Description
The Cooked Ham from Salumificio Freoni Danzi is a product classified as high quality, originally processed from selected legs, flavored with spices and aromas, steam-cooked, vacuum-packed, and pasteurized. Cooked Ham: Historical Notes Cooked ham is a food with a long history and tradition, dating back to ancient Rome, where traces of pork meat processing recipes have been found. Cooked ham is nothing more than a "large roast," and therefore its discovery is attributed to the Romans who, during wars in the Northern European regions, sought to facilitate the cooking of roast pork leg by boiling it in water and aromas. Its production requires several essential phases: the selection and slaughtering of the pig, the processing of the hind leg, steam cooking, and packaging. Cooked Ham: Nutritional Values Cooked ham is not only a source of protein but is also rich in zinc, iron, minerals, and B vitamins, making it a complete food from a nutritional standpoint. The energy content provided to our body varies based on the amount of fat retained during skinning. How can you tell if a ham is of quality or not? The quality depends on the amount of water present in the meat, particularly the more moist the ham, the lower the quality. You also need to be careful about what you buy, as cooked ham is often replaced by a very similar but less valuable product: cooked pork shoulder. A Cooked Ham of Three Different Qualities You may not know that, due to a decree by the Ministry of Productive Activities in 2005, there are three categories of this cured meat that reflect three levels of quality. The one simply called "cooked ham" is the basic product, made through the processing of the pork leg. This category includes all those hams with a moisture rate less than or equal to 81%. The second category is called "selected cooked ham," to fall into this classification at least three of the four main muscles of the pork leg must be visible, and its moisture rate must be equal to or less than 78.5%. The third category is represented by "high-quality cooked ham," which, unlike the selected one, is more valuable and sought after as it mandatorily requires the use of the deboned leg: its processing allows obtaining a ham with a moisture rate below 75.5%.