Once the pork legs (hams) arrive to the factory, they must pass through four stages before being ready to eat.
Salting: Using a salting room, the hams are placed one on top on each other, separated by salt, with a maximum height of eight hams. This process usually takes one day per kilo.
Washing: Al finalizar la fase anterior, los jamones son lavados para quitarles la sal que se queda en la superficie.
Drying: Once the previous stage has been completed, the hams are washed in order to remove the salt.
Curing: In order to obtain a slow curing, the hams are moved to cellars where the temperature and humidity must remain constant. During this time, a fungus forms on the outside of the ham which contributes towards the flavour.
Quality: At the end of these processes the hams undergo stringent quality controls, before they are cleared for consumption.
After the four steps a ham loses approximately 30% to 35% of its original weight.
Characteristic of a good ham
Colour: Between burgundy and pale pink.
Flavour: Sweet, fragrant and a little salty.
Aroma: Pleasant and strong flavour depending of the length of the curing stage.
