Spanish Ibérico Ham. The jewel of the Mediterranean gastronomy

Allain Ducasse, one of the most celebrated French chefs today, said of Ibérico ham: “This ham is truly one of the world’s gastronomic jewels”. He serves Ibérico ham from Spain in all his restaurants.

The prestige of Ibérico acorn ham goes far back into history. As early as the first century A.D., the Greek geographer Strabo extolled the virtues of Ibérico ham. The excellent taste of Ibérico ham derives from its ascendancy. The Iberian pig still lives in its original habitat, the dehesa, a mixture of forests and meadows in south eastern Spain.

Iberian pigs feed on acorns and wild chestnuts, gars aromatic herbs and tubers, mushrooms, small insects, even snakes. Their skin is dark, legs are long, ears drooping, and long snout, help pigs survive in this environment. This diet helps pigs gain weight rapidly, mostly fat, but it consists of 5- – 60 per cent oleic acid, the same unsaturated fat fund in olive oil.

Ibérico ham

Has a smooth texture, appealing shine, bright red colour, and marbled with an intense aroma, finishing with an unusually long aftertaste. After salting and stabilizing the leg, aging takes place in temperature-controlled warehouses called curing halls.

Visit our online shop  to buy the best "jamón ibérico" and of course the most refined "Jamón Joselito"


Writer – Hrayr Berberoglu

>K Millennial Olive Trees Extra Virgin Olive Oil. Slowfood

This Extra Virgin Olive Oil only comes from registered and certified native Farga olive trees over 1000 years old, and many are over 2000 years old.

Bouquet, quite fruity at first, then weakens to become a light, gentle but complex aroma of unripe green apple and Conference pear-skins. Fresh citrus overtones of lime suggesting a lightness on the palate.

On the palate, it is so light that it does not seem like oil, the green bouquet tones become that of ripe lemon peel. No tingling or bitter taste, just a citrus sensation with perhaps a touch of spice. Traces of fennel and Amaretto surface. Visually, this oil is a golden-straw colour, and is smooth flowing which coul lead the false belief that it has no body either on the palate or in bouquet.

As a whole, this oil is exciting both for its contents and its packaging. An example of the love of olives, of oil and respect for a demanding consumer who will not be disappointed with this purchase.

The extra virgin olive oil > K Milennial Olive Trees is considered one of the strongholds of the Slow Food movement.

Slow Food is a global, grassroots organization with supporters in 150 countries around the world who are linking the pleasure of good food with a commitment to their community and the environment.

Two delicious tapas recipes with cured ham from Spain (Jamón Serrano & Jamón de Teruel).

We are going to share with you two different recipes with cured ham (Jamón Serrano or Jamón de Teruel) , easy to prepare and delicious!.

First recipe: Bread sticks with cured  Ham from Teruel P.D.O.

Ingredients:

- 300 gr of (creamed) cream/creamy chees

- 2 tablespoons basil pesto

- 140 gr of bread sticks

- 90 gr of Ham from Teruel P.D.O. Antonio Mata

- 1 tablespoon walnuts
- Fresh basil

- Extra Virgin Olive Oil >K Canetera by www.antoniomata.com

Preparation:

Mix the cheese and basil pesto together in a small bowl until combined. Finally add  the nuts and chopped basil and  drizzle extra virgin olive oil> K Cañeteros on top. Wrap bread sticks with a slice of ham.

Serve the Bread sticks with cured  Ham from Teruel P.O.D into a tall glass with dipping sauce… And enjoy!

Second Recipe: Fruit And Serrano Ham Tapas ("Canapés")

Ingredients:

Fruit: 1 peach, 1 pear, ¼ melon

1 handful watercress, or rocket leaves or mint or basil or tarragon

10 slices of cured ham from Spain 

1. Make the peach and ham tapa.

Cut the ham into two long strips. Then place a slice of peach across it and roll it up. Skewer with a toothpick and then skewer a leaf of watercress on top. Repeat this process until you have used up all the peach slices.

2. Make the melon and ham tapa.

Cut the cured ham into half, then quarters and fold until you have made a little bundle.

Take a toothpick and place a watercress leaf halfway up the stem, then skewer a melon slice with it. Repeat until you have used all the melon slices.

3. Make the pear and ham tapa.

Cut the ham lengthways into two slices. Then place a sliced pear across and roll the ham around it. Place a watercress leaf halfway up a toothpick and skewer the rolled ham with it. Follow the same process until all the pear slices are used.

Just before serving the canapés (Tapas), drizzle a little olive oil  >K Canetera and lime or lemon juice over the fruit.

Ham in general and Teruel ham in particular, is highly nutritious and healthy.


"JAMON DE TERUEL" is much more than a Serrano cured Ham, do you know why?... We invite you to visit our page: HAM FROM TERUEL P.D.O. (EU Protected Designation of Origin) to discover one of the most famous Spanish cured hams. 

HOW TO IDENTIFY A HAM WITH "JAMON DE TERUEL" DESIGNATION OF ORIGIN.

Check to see if the hoof is on the ham, the skin has the 8-point star and the word TERUEL heat-branded onto it, and that the band round the hoof has the registry number and stamp of the Regulatory Committee of JAMÓN DE TERUEL.

Don’t buy a pig in a poke! To identify a Jamón de Teruel  P.D.O  ham, check the three signs of its identity:

1. The rind or skin of the ham must bear the 8-point star and the word TERUEL burned into it.

2. A whole ham must always have its hoof. The Regulatory Committee cuts the hoof off all the rejected hams which do not meet the required standards: weight, marbling, months of curing, etc.

3. The hoof must have the band with the registry number and stamp of the Regulatory Committee of the Designation of Origin. This is the product’s ID card, which lets us identify the pig it came from, the farm it was raised on, the abattoir where it was slaughtered, the drying shed where the ham was cured, andother information.

If you buy the ham sliced rather than whole, check that the tray is labelled with the Jamón de Teruel logo.

We need to know how to distinguish a “Jamón de Teruel  P.D.O” from any cured ham from the province of Teruel. Don’t be fooled. Unlike other hams, “Jamón de Teruel P.D.O.” has gone through the strict quality checks established by the Regulatory Committee.

There are many differences between them. First, the whole process of a “Jamón de Teruel  P.D.O” has taken place in the province of Teruel. The pig was born, raised and slaughtered in Teruel, and of course, the ham was cured in one of the province’s 53 drying houses registered with the Regulatory Committee.  In this way the Regulatory committee is able to monitor every aspect of the product and provide complete traceability. None of this information is available for a ham which does not have the Denomination of Origin. Only 1 in 8 hams cured in the province of Teruel is “Jamón de Teruel P.D.O”.

The type of pigs used for Denomination of Origin “Jamón de Teruel  P.D.O ” hams are always from crosses between the breeds Landrace (standard type) and Large White, on the maternal line, and Duroc for the paternal line. This cross produces an exquisite ham, low in salt, high in proteins and low in cholesterol.

Another requirement of the Regulatory Committee is that the drying houses in the province of Teruel must be at least 800 metres above sea level. Teruel hams must be cured for at least fourteen months, although most industrial producers bring hams to the market after a longer curing time, to give the product more flavour and aroma.

After production, the inspectors of the Regulatory Committee of Denomination of Origin check each ham and certify them as suitable for the Designation of Origin with a numbered band and an eight-point star heat-branded onto the skin, with the word Teruel to signify its quality.

Take all these recommendations into account when buying a “Jamón de Teruel P.D.O” ham, and if you want a top quality product, be sure to insist on “Jamón de Teruel P.D.O”, or in other words, ham with a Protected Designation of Origin.

What is a EU Protected Designation of Origin?

European foodstuffs play an important role in the cultural identity of European citizens and regions. The EU approach includes a strict control system to ensure high quality the European food and drinks.

Designation of origin: is linked to the name of a region, a specific place or, in exceptional cases, a country, used to describe an agricultural product or a foodstuff:

-originating in that region, specific place or country, and

-the quality or characteristics of which are essentially or exclusively due to a particular geographical environment with its inherent natural and human factors, and

-the production, processing and preparation of which take place in the defined geographical area

"JAMON DE TERUEL" is the oldest cured ham´s Spanish Designation of Origin protected by the EU. 

P.D.O. Ham from Teruel EU quality label

Designation of origin vs. geographical indication:

The two types of geographical description are different:

• A PDO (Protected Designation of Origin) covers the term used to describe foodstuffs which are produced, processed and prepared in a given geographical area using recognised know-how (such as Jamón de Teruel). 
• A PGI indicates a link with the area in at least one of the stages of production, processing or preparation (such as Turrón de Alicante). 

The link with the geographical area is therefore stronger for PDOs.

Teruel province is considered one of the best Spanish areas to produce delicious cured pork hams because of its orography, climate, large traditions and know how. More than 2.000 people are working for companies related to pork industry in Teruel. 

For any further information about Teruel and "Jamón de Teruel" P.D.O. (Ham from Teruel P.D.O.) you can follow our page : http://jamonibericoserrano.blogspot.com/p/ham-from-teruel-pod.html

"Jamón de Teruel" P.O.D. Regulatory Council official website: www.jamondeteruel.com 

MADRID FUSION 2012, 10th Anniversary. International Gastronomy Summit.

Held under the theme “The Gates of the Future”, the next edition of Madrid Fusión will take place from the 24th to the 26th of January, 2012. In its tenth year, this world-class gastronomic symposium will, once again, deal with new techniques, trends, management and fusion in modern cuisine.

More than 100 prominent chefs from all around the world will participate at this event, and will focus on four thematic  sections: 

1. The Earth, our pantry
2. Trends

3. Techniques.

4. Low Cost management.

Among all of them, we should mention the following names: Heston Blumenthal, Michel Troisgros, Joel Robuchon, together with Magnus Ek, Magnus Nilsson, Seiji Yamamoto, Daniel Patterson, Niko Romito, Paolo Lopriore, Nuno Mendes, Masato Nishihara, Paco Morales, Dani García, Joan and Jordi Roca, Andoni Luis Aduriz, Ángel León…

The Spanish Ham has always enjoyed pride of place in this fair, and as usual it will be the main protagonist of many conferences tastings. 

We invite you to try this Ham and Eggs master recipe by The famous Spanish Chef José Andrés. 

Ham and Eggs by José Andrés. Fuente: Madrid Fusión

Further information about Madrid Fusión Fair 2012 can be found at www.madridfusion.net. 

Antonio Mata will be present, represented by Mr Villanueva, our Commercial Director. Do not hesitate to contact us for any information you might require about the event, tastings, etc. 

Spanish municipality Rubielos de Mora (Teruel) is a Cittaslow. Come and enjoy it with us!

The Cittaslow and Slow Food share the same philosophy based on the improving of life quality, enjoying solutions and services that allow people to live in an easy and pleasant way. 
Municipalities joining the association are motivated by curios people of a recovered time, where man is still protagonist of the slow and healthy succession of seasons , respectful of citizens’ health , the authenticity of products and good food, rich of fascinating craft traditions of valuable works of art, squares, theaters, shops, cafés, restaurants, places of the spirit and unspoiled landscapes, characterized by spontaneity of religious rites, respect of traditions through the joy of a slow and quiet living.

The International Association Cittaslow, was founded in Orvieto (Italy) in October 1999.

In March 2008, Rubielos de Mora ,with other six Spanish municipalities, was approved for membership by Cittaslow international. The town has adopted a set of goals and principles to ensure the highest quality of life for local residents and visitors.

One of these goals is follow the spirit of Slow Food, applying the concepts of defending biodiversity, taste education and ecogastronomy at practice of everyday day. 

Rubielos de Mora (Teruel - Spain)

In Rubielos de Mora entire Community, Government and Factories have to follow the philosophy of Slow Food. CASA MATA S.L. facilities located in Rubielos de Mora preserves artisanal methods to keep the traditions of our territory and guarantee the authenticity of their pork meats and hams.

Casa Mata S.L. Facilities

Further information about Cittaslow and Slow Food International can be found at http://www.cittaslow.org, and at http://www.slowfood.com