The tradition of the Christmas ham is suggested to have begun amongst the Germanic peoples as a tribute to Freyr, a god in Germanic Paganism associated with boars, harvest, and fertility.
Smithfield ham is a specific form of the country ham, a product which originated in the Town of Smithfield in Isle of Wight County in the Hampton Roads region of Virginia.
The curing process means that the York is somewhat drier and saltier than the Wiltshire ham.
Jinhua ham is an important ingredient in the dish Buddha jumps over the wall.
The final drying stage is completed by the end of July and the ham is ready.
The earliest evidence of ham production in Italy comes from the Republican Roman period (400-300 B.C.E.).
A Christmas Ham or Yule Ham is a traditional dish associated with modern Christmas, Yule, and Scandinavian Jul.
Ham has been a common and popular meat throughout European and Asian civilizations, except where forbidden by religious prohibitions, and was introduced to the North American continent by the first European settlers.
The salt is then washed off and the hams are hung to dry for about six months.
Finally, the hams are hung in a cool, dry place for six to eighteen months, depending on the climate, as well as the size and type of ham being cured.
Ham is the thigh and rump of any animal that is slaughtered for meat, but the term is usually restricted to a cut of pork, the haunch of a pig or boar.
Country ham is often served in restaurants as an entree as a whole slice, often with the femur cross-section left in.
The drying sheds (secaderos) are usually built at higher elevations, which is why the ham is called mountain ham.
Wiltshire Ham is made using an old, traditional method of curing whereby the pork leg is immersed for several days in brine, which produces its moist texture.
Injecting "smoke flavor" is not legal grounds for claiming the ham was "smoked."
Once the ham has completed its curing process it is marked with the traditional Croix Basque or Lauburu topped with the name Bayonne.
Country ham is a variety of cured ham associated with the Southern United States.
Cooked, vacuum-packaged and canned hams can be eaten cold just as they come from their packaging.
So-called "lean" and "extra lean" hams must adhere to maximum levels of fat and cholesterol per 100 grams of product.
Turkey ham, a boneless product made from pressed dark thigh meat of a turkey is a popular low-fat alternative to traditional ham.
York Ham traditionally comes from the Large White pig which is a popular commercial breed in the North East of England.
The fresh hams are trimmed and cleaned, then stacked and covered with salt for about two weeks in order to draw off excess moisture and preserve the meat from spoiling.
Ham is a traditional dish served on Easter in predominantly Christian countries.
Jamуn Ibйrico, which only accounts for about 8 percent of Spain's cured-ham production, is very expensive and not widely available abroad.
Such hams are often purchased sliced and are convenient for use in sandwiches.
San Daniele ham (Prosciutto di San Daniele) is the most similar to Parma ham, especially the low quantity of salt added to the meat, and is the most prized ham.
On the other hand, Christians often eat ham at their religious holidays.
Black Forest ham, or Schwarzwдlder Schinken, is a variety of smoked ham produced in the Black Forest region of Germany.
The smoking process turns the meat a much redder color than other hams.
Modern Italian and European Union legislation grants a protected designation of origin to several raw hams, which specify where and how these types of ham can be produced.
Westphalian ham is created from pigs raised in the Westphalian Forest and fed acorns.
After curing for two weeks, the salt is removed and the ham cures for another two weeks.
The majority of Serrano hams are made from Black Iberian Pigs, but are not to be confused with the much more expensive Jamуn Ibйrico.
Today, ham continues to be a favored food, with many regional varieties now available worldwide.
Ham is a compact source of animal protein and an excellent source of calcium, iron, niacin, phosphorus, riboflavin, and thiamine.
The outside of the ham may have small amounts of mold but this is considered normal and thought to contribute to the flavor of the ham.
A culinary specialty of the area, a salt-cured cut of pork later that became known as Smithfield Ham, was introduced to the rest of the world in the late 1700s.
Using only the finest farm raised pork, Jambon de Paris is a superior quality ham made according to the traditional French charcuterie recipe for cooked ham.
Hams can only be labeled "honey-cured" if honey was at least 50 percent of the sweetener used and has a discernible effect on flavor.
Black Forest ham is seasoned, dry cured, and then smoked over sawdust and fir brush, a process that can take up to three months.
Traditional wet curing requires immersing the ham in a brine for an extended period, often followed by light smoking.
Country ham is also sold in ready-to-cook pre-soaked, pre-sliced packages, usually vacuum-packed plastic sheets.
Most regions have their own type of ham, each with a slightly different taste due to the varying preparation methods.
The hams were then rubbed in salt produced in the salt pans of the Adour estuary or from those near Bearn.
Modern techniques using individual drying chambers with temperature and humidity controls simply reproduce the seasonal temperatures and the changing humidity conditions produced each year by the foehn (southerly wind) and the Atlantic Ocean.
The division between wet and dry cure is not always hard-and-fast as some ham curing methods begin wet but are followed by dry aging.
The United States has country ham, which might or might not be smoked.
Specifically, ham is not permitted for consumption by the Jain, Jewish, Muslim, Seventh-day Adventist, and Rastafarian faiths.
Some types of country ham (such as the "salt-and-pepper ham" of North Carolina) are not smoked.
The ham gets its distinctive rich salty flavor and dry texture from the way that it is salt-cured and matured over a period of at least ten weeks.
Ham is produced around the world, with regional variations on the method.
Finally, a harpsichord with the strings set at an angle to the keyboard (usually of about 30 degrees) is called a spinet.
Germany's Westphalian ham is usually smoked over juniper, in Belgium there is the dry-cured, smoked Ardennes ham.
Jinhua ham is a type of dry-cured ham named after the city of Jinhua, where it is produced, in Zhejiang province of China.
Raw ham is salted and seasoned with garlic, coriander, pepper, juniper berries and other spices.
Modern Italian and European Union legislation grants a protected designation of origin to several raw hams, which specify where and how these types of ham can be produced.
A 'smoked' ham must have been smoked by hanging over burning wood chips in a smokehouse, and a "hickory-smoked" ham must have been smoked over hickory.
On the other hand, Christians often eat ham at their religious holidays.
A spiral-slicing process has become popular for boneless hams sold by delicatessens.
Today, Parma ham, the so called Prosciutto di Parma, has almost 200 producers concentrated in the eastern part of the Province of Parma.
Next, the ham is cold smoked at a temperature of 25° C (77° F) for several weeks, during which time the ham acquires its deep red color.
Whole country hams must be scrubbed and soaked for many hours prior to consumption in order to remove the salt cure and mold, otherwise they will be much too salty to eat.
Country hams are salt- and nitrate-cured for about a month and may be hardwood (usually hickory and red oak) smoked, then aged for several months to a year.
Each drying storage chamber has temperature and humidity controls set to match seasonal variations.
Jamуn serrano (literally mountain ham) is generally served raw in thin slices, similar to the Italian prosciutto.
A ham that is at least 17.0 percent protein and up to 10 percent added solution can be called "ham—water added."