How ham is made: why it is pink and well stored. What is ham? Description of the ham

Ham is a product that has been known to mankind for many centuries. Mentions of it as an ingredient used to prepare many dishes can be found in Chinese treatises dating back to the X-XIII centuries. And to this day, ham is a product dearly loved by gourmets. But how much do ordinary people know about her? For example, Parma ham - what is it?

What is ham?

Initially, ham was a product made from pork leg. It was salted and then smoked. Pork is a classic ham. For such a simple and classic recipe to this day, some types of this product are being prepared. For example, Italian and Spanish jamon. They are delicacies and symbols national cuisines these countries.

Sausage and ham, familiar to most people, are products consisting of small pieces of meat, separated from bones, fat and tendons. During the cooking process, they are kept in a marinade until ripe, pressed in molds and boiled. Roasting and smoking are also allowed. Classic ham consists only of pork meat and salt, but manufacturers often use other types of meat, such as beef, turkey, chicken, to expand their product line.

Types of ham

Depending on the preparation method and country of origin, the product can be divided into several types:

• Boiled ham can be made from pork ham with the addition of spices, roots, onions and carrots. The product is kept for a certain time in the marinade. Then it is cooked. Such a product is distinguished by its special juiciness and tenderness.
• The difference between boiled-smoked ham is that after pickling, the meat is first smoked and then boiled with the addition of spices. The product is distinguished by the filling of an appetizing crust.
• Smoked baked ham is also pickled in brine. But then it is not boiled, but immediately baked in roasting chambers at a temperature of no more than 95 ° C, and then smoked.
• The type of uncooked smoked ham is the Black Forest. When preparing it, the meat is first fried in the oven. It is then smoked using pine and spruce firewood from the Black Forest.

• Cured ham is bresaola. The homeland of this product is Italy. It is made from beef, which is salted and then dried in the open air for 2 months.
• Jamon is also a dry-cured variety. Only pork leg and salt are used for its preparation. Jamon is divided into two types: Serrano and Iberico. They differ in the duration of cooking, as well as in the color of the hooves of the pigs from which they are made.
• A special type of product is Parma ham. What it is? The product is a type of ham, for the preparation of which only three can be used. The weight of the carcass must exceed 150 kg. This type of ham is dry-cured. For its production, the ham is marinated for three weeks. It is then dried outdoors for a year.
• Prosciutto ham originally from Italy. It is a classic version of dry-cured meat product, in the preparation of which only meat and salt are used.

It is impossible to give a definite answer to the question of whether ham is pork or beef. It depends on where and who prepared it.

How to choose a ham?

Today, store shelves are full of all kinds of meat products from different manufacturers. The quality of these products can vary greatly from each other. As a rule, large and well-known manufacturers value their reputation. Therefore, when choosing ham, you should pay attention, first of all, to their products. But in this case, it is worth remembering a few rules.

• The packaging must indicate that the products are manufactured in compliance with GOST 9165-59 standards. The ham should be free of flavorings, leavening agents and other additives.
• The cut of the product must be gray color pink... It shouldn't shine. The opposite case indicates that preservatives are present in the composition.
• The casing should be tight and dry without visible damage.
• Ham flavor also plays an important role. A quality product smells like meat, not smoked. It should not have any other foreign odors.
• An important factor in the quality of the ham is its price. You should choose a product that will be slightly more expensive than the cost of fresh pork shoulder.

Ham is a perishable product. This should be borne in mind when buying it. The shelf life of the cut product is reduced to three days. Therefore, you should not stock up on them for future use.

How to cook ham at home?

To make homemade ham, you need a ham of pork, a set of spices, salt and patience. After all, the process is quite long. First you need to prepare the brine. It is produced in a hot way. The spices and salt are boiled and then cooled.

A piece of meat is chipped with a chilled brine using a syringe. At the same time, it is important to do this from all sides and to different depths. How juicy and aromatic the cooked ham will turn out depends on this procedure. Then the meat is placed in a container and filled with the remnants of the brine. Cover it with a plate with the weight placed on it and send it to the refrigerator to marinate for 3 days. It is necessary to turn the meat periodically for better distribution of the brine. After that, the piece is taken out, tied with a tight rope or wrapped with cling film.

The product is cooked for 2-2.5 hours at a temperature of 85 degrees. If you increase it, then the ham will taste simple Then the meat is poured cold water and as it cools, it is sent to the refrigerator to infuse for several hours or overnight.

A little about the benefits of ham

Natural ham is undoubtedly healthy. But only if it is made without the use of artificial preservatives and colors. First of all, ham is meat. Hence, it is a source of protein that is essential for human health.

It also contains important fatty acids, vitamins and minerals. It will be fair to say about the high calorie content of ham. From which it follows that people suffering from metabolic disorders and overweight should limit the use of this meat product.

Cooking applications

Ham is one of the most valuable food products of modern man. It is used both as an independent dish and as part of a variety of dishes. For example, ham is made into rolls with various fillings, baked with potatoes, added to baked goods and soups.

Despite the modern variety of delicacies, ham still holds its pride of place on this list, as well as smoked sausages, fish snacks and caviar. Ham is a popular food product in many countries of the world, they knew how to cook it back in Ancient Rome: in the first century BC, Mark Terentius Varro in the treatise "On agriculture»Described the technology of its preparation. There are a lot of ham lovers in Germany, despite the "Klebeschinken" scandal two years ago: ham producers glued it together from pieces and sold it as Roh-Schinken, that is, raw smoked ham.

Ham production

Traditionally, ham is made from pig rump, while gourmet ham is sometimes made from carcasses of beef, lamb or turkey. As a result of salting, a process called Pökeln and after the smoking procedure, the ham acquires its own unique, individual taste. Boiled ham (Kochschinken) is lightly salted and then boiled. Quality ham is made from pork leg, back shoulder. Whole pieces of meat are immersed in brine, kept there for a certain time, and then smoked.

The difference between boiled ham and uncooked smoked

Cooked ham is usually made using the so-called wet salting (Nasspökelung). Then it is packed into a mold and boiled at a temperature of 80 degrees. Depending on the region, the ham can be produced without salting, but simply smoked. Cooked ham contains more water than raw smoked ham. Therefore, its taste is more juicy, and it also deteriorates faster. It must be eaten within a week.

The shelf life of raw smoked ham varies. If the pickling was mild, such as Lachsschinken (raw smoked young pork), then it spoils faster than long smoked Schwarzwälder Schinken type ham. If you bought it not cut, but in one piece, then it practically does not deteriorate. There is one simple rule about the shelf life of a raw smoked ham: the darker and more smoked the meat, the longer the ham will last.

What does a quality ham look like?

Fresh ham is pink in color, juicy and free of large fibers. The different intensity of the color of each cut is the different pork muscles that have been processed. But the gradation of colors should not be too harsh. When salting, puncture holes may be visible in the finished ham, this does not affect the quality, but the holes should not be too large.

Popular varieties of ham

Schwarzwälder Schinken : This is an aged, dry ham, smoked with fresh spruce sawdust and cones, matures in the air for several weeks. It has a typical black crackling and intense aroma.

Tiroler Bauernspeck : rubbed with salt, then cold smoked, such as juniper. Then it dries and matures in the air or in a wine cellar.

Parmaschinken : it is allowed to be made only in Italy, the city of Parma. Lightly salted ham and seasoned in the air for at least a year. The taste is sweet and spicy, has a stamping that distinguishes it from fakes.

San-Daniele : air dried ham from Italy, darker than Parmaschinken, slightly spicy taste, also has its own mark that protects it from counterfeiting!

Serrano : a Spanish delicacy, air-dried for a year or two to create a characteristic light spicy flavor.

Westfälischer Knochenschinken : smoked with bone and greaves at low temperatures... The meat is smoked using beech and juniper branches.

Bündner Fleisch : not quite a ham, but especially a light snack. This low-fat, slightly spicy delicacy from Switzerland is a slice of beef thigh grated with salt and spices, soaked in brine for at least four weeks and air-dried for three weeks.

Lachsschinken: it is a rather lean ham from a bone-cut portion of the carcass used for chops, slightly salted, lightly smoked, surrounded by a thin layer of fat.

How to store ham properly

Whether you bought your ham from the supermarket, the butcher, or the gourmet department, a freshly cut slice is the tastiest. Packed pieces are certainly more practical, but less tasty. The boiled ham must be kept in the refrigerator. Uncooked smoked, on the contrary, is best in a cool ventilated area, where it can be stored for 4-6 weeks.

How long does boiled ham last?

It is best to eat it as soon as you buy it, or within the next three days. Do not wait until the end of the expiration date, manufacturers often indicate it with a large margin. Do not keep the ham warm for a long time, immediately put it in the refrigerator. If it has already been lying for several days, then it can be fried, but do not wait until it acquires a grayish tint and becomes sour in taste, then it is time to throw it away.

• A ham is considered to be of good quality if it has a uniform saturated reddish hue.
• Take ham out of the fridge at the very last moment before eating
• Do not cut off a thin strip of fat, as this is a carrier of taste and evidence of product quality.
• Before you buy, try slices of different hams to find the one that tastes best for you.
• A freshly cut slice of ham retains its flavor best when wrapped in parchment and placed in the refrigerator. Do not wrap in foil under any circumstances
• The best flavor of a ham is obtained if it is kept in the air for 5-10 minutes before use.
• The ham can be frozen. Let it thaw for half an hour before use.
• Raw smoked ham has natural preservatives and can be stored without refrigeration.

Is ham good for you?

Raw smoked ham, especially Schwarzwälder, is very high in salt. Two 10 gram pieces contain about 1 gram of salt. This is one-sixth of the maximum recommended daily intake of six grams. Salted and smoked ham is not advised to be eaten too often, as smoking can release harmful substances such as polycyclic hydrocarbons, which can cause cancers... Also, salt containing nitrates is often used in salting, and these form the cancer-causing nitrosamines (persistent diazo compounds for coloring on the fiber).

Real ham or fake

Natural ham has a meat content of 95 percent, the rest is water, salt and seasonings. The ham substitute contains only 55 percent of the meat and is glued together with water, potato starch, soy protein, and other thickeners. To determine if the ham looks real, look at the muscle fibers. In a fake, you will not see them at all, or they are located far and wide. In addition, they look flabby and soft. And this is not surprising, because how many times the meat was passed through a meat grinder and processed. Another sign: only real ham when high temperature in the oven becomes convex along the muscle fiber, and therefore burns a little at the ends.

The recipe for ham, which today is rightfully considered one of the main meat delicacies, came from antiquity. So, back in the first century BC, the ancient Roman writer and scientist Mark Terentius Varro, in his treatise "On Agriculture", described in detail the process of making this delicacy.

Meat prepared for future use - salted, smoked or dried - was taken with them by those who set off on a long journey: merchants, soldiers, sailors, travelers. Salted or dried in the wind, it withstood sudden changes in temperature, did not deteriorate either in the heat or in the cold. And storing hams is much easier and more convenient than taking live pigs or carcasses with you. Feeling hungry? I cut off a piece or two with a knife - and ate!

What is ham? Simply put, ham is a specially processed boneless piece of meat, salted and smoked or dried, which acquires a dense consistency and a monolithic structure. Many people prefer dry-cured ham, which “ripens” for a long time and only becomes tastier over time.

In addition to the main ingredient, meat itself, it contains salt and spices.

Traditionally, ham was made from pork from the back. Sometimes they use a scapula, ribs for this. Ham is made not only from pork, but also from poultry, more often from turkey thighs, venison and other types of meat. A product with this name is found in every kitchen.

The history of the ham

The ham, as scientists assume, was prepared by our distant ancestors, who thus preserved the meat for a longer period. According to some reports, China is considered the birthplace of this meat delicacy. Countries that belonged to the territory called Gaul in the Iron Age also claim to be the first. This product, as mentioned at the very beginning of the article, was mentioned in his works by Markus Tereniy Varro. The Roman historian Kato the Elder wrote about ham back in 160 BC.

The modern name "ham" comes from Old English "old" and dates back to the 15th century, when it was called the slicing from the back of the pork carcass.

What and how ham is made from

Each country has its own requirements for this food product, its quality and technology is determined by the relevant standards. We also have such a regulatory document.

The quality of pork ham must correspond to:

Boiled - GOST 18236-85

Smoked-baked - GOST 18256-85

From poultry meat TU 10.13.14-420-37676459-2017, which replaced TU 9213-420-37676459-2016.

Ham is made according to GOST 18236-85:

In the shell;

For breakfast;

For the production of ham:

For breakfast, use lean pork, which completely lacks traces of fatty layer;

In the shell - pork meat from the hip part of the carcass, the neck, from the lumbar, dorsal and shoulder parts, in which no more than 30.5 percent of fat is allowed;

In the form - the shoulder part of the pork carcass, the presence of cartilage and salted bacon is allowed.

In the production of smoked-baked ham, only the hip part should be used, in which the presence of cartilage and bones is not allowed.

According to TU 10.13.14-420-37676459-2017, ham is produced from poultry species:

It is subdivided into:

Top grade;

First grade;

Second grade;

Branded.

The extra variety must contain at least 80 percent meat, and 50 percent must be white.

The highest grade is ham, which contains at least 80 percent of meat.

The first grade of poultry meat must contain at least 51 percent.

In the second class, poultry offal is allowed in the composition, the percentage of which must be at least 70 percent.

Ham "Firmennaya" is made according to a special technology, which each manufacturing enterprise develops independently. But such a ham should contain at least 40 percent meat.

Ham labeling and packaging

For packaging ham, packaging is used from materials that are approved for use on the territory of Russia and the CIS countries. It can be parchment, cellophane or foil. Canned ham is packed in cans.

Each package must contain:

The product's name;

The name of the manufacturer;

Packing date;

Storage period and conditions;

Normative and technological document according to which the products were manufactured.

If the poultry ham was made from different poultry meat, then the name should contain “Poultry ham”.

The marking is applied directly to the package or label.

Loose ham must be labeled with all of the above requirements.

Ham making technology

Ham is made by preserving and flavoring raw meat, followed by salting, smoking or boiling. In fact, only salt should be used in the production of ham. But spices and other ingredients are added to it that are not needed at all, for example, nitrites, which give the finished ham a pink color. When making boiled ham, thickeners, preservatives, and other approved ingredients may be added.

After the process of preparing the meat, it is salted and mixed depending on the brand, various spices can be added: garlic, black pepper, juniper berries, Bay leaf other. The duration of salting also depends on the manufacturer. For example, Parma ham is salted for a month. During salting, the resulting juice is drained from it and pressed.

Then the salted meat is washed from salt and hung to dry in a dark place with a certain temperature, which is clearly regulated. This process can take from 9 months to a year. And Iberian ham is dried for 2 years.

Wet salting or pickling involves keeping the meat in brine. The meat is immersed in brine for 3 to 14 days. The mixture is stirred periodically to prevent stratification of the ingredients.

During the marinating process, the meat swells and increases in volume and weight.

Modern technology significantly accelerates this process by using mechanical pumping with brine using needles. This method allows you to more evenly distribute the curing brine throughout the volume.

Pour the canned ham with a jelly-like brine.

Modern technologies have significantly departed from traditional methods of making ham and only well-known brands adhere to it.

Ham is a product that you can make yourself at home. Previously, it was done from September to April. It was at this time that the main slaughter of livestock and poultry took place. Although there are explanations that this is necessary to maintain the desired temperature no higher than 20 degrees.

To cook ham, you need to buy only chilled meat. Although frozen raw materials are allowed in production, it is still better to adhere to this rule at home.

Prepared meat is first marinated in curing brine for at least three days, and then boiled or smoked.

How to store ham

The shelf life and sale is determined by GOSTs, the type of finished product and the packaging method. For boiled pork ham at a storage temperature of 0 to 8 degrees, it is 4 days.

When packed in a vacuum casing at the same temperature conditions for:

Serving slices - no more than 6 days;

Sliced ​​portions - no more than 6 days.

For smoked pork ham, the shelf life is 5 to 8 degrees for:

Serving slices are 5 days;

Sliced ​​portions - 6 days.

What is important to pay attention to, if the ham was tied with twine, then it should be released to the buyer without him. All other ham must be sold in its own packaging. Only paper clips, netting, cellophane from the ends of the package should be removed.

As for ham made from poultry, here the shelf life is also determined. temperature regime and packaging.

Therefore, the shelf life for boiled ham:

In normal packaging it is 5 days;

In a polyamide casing - 20 days;

In a permeable polyamide casing - 6 days;

In polyvinyl chloride - 45 days;

Vacuum packed:

Serving slices - 5 days;

Sliced ​​portions - 6 days.

For boiled-smoked or boiled-baked ham:

With the use of preservatives - 5 days;

With acidity regulator - 20 days.

When vacuum packed;

No more than 20 days (for the whole product);

With the use of an acidity regulator - no more than 30 days (for the whole product);

Serving slices - 7 days;

Sliced ​​portions - 20 days.

The storage temperature should be between 0 and 6 degrees.

The ham can be frozen. Moreover, the shelf life at a temperature:

Up to minus 5 degrees is 14 days;

up to minus 10 degrees - 30 days;

up to minus 18 degrees - 3 months.

The manufacturer may establish other conditions and storage periods based on its technology and the requirements of regulatory enactments, which must guarantee the safety, safety and quality of the product.

Ham benefits

There are few people who would not eat ham. They make sandwiches and sandwiches with it, use it in salads, make soup. And yet, is there any benefit from this food product. There is. Of course, the specific benefits and harms are determined by the ham you eat.

Ham is a meat product, which means a source of protein that a person needs. It is present in any kind of meat.

In addition, it contains the series essential minerals such as iron, calcium, magnesium, copper, zinc and others.

It also contains vitamins, mainly of group B. As a product of animal origin, ham necessarily contains vitamin B12, which is present mainly only in such products.

100 grams of ham can contain, depending on the type of meat, from 8 to 11 milligrams of zinc, which our body needs every day. In addition, the same serving can provide the body with a good dose of niacin, which is important for digestion, and potassium, which is essential for the heart system. The same serving of ham can contain up to 20 grams of protein.

A product like ham cannot be low in calories. Therefore, it is a high-calorie product. One thin piece, weighing about 20-25 grams, can contain up to 45-47 calories. If there are problems with overweight, this fact may not be in favor of including it in your diet. On the other hand, extra calories can be burned physical exercise... At the same time, as a high-calorie food, it can help avoid overeating.

Ham can be a delicious substitute for chicken, beef, fish, and other meat products. Some people just love the taste and texture.

Ham harm to the body

Whatever lean meat is used to make this product, it still contains fat. On average, 100 grams of ham can contain up to 4.2 grams of fat, of which almost a third is saturated fat.

A diet high in saturated fat promotes unhealthy cholesterol levels by increasing LDL cholesterol levels and lowering HDL cholesterol levels. High levels of low density lithoprotein (or bad cholesterol) can lead to an increased risk of cardiovascular disease.

Another disadvantage of ham - great content salt, and therefore sodium. For most adults without chronic illness, the daily sodium intake is no more than 2.3 grams. People over 50 with heart disease should limit their intake to 1.5 grams per day.

Too much salt intake can increase the risk of heart disease, which can contribute to an increased risk of stroke, high blood pressure, kidney disease.

Ham may contain nitrite. They are added to preserve, improve the taste and color of the finished product. Increased intake of nitrites can cause methemoglobinemia, i.e. violation of oxygen transfer in the body.

In addition, nitrites can be converted into nitrosamines in the finished product, which are carcinogenic and can lead to an increased risk of developing certain types of cancers, in particular pancreatic cancer.

Many studies show that eating processed foods increases your risk of colon, lung, heart disease, and type 2 diabetes.

Therefore, the use of ham should be limited and eat it no more than once or twice a week.

Many people believe that pork is not very "clean" meat, that pigs eat everything. In fact, this is not entirely true, and it cannot be infected and be a carrier of any disease.

The world's most famous ham brands

There are several famous brands of ham in the world that have been produced for hundreds of years and have become a national treasure and a visiting card of these countries.

For example, the favorite ham of gourmets all over the world is Prosciutto di Parma (Prosciutto di Parma), or Parma. It is produced in the Parma Valley, the town of Langirano, which receives the meat of one-year-old hogs raised in ten Italian provinces. The animals are fed with whey - the remains of local cheese production. Thanks to this, Parma ham acquires its unforgettable taste - sweet and salty at the same time.

The Prosciutto di Parma Consortium of Manufacturers monitors strict adherence to the recipe and production technology. So, for the final test, a horse bone needle is used. Porous and rough, it absorbs the slightest odors, by which the taster determines the ripeness and quality of the ham. A ham that matches the ideal flavor parameters receives the Consortium's stamp of the Duke's crown. Only such a “branded” ham can be called Prosciutto di Parma. Other hams that fall short of the ideal are called Prosciutto Crudo, which simply means "dry-cured ham."

It is customary to serve Parma ham with figs, melon or asparagus. It is also put in salads and soups, but it is not cooked, otherwise the delicacy will lose its qualities.

There are many types of ham. At different times, culinary experts from different countries have tried to give this delicacy a special, unique taste.

Bresaolu - beef ham - made in Lombardy. It is most often used to make carpaccio.

The national Spanish delicacy is hamoi, a dry-cured pork leg. This is a "titled" delicacy: once in 1862, Isabella II, passing through Andalusia, deigned to taste jamon in the city of Treveles. He was so pleased with Her Majesty that the Spanish Queen rewarded the producers: from now on, every ripe ham was stamped with a Spanish crown. The town of Treveles is located high - 1200 m above sea level. A special microclimate has developed here, and only meat, sea salt, fresh air and wind are required to ripen the "royal" ham.

France is proud of the ham from Bayonne, a city in the southwest of the country. Documents confirming its origin have been preserved since 1462, when at the Easter fairs held in the center of Bayonne, butchers offered amazing - tender, salty-tasting dry-cured ham. Everyone liked the delicacy - artisans, merchants, and feudal lords. Both the hero of the novel François Rabelais Gargantua and King Henry IV enjoyed the taste of Bayonne ham.

Ham from Bigor, a region in the French Pyrenees, is no less tasty. For her, they take the meat of pigs, which are on free grazing all year round. The hams “ripen” from 18 months to 2 years, and the ready-made delicacy, according to experts, simply melts in your mouth!

The most popular in China is "jinhua ham", without which it is impossible to cook the traditional Chinese dish "Buddha jumping over the wall."

In the Philippines, ham (jamon Serrano and Jamon de Bol) is an indispensable "tasty decoration" for the Yule holiday. Before use, this meat product is soaked in a sweet broth for a long time to remove excess salt.

In Germany, smoked varieties of ham are produced - Black Forest and Westphalian.

Unlike others, they are drier and more mature in taste: the Black Forest is hoarded on fresh spruce cones and sawdust, and the Westphalian one - on beech branches and junipers.

Both connoisseurs - gourmets and simply lovers of delicious food enjoy ham with pleasure. This delicacy has been repeatedly depicted on their canvases by Dutch and Flemish painters.

Our oldest and most famous type of ham is Tambov ham and Voronezh ham.

The first settlers brought ham, or rather the method of its production, to the USA, and the traditions of production were inherited mainly from England.

How to choose ham

I buy ham, choose the one that contains the least amount of fat, salt, and no nitrates. This ham is best suited for sandwiches, salads and other dishes.

What should be the ham according to GOST

Ham for breakfast "Test purchase" examination

Most often, ham is called a pork leg, which is cooked by smoking or salting. A lot of water is lost during the cooking process. So, if you take 100 parts by weight of meat with bones and skin, the output is already 60 parts by weight.

Ham can be considered an ancient product, since they knew how to cook it already in ancient Rome. In particular, already in the first century BC, Mark Terentius Varro, in his work "On Agriculture", described the technology of cooking ham. And now, in our time, ham is produced and loved in almost all parts of the world.

Ham production in different countries the world

Even China, whose inhabitants eat comparatively less meat products than the same inhabitants of the old and new worlds, has its own varieties of ham.

There are very famous varieties of ham all over the world, but there are also little-known varieties produced in provincial cities by small producers.

The most famous ham in France is called Bayonne Ham, which is named after the town of Bayonne in the southwest of the country. Bayonne Ham is prepared by drying the meat in the open air and then salting. Also famous French ham is boneless ham (jamon). It is prepared in a special form.

The most famous varieties of German ham are Black Forest Ham and Westphalian Ham. The first is produced by hard workers from the Black Forest region and is characterized as a dry ham, smoked on rotten spruce sawdust and cones.

The second is made from piglets raised in Westphalia, where they feed only on acorns. Westphalian ham is smoked on beech and juniper branches.

Italian ham called "prosciutto" is known to gourmets all over the world. The one that is eaten raw is called "prosciutto crudo" (actually prosciutto), boiled ham is called "prosciutto cotto". Parma ham is produced by about two hundred factories, which are located in the area of ​​this Italian city... This ham has been cured for a very long time. Sometimes this process takes a whole year. Italian ham is also a ham made from pigs. Castrated young boars (but not less than ten months old), whose weight has not yet reached 140 kilograms, are suitable for its production. Another condition for the production of Parma ham is that wild boars must be grown and slaughtered in only ten Italian regions: Emilia-Romagna, Lombardy, Piedmont, Venice, Tuscany, Umbria, Marche, Abruzzi, Lazio and Molise.

Prosciutto ham is also produced in the city of San Daniel. This ham is produced much less than the Parma ham, and therefore the price is higher. She is also said to be more popular. Prosciutto produced in San Daniel tastes slightly different from Parma, as it contains less salt.

In addition to prosciutto, in Italy ham is produced under the names - "nostrani", "nazionali" and "toscani". These varieties contain more salt and seasoning than prosciutto.

The famous Smithfield ham in the USA is produced near Smithfield, Virginia. It is the most expensive and most popular ham in the states. It is distinguished by its high salt content. Also, due to the long cooking process, this ham becomes moldy, which is then removed, but the original taste is preserved.

In the regions of the same name, such varieties of ham as "Tennessee" and "Appalachian" are produced. They add honey and hickory. In general, a significant amount of sugar or honey is added to almost all varieties of American ham.

Except pigs for ham production different kind meat of bear, deer, turkey, chicken is also used. For example, turkey ham is popular in the United States for its low fat content. Nevertheless, the ham made from these animals and birds is rather rare compared to ham made from pork leg.

Cooked ham is itself considered canned meat. However, it can also be packed in a tin can to which the jelly is added. The ham produced in this way can be stored for a very long time.

Source ru.wikipedia.org

What is ham? This is a meat product that is prepared using large cuts of pork, beef and poultry. Ham is considered a delicacy.

How is ham made?

For its production, only high-quality meat is taken (ham, shoulder blade, tenderloin, etc.). meat is cut by hand and in a top (lattice diameter 32-35 mm). They are molded in the form of large or small pieces - their size depends on the type of product. After that, the meat pieces are treated with brine by extrusion, or massaging is carried out with the addition of brine of small pieces (tumblers, massaging baths).

These two ways (the so-called quick ambassador) can be combined with each other. Part of the brine can be added to the meat pieces by extrusion, the other part is processed by massaging after extrusion. All this is done according to a specific program lasting 2-5 hours or 12-20 hours. In terms of their composition, brines differ from each other. It is based on water, nitrite, salt, polyphosphate, sugar and ascorbates. In addition, soy proteins, hydrocolloids (carrageenan or preparations based on inert rubbers and cellulose), flavors, spices and seasonings are also used. The amount of brine used also varies. Its quantity is dictated by the type of product, the quality of the meat, the additives used, the standards adopted in a particular country and the commercial interests of the manufacturer. For 100 kg of quality meat, as a rule, 35 to 60 liters of brine is required. If a brine is used in an amount of 40 or more liters per 100 kg of meat, the technology requires the inclusion of soy proteins and hydrocolloids in the brine content in order to bind an additional amount of liquid.

Soy isolates and functional soy concentrates with a high degree of protein solubility (PDI) are used for addition to brine. The use of good functional Cargill soy flour 200/20 PDI guarantees excellent results, especially in the case of massaging meat pieces weighing 30-50g, which are chopped by hand or chopped in a grinder. For better binding, minced meat is mixed with lump meat in an amount of 10-15%.

Thus, the following types of ham are made: Combined ham,
restructured ham, flavored ham, etc.

In addition to the ham itself, ham and neck, the term "ham" can be used to refer to products made from less quality meat, cut into smaller pieces and also combined with chopped meat. Among such products are: ham sandwich, cold appetizer sandwich, pressed ham, pressed head meat. These products are mainly prepared by massaging small pieces of meat and minced meat, adding brine with soy proteins, carrageenan, etc. To obtain quality products, Cargill soy flour 200/20 PDI is also used here.

When using brine with Cargill soy flour, you need to accurately dose the amount of brine when added to the meat when massaging it. When preparing the brine, the amount of dry soy flour should not exceed 3% by weight of the final product. The amount of the remaining additives is also distinguished based on the amount of brine required for a particular product.

With such a brine composition, the amount of salt in the product is in the range of 2.5-2.8%, the same ratio of soy flour, and the amount of polyphosphate is 0.3%.

It is more expedient to add hydrocolloids directly to the tumblr, massaging bath, etc. This should be done in the second half of the massage, and not in the brine itself. Massaging is carried out according to the desired program, depending on the type of ham that they want to get. For example, veal is processed for about 15-20 hours. Much longer than softer pork.

Special artificial casings or tin containers are stuffed with minced meat and processed, sterilizing. Store the finished product at a temperature of 4-6 ° C.

Cargill soy flour 200/20 PDI allows you to get a quality product with a good appearance and excellent taste.

Ham production is of interest to enterprising people, since the return on production is quite high.

Additionally