One of the many associations with the beautiful country of Spain is the local delicacy jamon. This is perhaps the most favorite meat dish not only of the indigenous people, but also of many tourists who come from different countries.
About the history of occurrence, varieties, main differences, cutting methods and how the knife for jamon is called, - later in the article.
Types of jamon
Jamon - the legendary Spanish delicacy of national scale, is a dry-cured pork ham.
There are two main types of jamon:
- Serrano (Spanish for mountain).
- Iberico (from Spanish - "black leg").
Iberico jamon is considered more expensive than serrano. The main characteristic that separates the two types of jamon is the method of its preparation and the duration of exposure. An important difference between Serrano and Iberico is the pig breed. In order for a pork leg to be used for ham, the pig must be raised on a special diet.
The hallmark of Serrano ham is the white hoof (white pig). According to the degree of exposure, they are distinguished:
- curado - aged 6 months;
- reserve - kept for 9 months;
- bodega - aged 1 year.
The hallmark of the Iberico ham is the black hoof (black pig). The following types of pigs are used:
- De cebo - made from pigs that eat acorns and fodder.
- Bellota - made from pigs that eat only acorns.
Jamon is only made from the hind legs of a pig.
History of Jamon
The first version says that the meat was heavily s alted so that it would not spoil, that is, s alt was used as a preservative. Sometimes a poor family had nothing to eat but this s alted meat. According to the second version, the Spaniards tasted s alted pork when they caught the animal from the river. The source of the river was s alty, so the drowning pig was soaked in s alt.
This delicacy adorned the tables of warriors, Roman emperors and legionnaires. It is amazing that the recipes recorded in those days have been preserved to this day, and they are used now, with practically no amendments and changes.
How to cut jamon correctly?
Separating meat from a ham with an ordinary knife is simply barbaric. Culinary experts unanimously say that its taste and physical properties depend on cutting jamon, so cutting must be done by hand, and notmechanically, and with a ham knife.
It is necessary to use a stand specially designed for this - hamonera. They make it wooden, up to 50 cm long and up to 20 wide (depending on the size of the ham). A pork ham is attached to a sharp screw from the side of the hoof, and another part of the ham is placed on the wide part of the jamonera. Thanks to the screw mount, you can rotate the pork leg and operate the ham knife, which is very convenient.
It is considered correct to cut the meat parallel to the bone. In order to prevent injuries on the ham, it is necessary to fix it qualitatively - to prevent slipping on the stand. When cutting meat, it is important to watch your hands - with your right hand you need to cut the meat with a special knife for jamon, and your left hand should be on top (for a left-hander, vice versa). The Spaniards consider the correct cutting of jamon to be a real art and specially study this skill.
How to properly use a ham knife?
First of all, you need to get the necessary tools for cutting jamon, namely: three knives and sharpeners for them, because the sharpness of the knife determines how thin the slices of jamon will be.
It is believed that the thinner the slice, the tastier the jamon. It should be as thin as a sheet of paper. This allows you to enjoy the unique taste that many people have worked on for a long time.
When choosing a knife for cutting jamon, it is important to know the purpose of each. The first knife - with a wide blade - is used for cuttingskin and unnecessary fat, so it is desirable that the blade is also flat.
The second one - for cutting transparent strips of meat (jamonero) - should have a long and thin blade.
The third ham knife is short, small in size - for cutting meat from bones.
Many professional cooks use a special metal glove - they put it on a non-working hand so as not to get hurt. One of the safety rules when slicing ham is to always keep your non-working hand higher than your working hand, as the slicing knife is incredibly sharp.
