The spanish Iberian Pata Negra Ham » spanish ham

Spanish ham and wine: The Wine Colours

Angelo — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 21:22:29 +0000

True lovers of fine Iberian ham would accompany this flagship symbol of Spanish gastronomy with an excellent glass of wine. These two products just go hand in hand: we can’t think of a tapa of ham without a glass of Rioja or Ribera del Duero.

For this reason, today I want to introduce to you a Spanish company which specializes in wine tourism. For those who do not know what wine tourism is, we can say that it refers to tourism whose purpose is promoting local wine products.

The main aim of Wine Colours is organizing wine-based trips. This may include short trips to visit grape harvests in Rioja or wineries with the possibility of staying in a country inn. Another option would be enrolling in a cooking course, which would let you taste the finest Iberian ham along with excellent wine.

Do not even think that it is necessary to travel in a large group to organize your trip! You can enjoy your special weekend with your partner, too.

The Wine Colours reinvents the concept of travelling and, with its special offers, you will surely be spoilt for choice.

The Wine Colours also organizes events for your company, in which wine will be served with other gourmet products.

If you want to discover the secrets of Spanish ham and how to combine wine and Iberian ham, do not miss our tastings during January and February. There, a professional master slicer will teach you how to slice a ham, will show you the different types of Iberian hams and how to recognize them.

Join the Facebook group of this company and you will always be updated on the latest news. The name of the Facebook group is “The Wine Colours”.

Different types of ham.

Angelo — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 19:25:23 +0000

This article will provide a list of different types of Spanish hams along with a brief description.

First of all, there is the ordinary Serrano ham (dry cured ham), which is the hind leg of the white pig bred in freedom. It may have two different Denominaciones de Origen: Teruel, Trévelez or neither of them.
Normally it is cured for no more than a year. They are low-quality hams.

Then, there is the Iberian Ham, obtained by Iberian pigs in Huelva (Jabugo) , Cordova (Valle de los Pedroches), Extremadura or Salamanca (Guijuelo). Among Iberian hams, we can distinguish:
Bellota ham;
Recebo ham;
Cebo ham.
The difference depends on pigs’ diet.
Bellota (acorn): at the beginning, the animal’s weight will be among 80 and 105 kilos. Pigs are fed on acorns and grass (60% of the overall diet). You can buy a Bellota ham in our store.
Recebo (mix-fed Iberian ham): animals are fed on acorns and grass (30% of the overall diet). Pigs will also eat natural fodder.
Cebo: The animal is exclusively fed on natural fodder.

Translated by:

Angelo Nestore (dioniso@hotmail.es)

Terminology about Spanish Pata Negra ham

Angelo — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 14:35:20 +0000

Añada

The overall number of Iberian pigs sacrificed during the same transhumance. Each and every añada has its own features.

Bodega (cellar)

A bodega is a room or enclosed space with constant level of humidity and temperature where hams are cured and then stored.

Cala (piercing stage)

Experts pierce hams with a needle (called cala) made of cow or horse shinbone to test the aroma. When the needle is pulled out, it is whiffed in order to rank the ham.
In this stage, it is possible to unveil the unique flavour and aroma of Iberian ham.

Montanera

In this stage, it is possible to take advantage of natural resources. For these reasons, Iberian pigs eat acorns, herbs and roots.
As a general rule, this stage begins in October, as this is the period in which acorns start falling, and it lasts until February or March. A shepherd controls the herd of pigs during this phase.
In order to exploit the greatest potential offered by acorns, it is recommended to begin feeding animals in areas difficult to reach as they are more agile.
It is the high level of fat provided by acorns that grants quality and prestige to Iberian ham.

Cerdo ibérico (Iberian pig)

Iberian pigs are indigenous to the south-west and east area of the Iberian Peninsula. The Iberian breed is currently one of the few examples of a domesticated breed, as it has adapted to a pastoral setting. Iberian pigs are worldwide known thanks to their great capacity to accumulate fat under its skin and between the muscular fibres. The extremities of this animal are normally thin and long.

Translated by:

Angelo Nestore (dioniso@hotmail.es)

The Iberian ham represents food of high nutritive value

admin — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 10:30:49 +0000

The nutritive value of food depends on the presence of macronutrients (carbohydrates, proteins and fats) and micronutrients (vitamins and minerals). From this point of view, Iberian pigs represent the right option.

The energetic value (per 100 gram) is 374 Kcal (1565,86 Kj). The fat parts of the Iberian pigs are clearly visible, therefore it is extremely easily to separate them and to reduce calorie intake.

The quality of the product is strictly linked to the overall quantity of essential amino acids. This means that pigs and fish have a high biological value. As far as quality is concerned, it is vital to pay attention to another aspect, the “protein combination”, which can be obtained by the combination of different proteins and essential amino acids from different foods in one single meal. The result is the creation of a complete protein source. This will happen if we select, for example, Iberian Ham and bread.

On the one hand, fat consumption is more and more increasing due to socio-economic changes. On the other hand, diseases of affluence such as obesity, cardiovascular diseases and diabetes are affecting a huge number of people all over the world.

If we consider Iberian pig, the quality of its fat has particular features because it is mostly composed of unsaturated fats, which are healthier than the saturated ones. This is directly linked to animals’ feeding habits. Research has shown that the incorporation of acorns in pigs’ diet ensures a better quality of fat.

Translated by:

Angelo Nestore (dioniso@hotmail.es)

Tips to buy a Spanish iberian ham on internet

admin — Sat, 20 Jun 2009 22:05:40 +0000

Is isn’t new that you can already purchase a Spanish iberian ham over Internet, but what do we must look to make a satisfactory purchase?

Firstly we must see if the shop where we will purchase the ham is reliable. There are many shops on the Internet that are now dedicated to sell Iberian ham, but do you that all are reliable?

My council is that you buy in shops that already have a certain age and are known.

This does’nt means that you don’t have to buy in a new shop, but an older shop always gives more tranquility.

It is important that the shop has it’s contact information easily to vew. At least it’s telephone number, because the fastest way to contact a company is by telephone.

I would never buy in a shop that doesn’t shows a telephone number in it’s web.A phone number always give us some tranquility if we have to do any consultation about the purchase.

After, you have to see the product. To buy a good Iberian ham without testing it first is not easy when you buy a ham in a conventional shop, we never test the ham we are going to buy, but one similar. In the choice of the iberian ham it’s important to know some details about it, to know what we are going to buy.

If you are looking for the highest quality, we must always choose bellota products. This already gives us a certain guarantee about the product but it is not enough because in the acorn products there can have many differences.
It’s ideally to buy known brands. But this doesn’t means that all the hams will be good (but they have a guarantee). The best-known hams are Covap, Sanchez Romero 5J or Joselito among others.

There are different AOC , (Extremadura, Huelva, Guijuelo and the Pedroches) and we will choose the one we prefer. If we opted for a ham with AOC, we will pay more but we will have an added guarantee of the AOC.

A personal advice is that if you want to buy a good Bellota ham, don’t buy one with a very low price because a good ham will always have a high price (280€-500€).

The guarantee that the shop will give us, is very important because if you receive a product in bad state, it depends of the guaranty that you can receive a new one.

Finally we must look at the forms of payment.
You can pay in most of the online shop with credit card or bank transfer.
But there also other ways to pay, like Paypal.
This one is the most secure way to pay becausel we don’t have to give our personal and credit card information and it has also an insurance up to 500 € covering any problem with the purchase.

Different parts of a Spanish iberian ham

admin — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 03:21:41 +0000

To taste an Iberian ham is all a ritual process, where we must know some concepts and information to fully enjoy this gourmet product.

In this post you will see the different parts of a spanish iberian ham:

Maza : is the name that receives the part of the ham where you will find more meat. We usually start to cut the ham by the maza. It’s where there is more infiltration of fat in meat.

Contramaza : The opposite part of the maza is more closely and cured than maza and more consistently. It has less fat than maza. After having cut the Maza, we continue cutting the contramaza.

Babilla : is located below the maza and is delimited by the femur bones and coxal. It is the least juicy zone. If the ham will not consumed in a long time, we recommend starting by the badilla, so the taste and flavour of the ham won’t be lost.

Punta: It’s the opposite of the ham leg . It is tasty and has much fat.

Jarrete & Caña : parts of the ham, located before the ham hoof. There, the meat is hard and fibrous,it’s usually used to extract ham tacos.

The spanish ham

admin — Wed, 14 Jan 2009 23:19:36 +0000

In this article we’ll try to explain the different kinds of Spanish hams that it exists and it’s description.

- You can find the dry or serrano ham, the most typical, from white pigs.
It can be from Trévelez, Teruel or another place. It’s normally dried for no more than a year.

- The Iberian ham, which comes from the Iberian pig breed.
It can come from Huelva (the most known is from Jabugo), Córdoba (Valle de los Pedroches), Extremadura and Salamanca (Guijuelo).

In the Iberian ham you can also find three qualities, Iberian ham cebo, recebo and bellota.

The cebo Iberian ham is a ham that comes from pigs that were fed with grain and grass.

After, you will find the recebo Iberian ham, a ham from pigs that where fed with grains, grasses, and acorns during the time of “Montanera”, (time from October to the end of February).

And finally, you will find bellota ham, the best. It comes from Iberian pigs that where fed only with grass and acorns in the mountains during the “Montanera”. This ham needs more drying months because more acorns (Bellotas) ate the pig and more time it needs to dry.
You can find Bellota hams in our shop

Receive your iberian ham hand cut

admin — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 16:38:48 +0000

Get your ham hand cut by a professional .
At Spanishtaste, you can buy a real Spanish pata negra ham and receive it already hand cut by a professional cutter.
You receive your ham cut into thin slices and vacuum bags 150gr-200gr.
This is the easiest way to enjoy one of the best hams in the world without complications.
To receive it already cut, you simply have to choose “receive the ham hand cut” when buying your ham. This service has a cost of 40 € but you can keep your ham for a long time without problem.

To appreciate his quality and flavor, you simply have to pass the packet under hot water for 10 seconds before opening. So ham will take the heat and get his real flavor.
You can also receive your ham boneless and prepared to pieces of one kilo selecting “receive your Iberian ham boneless.”

Michael, a professional ham cutter

admin — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 16:56:07 +0000

Here I let you a video of Michael, a professional ham cutter we work with.
I’m sure you will have never seen a person to clean and cut a ham at the speed of Michael.

Buy Spanish Pata Negra ham, Bellota quality from Jabugo “jamon iberico”

spanishtaste — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 17:16:39 +0000

Spanishtaste is an online shop where you buy spanish Pata Negra ham with quality bellota directly from spain.
We have iberian hams from Huelva (Jabugo), Extremadura and Córdoba.
We only sell Bellota quality, only the best.
You can buy your ham in a full piece, boneless or hand cut by a professional.
Visit our shop of Iberian Pata Negra ham and buy your ham easily and with the warranty of spanishtaste.
You can also read and post your questions about the pata negra ham in our blog. Here we will try to help spanish ham lovers, to know more about it.