spanish Ibérico Ham and many others  remind these taste.

Everybody when cooking is looking for the umami taste even unconsciously, despite the cook ignores the existence of the umami taste. El País newspaper explains it this way: “It is like a a housewife ending a stew realizes something is missing and throws in more tomato paste [which possesses high concentrations of glutamate] because she knows the recipe is better and improves the taste this way.”

In western world the term umami is not very known and that can lead to severe health risks as monosodium glutamate can be synthetized in the laboratories as a food additive and added to any type of food it leads the to eat larger portions than required ending in overweight.. When monosodium glutamate is naturally found on food there is no risk of overeating. Umami flavour means the food is high in proteins.

In last paragraphs we talked about Spanish Ibérico Ham (jamón español) as one of the products rich in umami taste which means full of proteins.

So now we realize Spanish Ibérico Accorn Ham (jamón español) is an umami product, but we actually knew it at least we felt in our palate. Let´s analyse how Spanish Ibérico Acorn Ham (jamón español) fulfils all requirements to be considered pure umami food:

First of all Ibérico Ham and Spanish Ibérico Accorn Ham (jamón español) are pure protein foods (this is the first characteristic of umami flavour and Spanish Ibérico Accorn Ham is naturally full of monosodium glutamate).

We have to agree Spanish Ibérico Accorn Ham is really tasty, it fills up the whole palate with a delicious feeling leaving an aftertaste of Ibérico Ham (a unique taste everyone remembers once they have sampled it) and asks for more Spanish Ibérico Acorn Ham slices ¿Umami taste? But, of course!

Just thinking  of eating a slice of Spanish Ibérico Acorn Ham our mouth begin ‘watering’  - that means a natural increase of salivation which help us to taste the flavour of the food and helps digestion. In any cases it is not known of any indigestion or illness caused by Ibérico. Should we assert seeing all this that Spanish Ibérico Accorn Ham is between many other wonderful things pure umami taste?

So we can conclude, Spanish Ibérico Accorn Ham = umami taste or umami taste = Spanish Ibérico Acorn Ham.

Jamonify, prides itself to be the first gourmet Iberico ham brand to offer its labels in Braille.

At Jamonify, “The World’s Most Exclusive Ham” (“El Jamón Más Exclusivo del Mundo”), we have always been keen on developing our brand, paying special attention to visual impaired people. We know our Iberico ham makes any mouth to water just seeing it, so we thought we should able vision impaired people to use their hands to “feel” our ham.

Any of us should be aware of the existence of a great number of visually impaired people, who need special labeling among other needs.

Spanish Braille Comission Certificate

These last months, we have been working with the Spanish Braille Comission, which belongs to ONCE (National Organization of Spanish blind people), to guarantee the perfect labeling of our brand in Braille. As always ONCE  has been very supportive and their advice very useful for our Braille labeling.

The result has been a complete success:

• We are  the first Iberico ham brand in the world  that is awarded with  Spanish Braille Commission Certificate
•  Jamonify is the first Iberico ham brand in the Word that offers in its catalogue Braille labeled products.

Our greatest satisfaction is that visually impaired people can “see” Iberico ham through their eyes, that is their hands.

Exclusive, delicious, top quality and now in Braille too

From now on you Jamonify, will be the perfect gourmet gift for vision impaired people, as they will be able to distinguish the most exclusive brand behind the best quality acorn iberico ham.

Jamonify is the perfect gift: delicious, highest quality Iberico ham and labelled in Braille.

Accessibility

Often the main barrier are our lack of awareness about the needs of blind people.Therefore when we designed our brand and labels, we were thinking our values and qualities should be transmitted through all our senses including the tact, helping everybody, regardless of their accessibility level, to enjoy 100% all the good things Life offers and between them the exquisite acorn Iberico ham.

We would like to express our warmest thanks for all their help to ONCE (National Organization of Spanish blind people).