Serrano vs. Ibérico

Serrano vs. Ibérico
Originally uploaded by MacYam

We have this little shop down the street, right around the corner from our apartment where we taste meats. The proprietor is a lovely man who delights in showing us the varieties of cured hams, salamies and cheeses that he has in his tiny storefront and he always chides Antonia for not eating meat. Then he gives her candy. When the shop isn´t busy he does not hesitate to dole out slices for us to sample. In the morning he is hanging out in front of his shop as we pass by on our way to El Rincón for our café con leche. He waves enthusiastically and speaks to me, like I have a bad head injury, very loud and slowly with lots of exagerated gestures. Everyone on the street feels sorry and wonders about the old man with the two children.

Today we went back for a taste test. There are principly two kinds of cured hams, Serrano and Ibérico. Jamón serrano is "mountain cured" in the fresh air at high altitudes. (Or in a refrigerated cellar in some wherehouse in Madrid) Jamón Ibérico is also called pata negra (black leg) from the black Ibérian pig believed to be a descendant of the wild boar. The best Ibérico is fed exclusively on wild, autumn acorns. We got a run down on the two varieties and what part of the leg these cuts come from and went home with 100 grams of each. Guess what, they´re both good but Amanda and Curtis prefered the serrano.

I have read that the Spanish lust for ham is the result of their kicking the Jews and the Arabs out of Spain. In the 1600´s, once the Spaniards were free of those semites with all their dietary restrictions, the people of Spain began to eat pork with wild abandon, a sort of declaration of independence.