A Ham By Any Other Name: What’s Iberian Ham and Why is it So Delicious?
Some foods will change your life.
Maybe it’s the first time you taste ice cream, or caviar, or chocolate, or champagne—but some foods are so amazing that after trying them once, you know you’re hooked for life.
Iberian ham is one of these foods.
This heavenly tastebud treat is basically a religion in Spain, where it’s revered above all other foods. But why? I mean, it’s just ham, right?
Wrong.
Iberian ham is to regular ham what Lionel Messi is to your nephew who has just learnt to walk but still falls down every 5 minutes. There’s no comparison.
So let’s dive into the world of Iberian ham, and why it is something you need to be eating! Read on to learn what this ham is, its incredible history, and why it’s good for you (no, I’m being serious, it’s kind of healthy!).
Contents
All ham is equal, but some ham is more equal than others
There are plenty of types of ham here in Spain. To be clear, the one that I’m talking about is jamón ibérico: “Iberian ham”.
Jamón ibérico is something you will find throughout Spain and Portugal (the Iberian Peninsula). But, while the Portuguese do eat it, it’s the Spanish who turn the act of eating ham into a semi-spiritual event.
For people visiting Spain, seeing the way locals treat ham raises some questions:
Why is this meat so special? How is different from regular ham? Why does it cost the price of a black market kidney to buy?
I’m going to answer all these questions, but first: what is Iberian ham not?
Serrano Ham
Iberian ham is not jamón serrano.
This is basically Iberian ham’s less sexy cousin. Jamón serrano roughly translates as “ham from the mountains”, and it tastes as vague as it sounds.
Serrano ham comes from regular pigs (Duroc or Landrace), purpose-bred to be farmed in bulk and reproduce quickly—it’s mass-produced and fairly industrialised.
Now, since 1990, there has been an official regulatory agency overseeing the production of jamón serrano. It’s meant to enforce a minimum standard of quality, but the ham still lacks the magic of its ibérico cousin—not to mention the flavour!
You can put Serrano ham on a sandwich and be perfectly happy, but it’s not going to change your life. Iberian ham will change your life.
Jamón ibérico: The king of Spanish ham
But what, you may be asking, makes jamón ibérico so good? How could it be so different?
Well, with ham, the proof is in the pig! So what makes these pigs so special?
What’s an Iberian Pig?
Unlike the Duroc pigs that of jamón serrano, Iberian ham can only come from native Iberian pigs. A completely different breed, these pigs have a dark grey and black colouring, with jet-black hooves.
When the Phoenicians first settled the Iberian peninsula in the 9th century, they brought domesticated pigs with them. These pigs cross-bred with local wild boars, giving birth to the Iberian pig.
Today you can still see some boar-ish features in these pigs, with muscular legs, a long snout, and the black hooves.
These black feet are so characteristic that the local name for Iberian ham is just “
A history of Iberian ham
The native Spanish celts ate plenty of these delicious hogs, but it’s the Romans who started the story of ham in Spain.
The Romans had seen cured hams in their German colonies, and decided to introduce the practice to Spain. Roman scholars such as Pliny the Elder left records praising the virtues and flavour of these first Iberian hams!
When the Islamic Moors arrived in Spain in the 8th century, pork-eating took a big hit. But with the restoration of a Christian Spain in 1492, Iberian pigs were back in fashion.
Catholic Spain passed harsh laws targeting Spanish Jews and Muslims, with many forced to convert or face expulsion and even death. Eating pork became a symbol of the new Christian Spain.
Making leg-endary Iberian ham
Jamón ibérico has now become one of the few foods found in every region of Spain—and a luxury one at that! The most expensive leg of meat in the world is an Iberian ham valued at €4,100.
So, how do you make a ham that’s more expensive than a car?
First, you start with your Iberian piglet.
After being weaned, the piglets are fattened up on a diet of barley. But now comes the point where greatness begins!
For the truly best-of-the-best ham, the pigs are then released onto the
The once-small pigs freely graze on as much of this all-natural produce as possible, with the tastiest item being
As a result, Iberian pigs have a much higher fat-to-meat ratio than their serrano cousins. Gorging on all of the acorns also means that the pigs absorb oleic acid; the same fatty acid found in olive oil!
That means acorn-fed ham has some of the health benefits of olive oil, and it’s been proven to lower bad cholesterol!
The sweet, nutty flavour of the acorns digs deep into the meat, giving a delicate and unique flavour. The ham you get from these pigs is called jamón ibérico de
But like I said, this is only for the absolute top-quality ham. Only a small number of pigs are raised in this way, with many Iberian pigs getting fed a grain and cereal-based diet.
But how can you tell the great stuff from the rest?
Classifications of Iberian ham
Luckily, the Spanish government tightly controls the production and sale of ham. To make sure you know what you’re buying, ham is legally classified into a handful of different categories.
All Iberian hams have to carry a tag just above the hoof, telling you which category they belong to. They come in four distinct colours:
- Black tag: ham from a pig that is 100% genetically Iberian, has roamed the
dehesa , and eaten an acorn-based diet. Cured for a minimum of 36 months. - Red tag: the same as above, but from a pig that is not 100% genetically Iberian. Cured for 36 months, with the percentage of Iberian heritage displayed on the label.
- Green tag: ham from an Iberian pig that has eaten a mixed diet of acorns and cereals. Cured for 36 months.
- White tag: ham from an Iberian pig that has eaten a grain-based diet. Cured for 24 months.
The same classification system also applies to paleta: the front leg of the pig.
The prices of the ham will match this, with a jamón ibérico de
Expect to pay at least 20 euros for a full plate of the best ham!
Where does Iberian ham come from?
More than anything else, it’s the
In much in the same way that Spanish wine and olive oil work, these four protected regions are the only places in Spain that are legally allowed to make acorn-fed Iberian ham.
They are:
- D.O.P. Jabugo: Found in Andalucia, in the foothills northwest of Seville.
- D.O.P. Extremadura: The newest denomination, this covers the
dehesas around Badajoz and Caceres. - D.O.P. Los Pedroches: The other Andalucian region, found near Cordoba.
- D.O.P Guijuelo: The region that produces 60% of Spain’s jamón ibérico de
bellota . Surrounding Salamanca in Extremadura, Castilla y Leon, Castilla La Mancha, and parts of Andalucia.
So that’s it! Iberian ham is as Spanish as siesta, and tastier than most things in life. The next time you’re in Spain, make sure you eat it every day!
Read more
Visiting Spain? Learn where to buy Iberian ham in Seville.
Read about my trip to the annual festival of ham in Aracena, near Seville.