What is ham? - Recipe Complete Network

What is ham?

Ham (English: Ham) is a cured or smoked animal leg (such as beef leg, lamb leg, pig leg, chicken leg), which has been salted, smoked, fermented and dried Pickled animal hind legs, also known as "fire meat" and "lanxun". Chinese traditional specialties. Originally produced in Jinhua, Zhejiang, hams produced in Jinhua, Zhejiang, Rugao, Jiangsu, Anfu, Jiangxi and Xuanwei, Yunnan are the most famous in modern times.

Among them, Jinhua ham, also known as fire ham, is one of the local traditional products in Jinhua, Zhejiang. It is famous for its beautiful appearance, bright meat, unique aroma, and pleasant flavor, namely color, aroma, taste, and shape. It is famous for its "four unique features". It was introduced to Beijing by Xie Yong, a bachelor of the Zhejiang Provincial Cabinet in the Qing Dynasty, and has been Listed as a tribute, Xie Yong's "Miscellaneous Songs of Food" mentioned: "People in Jinhua farm, make wine, and raise pigs. Every time the rice is cooked, the juice and dregs must be drained and fed to the pigs. The pigs eat the dregs to make them fat. Those who make ham need pigs. If you have more, you can get a good price, so there are more people raising pigs." It is the essence of Chinese cured meat products. The "two-headed black" pig produced in Jinhua has fat hind legs and tender meat. It takes several months to complete after salting, shaping, turning the legs, washing and drying. Strong aroma. Easy to store and carry, it has been sold well at home and abroad.

The production of ham goes through more than 80 processes. Can you tell me a brief process: fresh pork leg acceptance★, trimming of leg blanks, and pickling★ (in the pickling room and leg bed, the total salt content is 9% to 12% of the fresh leg weight, and the sodium nitrite dosage is ≤0.3‰) (*** six times), leg soaking, leg washing (stamping, first time, second time), leg drying, plastic surgery (several times), fermentation storage (temperature ≤35°C; relative humidity 70%~82%) , fermentation room) (dry knife repair, pest inspection), rack grading, stacking (turning the pile and rubbing oil), and finished products. Note: ★Quality control points.

Grading standards

There are four kinds of hams sold on the market: South ham is a kind of ham produced in Jinhua area, North ham is produced in Rugao area in northern Jiangsu, Yun ham is produced in In the Xuanwei and Rongfeng areas of Yunnan Province, Sichuan ham refers to the ham produced in Sichuan. Among them, Jinhua ham is the most famous and can be divided into Jiang ham, tea ham, tribute ham and bamboo smoked ham.

Ham is divided into different grades according to its weight, appearance and smell.

Each super-grade ham weighs about 2.5 to 4 kilograms. It has a beautiful and neat appearance, dry skin, thin claws, and a plump heart.

It has a small fat head and a lot of lean meat. few.

First-grade ham weighs about 2 to 4.5 kilograms each, with intact legs, smooth and dry legs, small oil head, and no cracks, insect infestations, rat bites and other scars.

Level 2 hams each weigh about 2 to 5 kilograms, have slightly thicker skin, more fat than Level 1 hams, saltier meat, thicker legs, and beautiful and neat appearance.

Level 3 hams each weigh about 2 to 5 kilograms, have thick and fat legs with more fat, and the knife work is slightly rough and slightly scarred.

Level 4 hams each weigh about 1.5 to 5 kilograms. The legs are thick and fat, the skin is thick, the leg shape is poor, the meat is not bone-covered, and the insect infestation is not serious.

Due to differences in the raw materials used, processing seasons and curing methods, there are many different varieties of Jinhua ham. For example, Jinhua ham is divided according to the curing season, including "early winter leg" from Double Ninth Festival to the beginning of winter, "midwinter leg" from the beginning of winter or light snow to the beginning of spring, "early spring leg" from the beginning of spring to the vernal equinox, and "early winter leg" from the vernal equinox. Late spring legs”. According to the raw materials used, there are "hams" made from pig hind legs, "wind legs" made from pig front legs, also known as "square legs", and "moon legs" made from pickled front legs with the bones removed, also known as "moon legs". There are "Yun Ho" or "Hoof Pao", "Xu legs" made from dog hind legs, "Shan Shan legs" also known as "Xiao Zhen legs" made from wild boar hind legs, and "Small ham" made from pig tails. According to the processing method, there are "jiang legs" with unique processing techniques and methods, "bamboo leaf smoked legs" smoked with bamboo leaves, "sauce legs" marinated with salt first and then sweet sauce, and "sauce legs" marinated with salt first and then sugar. "Sugar legs" and "frozen legs" which are made by air-drying the salt water. There are also "tribute legs", "tea legs", "golden legs" and "sanitary legs" that are divided according to the way of consumption. The newly created "ham heart" and ham small package products, as well as other derived series of foods with ham as ingredients, are too numerous to mention.

The production areas of Jinhua ham are Wucheng District, Jindong District, Lanxi City, Yongkang City, Yiwu City, Dongyang City, Wuyi County, Pujiang County, Pan'an County and Quzhou City under the jurisdiction of Jinhua City Fifteen counties, cities (districts) including Kecheng District, Jiangshan City, Qu County, Longyou County, Changshan County and Kaihua County currently have administrative areas under their jurisdiction. Jinhua ham is not only a common name for the product, but also the general name for all types and varieties of ham in Jinhua area.

The formation of the quality of Jinhua ham, that is, the "four unique" characteristics, is closely related to the specific conditions of Jinhua area.

First of all, Jinhua ham is made from Jinhua pigs, especially two-headed black pigs. Jinhua pig has unique advantages such as thin skin, fine bones, appropriate meat-to-fat ratio, tender muscles, and delicious meat. It is the foundation and prerequisite for making high-quality ham. The formation of Jinhua pigs is related to the ecological conditions and traditional animal husbandry in the Jinhua region. Mainly: Jinhua's basin terrain and underdeveloped transportation in ancient times created a natural "closed" breeding environment for Jinhua pigs, which gradually stabilized its excellent traits. and purification; the climate and temperature of Jinhua in all four seasons are more suitable for the breeding of Jinhua pigs, so that they have medium shape, thin skin and fine bones, early maturity and easy fattening.

Secondly, the production area has more people but less land, and the working people have always had a tradition of hardship, diligence, and wisdom, which has contributed to the craftsmanship and technology of Jinhua ham processing, and based on the summary of thousands of years of traditional experience , striving for excellence and continuous innovation, formed the Jinhua ham "family" with unique advantages and flavor, which is unique and unparalleled in the Chinese ham industry.

Thirdly, it is the unique natural geographical conditions of Jinhua area, that is, the temperature is suitable during the curing period of ham, there is sufficient sunshine during the washing and drying period, and the temperature and humidity are appropriate during the fermentation period, so that the product can be gradually dried and fermented normally. Naturally mature and fragrant.

The ham production experience includes acceptance of fresh pig legs, trimming of leg blanks, and curing (curing room, leg bed). The total salt content is 9% to 12% of the fresh leg weight, and the sodium nitrite dosage is ≤ 0.3‰) (*** six times), leg soaking, leg washing (stamping, first time, second time), leg drying, plastic surgery (several times), fermentation storage (temperature ≤ 35°C; relative humidity 70% ~82%, fermentation room) (dry knife repair, pest inspection), rack grading, stacking (turning piles and rubbing oil), finished products, etc. There are more than 80 processes.

The concise process is as follows:

1. Select the famous fine-bred pig Jinhua "Liangtouwu" as raw material;

2. Let the ham raw materials cool;

3. Trim the ham raw materials;

4. Commodity Inspection Bureau personnel conduct sanitary inspection of the ham raw materials;

5. Cured ham;

6. Clean the ham;

7. Shape the ham after cleaning;

8. Stamp the Jinhua ham seal;

9. Shape the ham in the drying area;

10. Ham fermentation;

11. Quality inspection after ham fermentation;