Jamon.com, dedicated to the fine art of the Spanish ham

Jamon: The Pride of Spain

Each year, tourists return from Spain laden with gifts and souvenirs intended to encapsulate its vibrant culture. Whether it’s a postcard from a wind-swept medieval city or a colorful hand-decorated plate, it plays a role in preserving and sharing a Spanish memory. Yet for some, the most effective way to remotely capture the essence of Spain is through the taste, sight and smell of its food, particularly, its treasured jamon.

Jamon, in Spain, is not simply ham. It is a cultural icon and everyday indulgence, with ingredients and methods of production so distinctly Spanish that until very recently, it was scarcely available outside of its borders. Jamon is featured on nearly every street in Spain, with ruby-red hams dangling in markets and restaurant windows, and smells from jamon tapas tantalizing those passing by lively bars. Spain eats more ham than any other country in the world, and Spaniards are passionately patriotic about their own jamon.

Now that the best of all three very unique types of Spanish jamon: Serrano, iberico, and the legendary iberico de bellota, are available in North America and Europe, tourists and other cultural explorers can finally experience a taste of Spain with their friends and family in the comfort of their own home. This site is intended to introduce and explain the cultural and culinary phenomenon of jamon so that the readers may appreciate how it has earned its reputation as the world’s greatest ham.
(more)

2010-04-14
Study: The Nutritional Value of Dry-Cured Ham
Nutritional composition of dry-cured ham and its role in a healthy diet by:... (read more)

2010-02-24
Bellota Article in The Washington Post
Here's an article from The Washington Post about bellota hams. The... (read more)

2010-01-22
London Iberico Ham - $3000!
Here is a story from NPR. Our Iberico seems like a bargain! RENEE... (read more)

Learn more about Jamon - Reccommended Books

Happy Animals

The life of a Cerdo Ibérico is a fortuitous marriage of ecological and commercial values, for the most important priority of the producer is that his animals are happy and healthy. A contented pig thrives and the resultant hams are mellow. There are as many ways to raise the pigs as there are producers, but let me tell you of two producers we got to know. In order to foster harmony these producers keep the same pigs together all of their lives.

A lucky pig is one who is born in late spring through early summer. This means that the animal's prime will coincide with the prime season of acorn production, their favorite food. As the pigs freely wander around the forest meadow called the dehesa in the fall, they make a bee-line for the cork trees and holm oaks trees that are liberally located around the
(more)

Health Benefits of Iberico de Bellota

Can anything this wonderful be this healthy? Absolutely. Remember that this is a ham from an extraordinary pig who traces his lineage back to the time of the cavemen. The Cerdo Ibérico has quite a different DNA than the meat of run-of-the mill pink pigs you are used to buying. In addition, their diet of herbs, grasses and acorns are a significant factor.

The composition of the fat from the Ibérico Bellota acorn finished ham is more than 55% oleic acid, a mono-unsaturated fatty acid. Only extra virgin olive oil has higher oleic acid content. Exhaustive scientific research indicates that these mono-unsaturated fats provide a positive effect on cholesterol in one's blood stream by increasing the amount of "good" (HDL) cholesterol, while decreasing the ratio of "bad" (LDL) cholesterol.
(more)