Why jamon serrano is not a cured meat (according to the USDA)
By arbitrarily removing salt and sugar from their rightful place as chemical compounds, the USDA eliminates hundreds of products that are traditionally cured with one or both of these chemicals. So, in the obfuscating terminology of the USDA, an Iberico ham that is so well-preserved with salt that it can hang for two years is not cured while one that has added nitrite but can’t last a week in the open air (e.g. Virginia ham) is cured ham.
From Bob del Grosso’s post on the oddities of US food regulation of cured meats.
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Iberico and serrano hams are essentially a dried product. They are packed in salt for a week. The salt is washed off and the legs hung to dry. They are started when it is cool so bacterial activity is reduced. By the time the weather warms, there is insufficient water to in the meat to support bacterial growth. If anything the hams undergo some lactic acid fermentation before drying. This is different than a cured product like salami-type products where bacterial cultures are used to flavor the meat before it cures and dries. (And many Virginia, Kentucky, and Tennessee hams are produced without nitrites.)
Hi Peter,
Thanks for all this. Very helpful. Why don’t you post the same on Bob’s site? But does this address the key question of the USDA recommendations?