Can you tell the difference between an Iberian ham and a white pig ham? Do you know the different parts and each one’s characteristics? Could you pair them correctly? These are just some of the questions asked on 18th December to the professional cutter and communicator on the world of ham, Roberto González Santalla, at an event organised by DifEvents which we were lucky enough to attend.
The promoter
What is DifEvents exactly? This is Frida García’s personal project. She’s a computer engineer who loves events and cooking. Frida puts on “events for all types of audiences who want to have a light-hearted, fun time that is a little bit different from anything they’ve seen before at a gastro-meeting” as she states on her website. DifEvents organises different gastro-experiences, where they fundamentally intend that attendees have a good time whilst finding out more about the products they are presenting. At ham-based events, and working with Roberto González, one of the main aims is to spread the word on something so familiar and yet so remote as the ham culture – something that Roberto does on social media on a regular basis. With this purpose in mind, the event last December was supported by PDO Teruel Ham, in this case featuring our Sierra Lindón ham.
The place
The event took place at the Foodlab space in Madrid. Its creators (Urban Campus and Gastroemprendedores) define this space as not just a coworking office but also a cocookworking space. This is a meeting place for gastro-entrepreneurs – small producers, hospitality, commerce, distribution, etc. – and in general, anyone who is starting out in a gastro-business. There was also room for people outside this community, so ham fans and curious members of the public could also attend.
The event
It all began with a small, informative presentation by means of an introduction, explaining a variety of information and features of ham from the consumer’s point of view: differences between white pigs and Iberian pigs; the different classifications depending on race, pig feed or curing; the differentiated quality labels (PDO, PGI and TSG); the coloured seals in the Iberian standard; how to choose a ham and what to look for when buying one.
After this brief talk, there was a tasting of the different parts of the ham: cushion, knuckle and tip. During the tasting, Roberto explained the different nuances and features of these parts whilst making solid and liquid matches, both positive (cava, sherry, beer, etc.) and negative (cola drink, a portion of cheese, etc.). In this way, attendees saw first-hand how it is possible to strengthen or camouflage a flavour depending on what we eat with the ham.
For DifEvents, “it was very interesting to put on this event featuring a white pig ham with outstanding quality such as the PDO Teruel Ham as, in general, these events tend to use Iberian ham. This also surprised the audience who could see that when a product is good, it is possible to appreciate endless nuances of fragrance and flavour.” In addition, it was also interesting to find out that there were white pig hams that had been cured for a long time and that not only shared production processes with the 50% Iberian race fattened ham – the white seal version that is flooding the market – but also the way the pigs are reared and even half of its genetic line, corresponding to the father, as both are crossed with Duroc studs.
From our blog, we’d like to thank DifEvents and Roberto González Santalla for using our PDO Teruel Ham and for organising this type of events. Despite being one of Spanish cuisine’s heavyweights, ham remains uncharted territory for many people.