{"id":1972,"date":"2020-11-09T12:24:03","date_gmt":"2020-11-09T11:24:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/laestrelladeljamon.es\/blog\/?p=1972"},"modified":"2021-03-03T13:09:11","modified_gmt":"2021-03-03T12:09:11","slug":"serrano-ham-vs-pdo-teruel-ham","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/laestrelladeljamon.es\/blog\/en\/serrano-ham-vs-pdo-teruel-ham\/","title":{"rendered":"Serrano Ham vs PDO Teruel Ham"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"diferencias-jamon-serrano-jamon-de-teruel\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

We\u2019ve already talked in this blog about the differences between\nSerrano Ham and Iberian ham. This time, we want to demonstrate the differences\nbetween Serrano ham and <\/strong>PDO Teruel Ham<\/strong><\/a>, which some\npeople still mistakenly called Teruel Serrano Ham. However, before entering\ninto more technical aspects, we firstly want to make it clear what we should\ncall Serrano Ham and what is PDO Teruel Ham.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If there is a generic term to name the product that we make in\nSpain from a pig\u2019s back legs, this term is doubtlessly jam\u00f3n<\/em> – ham.\nHowever, traditionally, and given that this product has been made in mountain\nareas, ham in Spain has been given the surname Serrano. However, we want to\nmake it clear that to be able to currently call a product Serrano Ham, it\nshould meet a set of conditions laid out by a European quality standard: the TSG (Traditional Specialities\nGuaranteed) Serrano Ham<\/strong>. If it is not certified, it cannot use\nthis name.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In turn, to be able to pair the product with the word Teruel,\nthe ham must have been made within the protection of the Control Board for the Teruel Ham and\nShoulder Protected Designation of Origin<\/strong>. Otherwise, it can\nnever be labelled or promoted with the term \u2018Teruel\u2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Whether it is from a white pig or Iberian pig, if a ham does not\nmeet any standards – TSG, Serrano Ham, Iberian Standard, or any of the IGP and\nPDO that exist in the ham sector, it can only be called cured ham<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Two hams made from white pigs. But are they the same?<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

The similarity between Serrano Ham and Teruel Ham is that they\nboth come from white pigs<\/strong>.\nThese pigs, including many races, have a shared legacy: the Celtic line.\nHowever, the different white pig races have characteristics, above all in terms\nof fattening, that make them extremely different.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While races such as the Pietrain, Landrace or Large White are\neminently lean, the Duroc race has a greater quantity of fat, both\nintramuscular and subcutaneous. This difference means that the hams obtained\nfrom the latter race, or a cross with another race, have a greater fat content.\nThis leads to tastier hams and allows for longer curing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The conditions for the TSG Serrano Ham do not specify the race.\nIn turn, the Teruel PDO guarantees that the ham always comes from pigs crossed with a Duroc on the paternal\nline<\/strong>. This guarantee is also seen in the differences in the\nrequired minimum fat thickness: 8 mm (on the top where the thin flank finishes\nand it meets the hip bone) for Serrano compared to 16 mm (measured in the lumbar\nregion near the tip of the leg) in Teruel ham. For these same reasons, race and\nfattening, the minimum weight of the pieces is also different for each type.\nThe TSG requires a minimum of 9.2 kg for hams without the hoof and 9.5 kg if\nthey keep their hoof. The\nTeruel PDO certifies the minimum weight of the carcass (86 kg) and not the\nfresh piece<\/strong>, although it does guarantee a dry weight of no less\nthan 7 kg.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Origin and feeding<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

A Protected Designation of Origin product has strong ties to the\nterritory in each and every process. This also refers to rearing the animal in\nthe case of ham. Pigs intended to produce Teruel Ham are born, reared and slaughtered within the\nAragonese province<\/strong>. Hams intended for Serrano TSG can come from\nanywhere in the world as long as they meet the European food quality and\nsecurity standards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are also differences in how the pigs are fed. As with the\norigin of the pig, the Serrano standard refers to the legislation on animal\nfeeding in force without evaluating the quality of the grain composition. A\nTeruel pig is fed, according to the specifications, with grain that is composed of at least 50%\ncereal<\/strong> that should also come\nfrom the province of Teruel or a neighbouring province.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Race and feeding are two decisive factors when it comes to\ngetting better quality ham. The third aspect is how it is produced.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Everyone does it their own way and everyone\u2019s way does…but there are some minimum requirements<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

After slaughter, deboning and shaping the ham, then it goes to\nthe drying spots. Both Serrano Ham and Teruel Ham will have passed checks so\nfar and they are going to continue to do so from when they start the salting\nuntil they are labelled for sale. A while ago, we talked about salting the ham<\/strong><\/a>. And although\nit is true that each manufacturer has their own way of doing it, nobody wishing\nto follow one of the two quality standards can ignore these limits: for Serrano\nHam between 0.65 and 2 days\/kg; for Teruel Ham, between 0.65 and 1 day per kg. This\nis definitely an important point, because although it is true that the industry\nis tending to reduce the level of salt, we can ensure you that a Teruel ham has\nmuch less chance of being\nsalty than a Serrano Ham<\/strong>, always speaking in general terms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Another point regulated by the specifications for these\nstandards is the post-salting or settling\ntime<\/strong><\/a>. In the case of Serrano ham, the minimum time required is 40\ndays, with a maximum temperature of 6\u00baC and relative humidity between 75 and\n95%. In turn, Teruel Ham must\nspend a minimum of 60 days at a maximum temperature of 6\u00baC <\/strong> and relative humidity over 70%. This aspect is\nnot as decisive in itself for the final quality of the product, but it\ndemonstrates that Serrano ham is going to have lower minimum curing time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And this minimum curing time is the last differentiating factor\nthat we are going to talk about. Having met all the previous requirements, we\ncan label a piece as TSG Serrano Ham when it has completed a minimum curing\ntime of 210 days in total, in other words, 7 months. In order to brand a ham\nwith an eight-point star and the word Teruel and add the CRDO seal, it must\nhave been in salt for a\nminimum of 14 months<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Race, food and production have given us a good overview. Having\nsaid that, we would like to highlight that these standards only set the bare minimum.\nIn our case, we do not accept fresh pieces, either for Serrano ham or Teruel\nham, that weigh less than 11.5 kg when fresh. We are very demanding concerning\nthe origin of the pig and the fat thickness. What\u2019s more, hams do not leave our facilities that\nhave been cured for less than 18 months<\/strong>. Choosing one product\nor the other already depends on subjective factors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At La estrella del jam\u00f3n<\/strong><\/a>, we are proud\nto produce our TSG Serrano Ham and our PDO Teruel Ham, and even Iberian Ham, we\nalways like to say that all ham is good, and that everyone has their own\nparticular palate, the right time and their ideal price. However, we also like\nto be transparent and call a spade a spade, so this blog entry has shown you\nthe differences between these two amazing products.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

We\u2019ve already talked in this blog about the differences between Serrano Ham and Iberian ham. This time, we want to demonstrate the differences between Serrano ham and PDO Teruel Ham, which some people still mistakenly called Teruel Serrano Ham. However, before entering into more technical aspects, we firstly want to make it clear what we […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1225,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[161],"tags":[337,333],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/laestrelladeljamon.es\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1972"}],"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=1972"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/laestrelladeljamon.es\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1972\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1974,"href":"https:\/\/laestrelladeljamon.es\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1972\/revisions\/1974"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/laestrelladeljamon.es\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1225"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/laestrelladeljamon.es\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1972"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/laestrelladeljamon.es\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1972"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/laestrelladeljamon.es\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1972"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}