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The Smithfield Ham Saga
On Sat, 15 Nov 2003 11:41:01 -0600, Alan wrote:
>On Mon, 10 Nov 2003 03:50:06 GMT, "Kent H." >
>wrote:
>
>>Smithfield county hams, by law, have to made in a certain way, and
>>nothing in that code would allow a "low sodium" ham. You have to dry
>>salt the ham, and age it until it ends up as a Smithfield Ham. Some
>>sneaky little bugger outside the county line injected your "low sodium"
>>ham with a bit of brine, and then proceeded to make it like a Smithfield
>>by dry curing it following. A true Smithfield ham is very hard to
>>desalt, as Julia Child says in many of her writings.
>>
>This is all true.
No, it's not. The designation "Smithfield Ham" applies to hams cured
and processed within the city limits of Smithfield, Virginia, which
has long been famous for its 'country' hams, but also is home to many
meat processors who sell everything from ham to bacon to perfectly
foul pastrami. There are *many* versions of 'country' hams, usually
cured, dried and/or smoked for a long time with salt and heaven knows
what else. Italian Prosciutto and German Wephalian ham are similar.
>However, the Smithfield company can market whatever it wants, and
>while it isn't a traditional Smithfield country ham, it will still be,
>er, a Smithfield ham.
True.
>
>Granted, there is a traditional Smithfield ham, which the purists will
>insist is the only "Smithfield" ham -- and in discussions like this we
>all have to make sure just what we're talking about!
>
>Lately, at some other ham companies, I've seen the different
>designations "country ham" and "city ham".
>
>The phrase "country ham" means something much like what you're all
>calling the original Smithfield ham. Drier and quite salty. Often
>dry aged for a year.
>
>The phrase "city ham" designates the moister, often sweeter cure, with
>much less salt. More like the genre we get at our city supermarkets -
>albeit a good deal better if the particular company has the talent to
>make a better ham than Hormel, or whoever.
I note that the 'Good Eats' episode on country and city ham is
scheduled on the US FoodTV channel for Nov. 21st and 22nd.
>
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