The ham is made from the best quality pork leg. After a tedious and complicated process, you have to wait for three to five years before a fragrant and delicious top-quality ham can be served.

1: Spanish ham. Spaniards love ham, and ham is as proud of the national quintessence as Spain. You can eat this delicacy in the famous shopping malls of Madrid, the street markets of Barcelona, ??or the charming taverns of Seville.

The best among Spanish hams is Iberian ham, which is one of the nine legendary ingredients in Europe.

This kind of ham is made from black pigs. These pigs eat only wild acorns and live elegant and healthy lives. They are raised for about two years. In the spring, farmers will bury the slaughtered pigs in sea salt to let them fully absorb the flavor.

It is marinated for about two months and finally left to dry in the cellar for about a year before it is finished.

Iberian ham is moderately salty and sweet, meaty and tender. Its beautiful marble pattern makes it look as delicate as a work of art. Thinly sliced ??ham is a great treat to pair with wine.

2: Italian Parma Ham Italy is also a country rich in ham. Almost every city has its own signature, but the most famous one is the Parma Ham from the Parma Province in northern Italy.

It is made from traditional Italian pig breeds Large White Landrance and Duroc, which were raised eating local Parmesan cheese scraps and milk residue.

When these pigs grow to about 150 kilograms, they will be sent to be slaughtered. After killing, they must be soaked in special salt for more than a month, then dried and squeezed out of the water in the leg meat, and then cooked with salt and pork fat mixed with black pepper.

Wrapping it not only achieves the curing effect, but also prevents the ham from being contaminated with bacteria during the process. Parma ham needs to be cured in this way for about 20 months before it can be put on the market.

3: Jinhua ham. The first thing that comes to mind when mentioning ham in China is Jinhua ham. Jinhua ham is made from the two-headed black pig that is a specialty of Jinhua. This kind of pig has a dark head and tail, a pink body, and the two-headed black skin is thin, the bones are thin, and the meat is fat.

The proportions are appropriate, the hind legs are plump and the muscles are tender, and it has the prerequisites for making a good ham.

On the other hand, the production process of Jinhua ham is also very special. After being slaughtered, the two-headed blackbirds with suitable fat must be cured in a place with suitable temperature in Jinhua. Sufficient sunshine is required when washing and drying, and the temperature and humidity during the fermentation period must also be high.

Only if it is appropriate can the ham be allowed to ferment normally during the air-drying process.

The skin of Jinhua ham marinated through rigorous procedures is bright and lustrous. The whole leg is as slender and round as a pipa, and the color is dark red. The meat is tender and fragrant in the mouth. It is a good finishing touch when eaten raw or added to dishes.

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Extended information: Ham is graded, including special grade, first grade, second grade, and third grade.

It takes a knowledgeable person to insert a lottery to judge the quality of ham.

The stick is made of bamboo and looks like an awl.

There are three different parts of a ham, and each sign is in a different part.

According to different positions, it is divided into three lots: upper, middle and lower.

The requirements for super-grade legs: the claws must be curved, the ankles must be thin, the legs must be plump like a leaf, the thickness of the fat should not exceed two centimeters, and the three picks must have a good fragrance.

Requirements for first-class legs: Two of the three lots must have a good fragrance, but any one of the three lots must not have an odor.

Requirements for secondary legs: no peculiar smell.

Requirements for Level 3 legs: One sign has an odor.

Special grade ham and first-grade ham have a red ring, second-grade ham has a yellow ring, and third-grade ham has no ring.

All three types of ham are stamped with ink made from gallnut (a Chinese medicinal name).