Often, Spanish products are very traditional and have a lot of national features. Moreover, some of them can safely be called real culinary masterpieces, which have no analogues in the whole world. A striking example is jamon. What is it and how is it usually taken to eat? This should be written in more detail.
It should be noted that in Italy almost any ham is called jamon. So it is accepted there. But not every meat product of this variety has the right to claim the title of national treasure. The hamon meat under the specific name Pata negra is unique in its kind. Translated literally, you get a “black leg”. The fact is that such jamon is made from pig meat of a special breed. Iberian pigs are very different in appearance from their less valuable counterparts. In addition, they are grown in truly royal conditions. That is why the jamon of the Iberico variety rightfully occupies a leading position. Everything else is just an attempt to at least get a little closer to such a high art of meat.
So, “Iberico” is a jamon. What it is? Why are not only Spaniards honoring this variety of jamon, but also gourmets around the world? Moreover, this delicacy in the homeland is appreciated even in the
royal family. It is believed that not a single morning of Juan Carlos begins without a plate of fresh fragrant sliced Iberico. In addition, the cost of such a product is significantly different from the second no less popular variety called Serrano. It should be noted that the quality of this hamon is also very high. After all, the Spaniards carefully monitor all stages of the production of meat products. Therefore, you simply can not get low-quality traditional jamon. What is it - a grade of "Serrano"? In fact, it is this kind of meat that the inhabitants of the
Iberian Peninsula send for export. In our stores it is almost impossible to stumble upon the Iberico jamon. The Spaniards are firmly convinced that there are very few true connoisseurs of this product. Therefore, they will not go much into the nuances of taste. Thus, the Iberico jamon remains within the homeland, delighting the Spaniards on holidays with its unique taste and aroma.
Pigs that are raised with such tenderness, care and even honors are fed a special balanced feed. Therefore, slicing the Iberico jamon differs from Serrano, primarily due to the taste characteristics of the source material - meat. However, only a connoisseur of this culture can appreciate such subtleties.
So, we learned about jamon, what it is and how varieties differ from each other. But how is it cooked? In this case, this is not about banal ham, but about salted and carefully dried meat. Sun-dried jamon is a fairly solid and tough product. Moreover, the meat is stored exclusively in whole form on the bone (pork leg). Cut it into portioned pieces is very problematic. Therefore, the Spaniards even came up with a special device that allows you to cut a pig’s leg. Jamon is carefully freed from the upper layer of fat, and then meticulously cut into thin slices, each of which looks more like a flower petal. This is the only way this product is eaten.