What is more useful ham or sausage. Ham sausages and whole muscle hams

Attention! Ham from pieces of minced meat should not be kept in salting and long loaves for more than 48 hours! Otherwise, she will sour!

What is good about chopped ham?
Well, of course, with its simplicity, taste and guaranteed results.
As a raw material, of course, it is better to take a pork shoulder, where the fat is firmer, and the cut is more beautiful. You can also use beef, lamb, chicken, venison, bear meat - whatever!
The recipe is simple and always delicious.

The ratio of fat and meat in raw materials can vary from 10% to 40% fat and, accordingly, from 90% meat to 60%. It is also possible to do it without fat, but it will be dry and not very tasty, because the main “taste accumulator” in food is fat. The shell is not important, even a ham, even a tin can, even a sausage casing, if we are talking about boiled ham.

If we want to smoke and get the very “top of taste”, then we need to use a permeable sausage casing. From natural fit ideally or, or, from artificial - or.

TECHNOLOGY

TECHNOLOGY:
The main thing in cooking ham is to track 2 points:
- knead well, “massage” minced meat;
- weld at a temperature not exceeding 80 degrees C.

Well, everything seems to be with the general rules, let's move on to the specifics. This recipe uses only pork shoulder. Moreover, from one shoulder blade cut into strips, I selected the leanest pieces for the Bierwurst sausage recipe, and put the remaining fatter pieces on this chopped ham. The ratio of fat / meat turned out to be about 35/65. I still used phosphate in order to “open the meat protein” and saturate the meat product with moisture, eventually making it more juicy and tender. The fact that the FS mixture was added also allowed me not to worry that with such a high fat content, getting fatty edema during cooking. Without FS and water, ham will also turn out, a little different, but it will turn out)))

Numbers:
Lumpy pork shoulder - 2 kg
Chopped pork shoulder in a 8 mm meat grinder - 2 kg
– 6.5 ... 9 g / kg of raw materials - here 28 g
half with the cook - 20g / kg of raw materials - here 80 gr
– 10 gr
Water - 500 ml
- 4 things

Minced meat mixed with water, spices and salt, well "massaged" until the appearance of "white threads" and stuffed into the shell. I put it in the refrigerator for the night for sediment (recovery, destroyed when stuffing the bonds between the components of the minced meat).

The next morning I set 80 degrees C in the oven with convection (fan), loaded ham loaves and brought it to 70 degrees. From the inside in about 3 hours. The result is dense, beautiful slices of ham cut thinly for a sandwich. The aroma is bright and appetizing. In general, this is exactly the kind of ham that you want to buy in the store.

Post modified: Pavel Agapkin (Kolbaskin), 30 November 2019 - 15:46.
Attention! Ham from pieces of minced meat should not be kept in salting and long loaves for more than 48 hours! Otherwise, she will sour!

What is the difference between sausage and meatballs? Pink color, beauty of cutting and taste of a sandwich.
We will make two hams according to different recipes in two ham makers. But already with the addition of nitrite salt, as I promised.

Without nitrite salt Unfortunately, the sausage will not work. But this is the only chemical additive that we will put in our natural homemade sausage. Nitrite salt is sold in specialized online stores and from manufacturers. A small dose for testing can be borrowed or bought from friends. There would be a desire, you can find.

Meat.

We take pork ham or shoulder . Definitely some fat. Lean meat will be dry ham. Cut into pieces , convenient for scrolling in a meat grinder. Ham can be chicken or turkey. We take all the meat and some skin from the bird. Without the skin it will be lean, a lot of skin will be fat. Tacking.

Salt.
All my sausage recipes are designed for 3 kg of meat. Any sausage-ham-bacon is affected by the proportion: 3 kg of meat I take 20 g regular salt "extra" + 40 g nitrite salt. In appearance and texture, they are the same. Mix and season the meat evenly. Mix thoroughly, massaging the pieces. The meat must be salted, this is called "ripen" from 24 to 72 hours.

Ground meat.

Grind the meat into grinder with a large nozzle. For poultry ham, you can chop the meat into small pieces with a knife. We put on our 3 kg of meat 1 st. a spoonful of honey or sugar, 2 tbsp. spice mix spoons (black pepper, dry garlic, paprika, nutmeg - your choice). Knead the minced meat, pouring gradually 300 ml cold water (10% by weight of meat).

For a better bunch, if in doubt, you can add 1 egg, 1 tbsp. a spoonful of starch, 1-2 tbsp. spoons of dry milk. This time I made one ham with such additives. They looked and tasted the same. With egg and starch a little denser.

Let the mince mature 1 day Well, at least the night.

Hams.

In order for the ham to come out of the mold without loss, we take sleeve for baking , tie on one side, insert into the ham. We lay the stuffing ramming so that there is no air inside. There is no need to tie the top, let the steam come out. Gently put it under the lid. We close the ham and again let it stand and compact for several hours.


We cook.

In a large saucepan above but put a stand for sterilization or a towel folded four times. We put the hams and pour water according to the level of the meat. On low heat, cook the ham at a temperature not higher than 80 degrees 2-2.5 hours. Water should not boil - this is important. My ham maker has a built-in thermometer. As soon as it shows that the temperature inside has reached 70 degrees, then everything is ready.


We cool.

We take out the hams from hot water and lower them into very cold water. Cooled immediately put in the refrigerator. We take out only very cold ham, when fat and jelly hold their shape. If you get it earlier and start cutting, the meat will crumble. And we need a dense beautiful cut interspersed with jelly and pieces of lard.

We store.

Our ham does not have a shell, so the outer edge will dry out. Can be stored in the refrigerator up to a week wrapped in parchment paper.

Real math.

For a week we provided ourselves with delicious ham. How much does it cost us: meat 200 rubles per kilogram (we don't need a perfect tenderloin, I bought a ham again in a promotional store). If you take chicken, then it has a ratio of meat:bones = 1:1. Of course, we will attach the wings-bones to the broth. We will assume that chicken meat for ham will cost less than 200 rubles.
Nitrite salt costs about 400 rubles per kg. For 3 kg we put 40 grams, for 1 kg - 13 g - it will pull 5 rubles.
A mixture of spices, an egg and other little things, we will appreciate another 10 rubles.
In total, our natural ham costs approximately 215 rubles per kilogram.

And now let's go to the store and read the composition on the package of ham, which is much more expensive. Let's remember the stories from the TV about the dissolved bones, horns and hooves and start looking for ham. Or let's wait for the next story about sausage in a pig intestine. He is not far off, because. Today I salted the meat, and on Friday we will sausage. Such plans in subsistence farming!

You can argue as much as you like about whether sausages are harmful or useful for our body. Disputes disputes, but we still eat sausages, sausages and sausages. But in order to understand the variety of these products and use them in your diet with the maximum benefit for yourself, let's try to expand our knowledge.

It is becoming more and more difficult to give preference to any variety of sausages, ham or delicacies, as stores are overwhelmed with these products. And very often we make our choice purely visually (whether we liked it or not), out of habit (I know that Doctor’s sausage is good, I take it) or on the advice of friends (“have you tried it? ..”).

Most of us try to lead, and that means eating accordingly. But the meat from which sausages and various delicacies are produced is of different quality. And so that you and I do not suffer later from stomach pains, having eaten ham or sausage for breakfast, we will go through a small educational program. So what do we need to know:

Sausages and sausages- Completely ready-to-use product. It is enough to hold them in boiling water for 2-3 minutes so that they warm up and acquire a natural taste. Digestion leads to loss of taste of the product. Sausages and sausages in a natural casing do not need to be peeled. even consider it useful.

Boiled sausages belong to the category of dietary products. They are not harmful to health, even if we eat them every day (of course, if they are fresh). The minced meat of boiled sausages contains milk and eggs, so it is particularly tender. The amount of spices is moderate. Please note that if lard is present in the sausage, its inclusions in the product should be the same in size and tightly pressed into the minced meat, and not fall out. This is also an indicator of the quality of the cooked sausage.

Semi-smoked and boiled-smoked varieties of sausages differ from each other in terms of heat treatment. What they have in common is that at the last stage of preparation, these products are smoked and dried. This gives the product a golden color and. Quality products are smoked on natural sawdust. If synthetic smoke is added to the product (unfortunately, some manufacturers do just that), such a sausage has an overly pronounced smell, which only remotely resembles natural. Grinding minced meat and bacon in boiled-smoked and semi-smoked sausages is quite large, and spices are pronounced.

Raw smoked varieties- the most expensive sausages, as they are made from premium meat. The preparation process is long and laborious, the production costs of these products are high. Taste - sharp, spicy. Raw smoked sausages have a clear cut.

Ham- Another favorite product of many. Unlike boiled sausages and frankfurters, no eggs or milk are added to minced meat, so the ham tastes tougher. Spicy types of ham, on the cut of which blotches of hot pepper are visible, are not suitable for dietary nutrition and, of course, are contraindicated for those who suffer from gastritis or stomach ulcers.

Chicken sausages, sausages and sausages practically do not differ from beef and pork sausages, if they are of good quality. Chicken sausages satisfy hunger well, and there is much less fat and cholesterol in them.

Sausages are suitable not only for sandwiches. You can cook many different dishes with them, for example,
Spaghetti with Italian sausages
Take 4-5 sausages, 1-2 onions, 2 tomatoes, 1-2 cloves of garlic, 1 carrot and 0.5 kg of spaghetti (however, you can choose any pasta).
Cut the onion into thin half rings and fry in a small amount of oil (it is better to mix butter with vegetable oil or take olive oil). Add coarsely grated carrots and continue to simmer. Add sliced ​​sausages, continuing the stewing process, add peeled and finely chopped tomatoes. Salt and pepper if necessary.
Separately, boil spaghetti or other pasta, drain the water and mix the pasta with the cooked mass.

Luxembourgish sausages
Required 1 onion, sugar, 500 g sauerkraut, 1 cloves, 3 bay leaves, sausages.
Finely chop the onion. Lightly fry in oil. Add some sugar, cabbage, cloves, bay leaf. Fry until done.
In another pan, fry the sausages on all sides until golden brown.
Serve with cabbage.

Sausages with Emmental cheese
Based on 2-4 servings (depending on appetite) you will need 4 sausages, 4 slices of Emmental cheese 1 cm wide and sausage length, 4 thin slices of chopped bacon, 4 slices of bread, a third of a dessert spoon of tarragon mustard, 40 g of butter.
Heat up the grill. Cut the sausages lengthwise into 2 parts, without separating the halves completely, grease the inside with mustard. Put a slice of cheese into each sausage, squeeze and spirally wrap tightly along the length with a slice of bacon slices, fasten the ends of the bacon with wooden toothpicks, pierce the sausage with cheese through and through, place in the grill (or in a pan with a little butter - turn over in the pan to fry from all sides).
In the grill (or in a pan with butter), also fry the slices of bread, spread them with butter if they were fried on the grill (and if you fried them in a pan with butter, then you do not need to spread the butter again), then with mustard and put on top of the sausage.

Sausages with swiss cheese
Required 8 sausages, 150 g Swiss cheese, cut into 8 slices 1 cm wide and sausage length, mustard, 25 g butter.
Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius. Boil water in a saucepan, then reduce the heat, immerse the sausages for 7-8 minutes, without bringing to a boil.
Melt butter in a small saucepan over low heat.
Remove the sausages from the pan, cut lengthwise into 2 parts, without separating the halves completely, grease the inside with mustard, put a slice of cheese into each sausage, connect the halves, securing them with wooden toothpicks at both ends, put in a frying pan, pour over the melted butter and place in oven for 10 minutes.

Sausages in mashed potatoes
Prepare 600 g potatoes, 1 cup flour, 1 egg, 4 sausages, fat.
Boil potatoes, dry, mash into a homogeneous mass, adding salt, flour, egg yolk. Knead the dough from this mass, roll it into a finger-thick layer, cut it into such rectangles so that you can wrap half of the sausage cut lengthwise into each. Grease the rolled dough with beaten egg white, put a sausage on each rectangle and wrap it. Place on a greased baking sheet, brush with melted butter and bake in the oven.
Serve at the table with salad.

Have you ever tried making homemade sausage? Of course, for those housewives who keep cattle, this is not a novelty. A good hostess does not lose anything. But even in urban conditions, if desired, you can cook something that has never been cooked. You just need to go to the market and buy the necessary products, and then boldly get down to business.

Sausages (boiled)
Required 2 kg of fresh pork meat, 1 kg of fresh fat, 10 eggs, 1 tbsp. fresh, 1 tbsp. flour, salt, pepper, bay leaf (to taste), intestines (they are also sold on the market).
We make minced meat from all the products indicated, except for the intestines. We fill them with half the intestine and cook for 30 minutes. Store sausages in the freezer boiled.

Homemade sausage
Required 50 g of onion, 200 g of millet, 150 g of pork or lamb fat, 300 g of intestines, 360 g of water, salt to taste.
Lamb fat, chopped onions, millet or rice groats are put into boiling salted water and boiled until half cooked. The treated intestines are filled with this mass. Sausages are boiled until tender.
Serve hot with rice or potatoes with vegetable salad.

Grilled sausages with apples
Required 4 large sausages, 8 medium potatoes, 4 hard apples, one coffee spoon of cinnamon, 1 tbsp. a spoonful of granulated sugar, 40 g of butter.
Preheat oven to 200 degrees Celsius. Rinse the potatoes thoroughly with warm water (do not peel - it will be cooked “in uniform”), wrap each potato in foil and place in the oven.
Peel the apples, cut into 4 parts, remove the core. Dissolve the butter in a deep frying pan, put apple quarters, sprinkle with cinnamon and granulated sugar, leave over low heat for 15 minutes, sometimes turning over, keep hot under the lid.
Prick the sausages with a fork so that they do not burst, and place on the grill. When the potatoes are ready, take them out of the oven and remove the foil.
Put apples and potatoes in the middle of the dish, and sausages around. Serve with.

Spikachki in Polish
Cut the bases of sausages from both ends crosswise and fry in a pan until golden brown. Separately, you can cook gravy from stewed vegetables (onions, sweet peppers, carrots, tomatoes, garlic and herbs). First, fry the chopped onion with pieces of garlic, gradually adding peppers, carrots and tomatoes and continuing to simmer. Greens are put when the gravy is ready.
To make the gravy not very thick, you can add a little water or broth (meat or vegetable) during cooking.
Spike is served with rice, boiled potatoes, buckwheat or barley porridge. Separately serve gravy or any other hot sauce.

Bon appetit! And how else to use sausages, think for yourself.

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 the future - salted, smoked or dried - was taken with them by those who went on a long journey: merchants, warriors, 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. Yes, and storing hams is much easier and more convenient than taking live pigs or carcasses with you. Feeling hungry? He snatched off a piece or two with a knife - and ate!

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

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

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

History of ham

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

The modern name "ham" comes from the Old English "ramshackle" and refers to the 15th century, when the cut from the back of a pork carcass began to be called that.

What and how is ham made of

Each country has its own requirements for this food product, its quality and technology are determined by the relevant standards. There is such a normative document in our country.

The quality of pork ham must comply with:

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.

According to GOST 18236-85, ham is made:

in the shell;

For breakfast;

For the production of ham:

For breakfast, lean pork is used, in which traces of the fat layer are completely absent;

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

Firm.

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

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

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

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

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

Labeling and packaging of ham

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

Each package must contain:

The product's name;

Name of the manufacturer;

Packing date;

Terms and conditions of storage;

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

If the poultry ham was made from the meat of different birds, then the name should contain "Poultry ham".

Marking is applied directly to the packaging or label.

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

Ham making technology

Ham is made by curing 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. In the manufacture of cooked 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 and others. 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 marinating involves keeping the meat in brine. The meat is immersed in brine for 3 to 14 days. The mixture is stirred periodically to prevent separation of the ingredients.

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

Modern technologies significantly speed up this process using mechanical pumping with brine using needles. This method allows you to more evenly distribute the curing brine throughout the volume.

Canned ham is poured with a jelly-like brine.

Modern technology has moved away from traditional methods of making ham, and only well-known brands adhere to it.

Ham is the 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 the use of frozen raw materials is 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.

Ham how to store

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

When packing in a vacuum shell at the same temperature for:

Serving cutting - no more than 6 days;

Portion slicing - no more than 6 days.

For smoked pork ham, the shelf life at a temperature of 5 to 8 degrees for:

Serving cutting is 5 days;

Portion cutting - 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 it. All other ham must be sold in its packaging. Only paper clips, mesh, cellophane from the ends of the package should be removed.

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

Therefore, the shelf life for boiled ham:

In normal packaging is - 5 days;

In a polyamide sheath - 20 days;

In a permeable polyamide sheath - 6 days;

In polyvinyl chloride - 45 days;

Vacuum packed:

Serving cutting - 5 days;

Portion cutting - 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);

In serving cuts - 7 days;

Portion cutting - 20 days.

The storage temperature should be between 0 and 6 degrees.

Ham can be frozen. At the same time, the shelf life at a temperature of:

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 terms of storage, based on its technology and the requirements of regulatory enactments, which must guarantee the safety, safety and quality of the product.

ham favor

There are few people who would not eat ham. Sandwiches and sandwiches are made with it, used in salads, and soup is cooked. And yet, is there any benefit from this food product. Eat. 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 a number of 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 daily. In addition, the same serving can provide the body with a good dose of niacin, which is important for digestion, potassium, which is an essential element for the heart system. The same serving of ham can contain up to 20 grams of protein.

A product such as ham cannot be low-calorie. 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 being overweight, this fact may not be in favor of including it in your diet. On the other hand, extra calories can be burned by exercise. At the same time, as a high-calorie product, it can help avoid overeating.

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

Ham harm to the body

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Therefore, the use of ham should be limited and eat it no more than once, 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 diseases.

Ham in the world the most famous brands

There are several famous brands of ham in the world, which have been made for hundreds of years and have become a national treasure and a hallmark of these countries.

For example, ham, beloved by 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 boars grown in ten Italian provinces. Animals are fed with whey - the remains of the production of local cheeses. Thanks to this, Parma ham acquires its unforgettable taste - sweet and salty at the same time.

The Prosciutto di Parma Consortium of Producers 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 smells, by which the taster determines the degree of maturity and quality of the ham. A ham that meets the ideal parameters of taste receives the Consortium brand - in the form of a ducal crown. Only such "branded" ham can be called Prosciutto di Parma. Other hams that fall short of the ideal are called Prosciutto Crudo (Prosciutto Crudo), which simply means "raw cured ham."

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

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

Bresaola - beef ham - is produced in Lombardy. Most often it is used to make carpaccio.

National Spanish delicacy - hamoi, dry-cured pork ham. This is a “titled” delicacy: one day in 1862, Isabella II, passing through Andalusia, deigned to taste jamon in the city of Treveles. Her Majesty liked it so much that the Spanish Queen rewarded the producers: from now on, each ripe ham was stamped in the form of the Spanish crown. The city of Treveles is located high - 1200 m above sea level. A special microclimate has developed here, and for the maturation of the “royal” jamon, only meat, sea salt, fresh air and wind are required.

In France, they are 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. The taste of Bayonne ham was enjoyed by both the hero of the novel, Francois Rabelais Gargantua, and King Henry IV.

No less tasty is the ham from Bigor, a region in the French Pyrenees. For her, they take the meat of pigs that are freely grazing all year round. Hams "ripen" from 18 months to 2 years, and the finished delicacy, according to connoisseurs, just melts in your mouth!

The most popular in the Celestial Empire is “jinhua ham”, without which it is impossible to cook the traditional Chinese dish “Buddha jumps over the wall”.

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

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

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

Both gourmet connoisseurs and just lovers of delicious food enjoy ham with pleasure. This delicacy was repeatedly depicted on their canvases by Dutch and Flemish painters.

We have the oldest and most famous type of ham - this is the Tambov ham and the Voronezh ham.

The first settlers brought ham to the USA, or rather the way it was made, and the traditions of production were inherited mainly from England.

Ham how to choose

I buy ham, choose the one that contains the least amount of fat, salt, without nitrates. This ham is best suited for sandwiches, salads and other dishes.

What should be the ham according to GOST

Ham for breakfast examination of "Test purchase"

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 10th-13th centuries. And to this day, ham is a product dearly loved by gourmets. But how much do ordinary people know about her? Here, for example, Parma ham - what is it?

What is a ham?

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

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

types of ham

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

• Boiled ham can be prepared from pork ham with the addition of spices, roots, onions and carrots. The product is aged for a certain time in the marinade. Then it boils. This product is distinguished by its special juiciness and tenderness.
• The difference between boiled-smoked ham is that after marinating the meat is first smoked and then boiled with the addition of spices. The product is distinguished by the presence of an appetizing crust.
• Smoked-baked ham is also marinated 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 Black Forest ham belongs to the type of raw smoked ham. When it is cooked, the meat is first fried in an oven. It is then smoked using pine and spruce wood from the Black Forest.

• Dry-cured ham is bresaola. The birthplace of this product is Italy. It is made from beef, which is salted and then dried in the open air for 2 months.
• Jamon also belongs to dry-cured varieties. For its preparation, only pork ham and salt are used. Jamon is divided into two types: Serrano and Iberico. They differ in the duration of cooking, as well as 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. In this case, the weight of the carcass must exceed 150 kg. This variety of ham belongs to dry-cured. For its manufacture, the ham is marinated for three weeks. It is then dried outdoors for a year.
• Prosciutto ham comes from Italy. It is a classic version of dry-cured meat product, in the preparation of which only meat and salt are used.

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

How to choose a ham?

Today, store shelves are bursting with all sorts of options for meat products from different manufacturers. The quality of these products can vary greatly from one another. 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 composition of the ham should not contain flavors, baking powder and other additives.
• The cut of the product should be gray-pink. It shouldn't shine. The opposite case indicates that preservatives are present in the composition.
• The casing must be tight and dry, without visible damage.
• The flavor of the ham also plays an important role. A quality product smells like meat, not smoked. It should not have other foreign odors.
• An important factor in the quality of ham is its price. You should choose a product that will be slightly more expensive than the cost of a fresh pork shoulder.

Ham is a perishable product. This should be remembered when buying it. The shelf life of the cut product is reduced to three days. So don't stock up on them.

How to cook ham at home?

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

A piece of meat is cut off with a chilled brine using a syringe. It is important to do this from all sides and to different depths. From this procedure depends on how juicy and fragrant the cooked ham will turn out. Then the meat is placed in a container and poured with the rest of the brine. It must be covered with a plate with a load placed on it and sent to the refrigerator to marinate for 3 days. It is necessary to periodically turn the meat over to better distribute the brine. After 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 it is increased, then the ham will taste simple. Then the meat is doused with 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 useful. But only if it is made without the use of artificial preservatives and dyes. First of all, ham is meat. Therefore, it is a source of protein, which is essential for human health.

It also contains important fatty acids, vitamins and minerals. It will be fair to note 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.

Application in cooking

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