{"id":1019,"date":"2019-06-04T13:04:35","date_gmt":"2019-06-04T12:04:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/laestrelladeljamon.es\/blog\/?p=1019"},"modified":"2019-06-19T12:02:59","modified_gmt":"2019-06-19T11:02:59","slug":"how-to-pair-iberian-ham","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/laestrelladeljamon.es\/blog\/en\/how-to-pair-iberian-ham\/","title":{"rendered":"How to pair Iberian ham"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"ham-and-wine\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\nWhen\nwe mention an acorn-fed 100% Iberian ham, we are talking about one of\nthe 4 wonders of world gastronomy along with caviar, foie and\ntruffles. Just like the other three, although they are products that\ncan be used in cooking, they are best enjoyed by themselves, without\naffecting their qualities. Consequently, perhaps the best\naccompaniment, if we are talking about solid pairings, is simply\ntoasted bread and bread sticks known as picos<\/em>\nor colines<\/em>.\nHowever, liquid pairings open up a wide range of possibilities,\ndepending on your taste, but also on the ham and each part of it that\nwe are going to eat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\nThe\nfirst thing we\u2019d like to say is that there\u2019s no accounting for\ntaste! So, far from dictating a guide, we are simply going to give\nyou some broad ideas on which wines pair best (combining so that\nneither product stands out too much, masking the other) with the\ndifferent parts of the ham and with the unique characteristics of the\npiece that we are going to taste. These characteristics are going to\ndepend greatly on the shape and the place the ham was produced. Let\u2019s\nnot forget that we are working with biological raw material that does\nnot fit exact curing patterns. Consequently, we\nmust\naccompany the ham with wine and not the wine with ham.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

No two hams are alike<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

In all certainty, not even two hind legs from the same pig are exactly the same after the production process. This is perhaps one of the main features of ham. In the world of wine, it is easier to find bottles from the same grape harvest with a similar organoleptic profile. In general, Iberian hams from Salamanca and Cordoba taste sweeter. In turn, hams from Extremedura and Huelva usually have a stronger flavour. The\u00a0Iberian hams that we make at La estrella del jam\u00f3n<\/a>, in the province of Teruel, lean more towards Salamanca hams and their sweetness, maybe because we share the same cold, dry climate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\nIn\na ham, we not only see that each piece is unique but also within the\nsame piece there are at least four different zones with different\ncharacteristics: the cushion, knuckle, tip and shank.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s take it one part at a time<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

\nThere\nare two types of pairings: by affinity or accompaniment or by\ncontrast. Although ham has traditionally been associated with red\nwine, today we want to show you something different. Recently, a\ngrowing number of people have been recommending generous wines such\nas fino<\/em>,\namontillado<\/em>,\npalo\nseco<\/em>\nor cream<\/em>\nsherries as the best way to accompany a good acorn-fed 100% Iberian\nham.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\nThe cushion is\nthe widest part of the ham and has the greatest fat infiltration.\nWith a juicy texture, its flavour is smooth and rather sweet. We\nwould recommend a cream<\/strong><\/em>\nfor this zone. This is a mixed wine, obtained from dry wines with\nsweetened oxidising ageing generally from Pedro Xim\u00e9nez, that is the\nperfect accompaniment for the fragrances of nuts and grass from this\narea of the ham, and it is ideal for anyone who is not used to fino<\/em>.\nIf you are not a sherry fan, you can choose smoother wines, such as a\nyoung red or non-aged whites and ros\u00e9s, as they will not overpower\nthe ham, and will accompany all its nuances perfectly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\nThe\nknuckle is the part with the least quantity of fat, and it is\nusually the most cured. For these two reasons, this zone is going to\nseem the saltiest for us. Continuing with the sherries, the knuckle\ncan be tasted with an amontillado<\/em>,\nthat will encourage salivation and make this drier area easier to\nchew. Our advice is to avoid wines with an acid touch, as they will\nstrengthen the salty flavour of this cut.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\nRegarding\nthe tip, very tasty and concentrating the highest quantity of fat, we\nrecommend trying it with an old\namontillado<\/em> or\na palo\ncortado<\/em>.\nThe dryness that these wines bring to the mouth help to clean the\nfeeling of fat on the palate without masking the intense flavour of\nthe tip.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\nThe shank,\nthe most fibrous part, usually eaten in small chunks in many areas,\ngoes wonderfully with the aromas of a good fino<\/em> or\nmanzanilla<\/em> served\nicy cold.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\nFor\na contrast pairing there\u2019s nothing better than a good cava<\/em>.\nServed very cold, the bubbles produced by carbonation provide a\npleasant feeling, cleaning the mouth and demonstrating all cava\u2019s\nnuances, that touch of acidity with fruity or floral notes, then\nretreating to make room on our palate for the ham. It\u2019s a real\nsensory experience.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

When we mention an acorn-fed 100% Iberian ham, we are talking about one of the 4 wonders of world gastronomy along with caviar, foie and truffles. Just like the other three, although they are products that can be used in cooking, they are best enjoyed by themselves, without affecting their qualities. Consequently, perhaps the best […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1022,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[161],"tags":[341],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/laestrelladeljamon.es\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1019"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/laestrelladeljamon.es\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/laestrelladeljamon.es\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/laestrelladeljamon.es\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/laestrelladeljamon.es\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1019"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/laestrelladeljamon.es\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1019\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1117,"href":"https:\/\/laestrelladeljamon.es\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1019\/revisions\/1117"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/laestrelladeljamon.es\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1022"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/laestrelladeljamon.es\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1019"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/laestrelladeljamon.es\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1019"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/laestrelladeljamon.es\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1019"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}