{"id":1932,"date":"2020-10-19T14:01:37","date_gmt":"2020-10-19T13:01:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/laestrelladeljamon.es\/blog\/?p=1932"},"modified":"2021-03-03T13:10:06","modified_gmt":"2021-03-03T12:10:06","slug":"iberian-colours","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/laestrelladeljamon.es\/blog\/en\/iberian-colours\/","title":{"rendered":"Iberian colours"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

In January 2014, Royal Decree 4\/2014 came into force, approving\nthe quality standard for meat, ham, shoulder and shank from Iberian pork. From\nthis date onwards, all hams on the market labelled as Iberian should meet this\nstandard that categorises pieces depending on two parameters: animal feed and racial purity<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When these hams reach the market, in addition to the correct commercial labelling (the label or band that each brand uses), it should have a seal around the leg that matches its sales description. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are two types of seal: seals awarded by the Inter-professional Iberian Pig Association<\/strong> (ASICI), for hams that meet the RD 4\/2014, and seals for hams covered by one of the four PDO<\/strong> for Iberian ham in Spain, quality standards covered by the European Union that validate the RD 4\/2014 and also set stricter standards for breeding pigs and producing the pieces. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Four hams, four colours<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

The black\nseal<\/strong> refers to hams and shoulders that come from 100%\nIberian pigs fed an extensive diet. In their fattening stage, they are fed on\nacorns, roots, grass and pasture on the mountain plain. Its specific\ndesignation must be: 100%\nIberian Acorn-fed Ham (or Shoulder)<\/strong>. This is the only one that\ncan be called  Pata\nNegra<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The red\nseal<\/strong> is reserved for pork products that have been fed with\nacorns on the high plains, like the black seal, and are crossed with Duroc\npigs<\/strong><\/a>. This crossing can be done in one of two ways. If the father is\nDuroc and the mother is Iberian, then the pigs are 50% crossed. In turn, if one\nof these crossed males is paired up again with an Iberian female, the result\nwill be a 75% pig (although the genetics are not mathematical). Both crosses\nuse the red seal. However, if they are certified as such, this percentage can\nbe reflected on the commercial label, with the following denominations: 75% Iberian Acorn-fed Ham<\/strong> or 50% Iberian Acorn-fed Ham<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The green\nseal<\/strong> differentiates dry-lot feeding. It refers to hams and\nshoulders from pigs that might have been bred extensively or in intensive\noutdoor facilities with a covered area. Their feed is mainly based on fodder\ngrain and grass from the fields. However, some hams have reached the market\nfrom pigs that have eaten acorns, although not enough to be marked as such, and\nthey remain classified as dry-lot fed. What actually happens is that the\nimmense majority of the\ngreen seals on the market come from pigs bred intensively<\/strong> (100\nm\u00b2 per animal), fundamentally grain-fed.\n\nThe same happens with\ntheir racial purity. Although the standard covers both Iberian pigs and crossed\npigs (from 50% to 75%), the later usually dominate the market. Their commercial\nname would be as follows: 100% or\n75% or 50% Iberian Dry-lot fed Ham<\/strong>. If you want to know more\nabout this type of ham and the ambiguity of a standard that is used for hams\nthat come from very different places, we recommend this\nwonderful Jam\u00f3n Lovers post<\/strong><\/a>.\n\n\n\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The white seal <\/strong>is far and away the most commonly found on sale. Just like the green seal, its racial purity might be 100%, 75% or 50%. However, as we saw with the dry-lot feeding, it is extremely rare to find white seals for hams from pigs that are 50% crossed. In this case, the pigs are bred in intensive farms and their food is based on grains composed of cereals, pulses and fats. The name that should appear on its commercial label is 100% or 75% or 50% Iberian Grain-fed Ham<\/strong>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Four DOP, three colours<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

As we mentioned above, the Protected Designations of Origin are quality standards covered by the European\nUnion<\/strong> that validate the national Iberian standard. Both the\nASICI seals and the different DOP can co-exist, on the condition that they\nrespect the colours set in the Royal Decree.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Although each Control Board sets specific conditions, they all\nhave something in common. No\nDOP marks hams or shoulders with a white seal nor products from 50% crossed\npigs<\/strong>. So then, the coloured seals would be associated with the\nfollowing products:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Black: <\/strong>Acorn-fed 100% Iberian ham<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Red: <\/strong>75% Iberian Acorn-fed Ham (never 50%).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Green: <\/strong>100% % or 75% Iberian Dry-lot fed Ham.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

All the hams and shoulders covered by an Iberian DOP have a coloured seal with its\ncorresponding logo<\/strong> around their hoof. A ham that also has the\nASICI seal depends on the specifications for each of them. Hams from the Extremadura pasture<\/strong> can\nhave both at the same time, as each manufacturer can decide to remove or\nmaintain the ASICI seal. Hams from Los\nPedroches<\/strong>, although they might be identified with both during\nmanufacturing, can only be sold on the market with the DOP seal. If a Jabugo <\/strong>ham uses the\nnames in the Standard on its labelling, it must use both seals. In turn, hams\nfrom Guijuelo<\/strong> made\nfrom 2017 onwards, can only be sold on the market with its DOP seal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These are the seal colours for hams that can be called Iberian. No ham can be sold on the market with\nthat name if it is not protected by the Iberian Quality Standard or by one of\nthe four DOP<\/strong>, and it has the corresponding seal.\n\nWe hope that this\ninformation has been useful for you and that the next time you see a ham in a\nshop, you\u2019ll be able to recognise the exact type of pig it comes from.\n\n\n\n<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In January 2014, Royal Decree 4\/2014 came into force, approving the quality standard for meat, ham, shoulder and shank from Iberian pork. From this date onwards, all hams on the market labelled as Iberian should meet this standard that categorises pieces depending on two parameters: animal feed and racial purity. When these hams reach the market, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1933,"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\/1932"}],"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=1932"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/laestrelladeljamon.es\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1932\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2131,"href":"https:\/\/laestrelladeljamon.es\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1932\/revisions\/2131"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/laestrelladeljamon.es\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1933"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/laestrelladeljamon.es\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1932"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/laestrelladeljamon.es\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1932"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/laestrelladeljamon.es\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1932"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}