Jamón Ibérico - Coveted Spanish Ham to be Available in U.S.

Food News  |  Share Your Opinion

September 21, 2005

Jamón Ibérico, a ham that Americans have only enjoyed overseas, has finally cleared USDA government regulations for import into the United States, possibly before Christmas.  Pre-orders are being taken now by Spanish gourmet food retailer, La Tienda.

(Via PRWeb.com)  The Spanish government has just approved the first Jamón Ibérico production facility that meets USDA standards for export to the United States. LaTienda.com, a family-owned gourmet Spanish food retailer based in Williamsburg, VA, will fly in the first Ibérico products as soon as they are available. In fact, the Harris family has worked for more than eight years to make this possible. Soon this prized Spanish gourmet food, perhaps the finest of all hams, will be available in the US. Jamón Ibérico, marbled with rich golden fat and infused with the flavor of acorns, is also remarkably good for you. The curing process converts the fat of the ham into heart-healthy mono-unsaturated fat. This gives the ham beneficial qualities similar to olive oil.

Read more about La Tienda's quest to bring Ibérico ham to the U.S.

Pre-order your Jamón Ibérico at LaTienda.com.

Jamón Ibérico is perhaps the finest of all hams, as much a national treasure to Spain as caviar is to Russia, truffles are to Italy, and Kobe beef is to Japan. Jamón Ibérico hams are the pride of Spain, and Spaniards consume the most of the annual production in their own country. Some producers even have waiting lists of several years for their best products.

The unique flavor of Jamón Ibérico comes from the pigs themselves and from the way they're raised. The rare Iberian black-foot pigs ('pata negra') live only in Spain, where they have foraged for acorns in the cork oak forests of western Spain for millennia. This diet of acorns contributes to the flavor of the ham, and causes their beautifully marbled meat to be high in heart-healthy mono-unsaturated fat, giving the ham beneficial qualities similar to olive oil. This quality is apparent to the naked eye: thin slices of jamón glisten on the plate as the golden fat melts with room temperatures rises above 70 degrees F.