Gourmet Indulgence: Ham from France

LakeWashington
Mon, 05 Oct 2015 20:09:02 +0000

It’s our latest import.

Sounds tasty, but at 22 bucks a pound, a bit too rich for my blood. That’s the same reason why I won’t buy those two other tasty hams from Europe; ham from the famous black pigs of Spain and authentic prosciutto from Italy. I’ll stick with Smithfield of Virginia and the other dry-cured hams made from NC to GA.

Is the flavor of these imported products worth the cost to you?

From the NY Times: Jambon de Bayonne, the rosy air-dried French ham with a mild, alluring nuttiness, is available for the first time in this country after Delpeyrat, a major producer, received approval from the Department of Agriculture. Said to have been fancied by that epic gourmand Rabelais, it is made only in the Adour River basin in southwest France, bordered by the Pyrenees and the Atlantic Ocean. Even the salt that’s used in curing must come from the Salies-de-Béarn, saltwater springs from under the mountains. Legend has it that centuries ago, a wild boar, wounded in a hunt, fell into the water and died, and when it was discovered by locals months later, the meat was so delicious that they began curing hams in the salt from the springs