Dry-cured ham

Slices of Prosciutto di Parma, a dry-cured ham

Dry-cured ham originated as a meat preservation process. Through dry-curing, the ham can be stored for several months. The raw materials and the ripening conditions have a significant influence on the final texture and flavour.

Air dried

Bayonne hams aging in an atmospherically-controlled storage room in Mazerolles, Béarn

Air-dried hams are made throughout southern Europe, and most of these traditional products now have some kind of protected designation of origin.

• Prosciutto - various types of Italian ham
• Presunto in Portugal - Its name also derives directly from the Latin perexsuctum, like prosciutto.
• Bayonne ham, from the French Basque country
• Jambon de Pays as called in the rest of southwestern France, in places like Tarn, Aude, Aveyron and Haute-Garonne and all over most of Occitania. It is usually darker and saltier than Bayonne ham and cut in thicker slices when served. The Occitan word is Cambajou.
• Elenski but, made in the town of Elena in Bulgaria
• Jamón, Spain
• Njeguška pršuta, from Montenegro
• Užička pršuta, from Serbia
• in Croatia:
  • Dalmatian dry-cured ham (dalmatinski pršut), from Dalmatia in Croatia, especially from the area of Zagora - may be more or less salty, with darker and drier meat. The ham from the town of Drniš is one of the best known.
  • Istrian dry-cured ham (istarski pršut), from the Croatian peninsula of Istria; its saltiness and dryness is between Karst dry-cured ham and Dalmatian dry-cured ham.
• Karst dry-cured ham (kraški pršut), from Karst, Slovenia is generally less salty, less dry and with a gentler taste.
• Littoral dry-cured ham (primorski pršut), from the Littoral region, Slovenia
• Jambon, (Jambon afumat, if smoked), in Romania; mostly referred to as Şuncă in Transylvania.
• Jinhua ham, from China

Smoked

• Black Forest ham from Germany
• Country ham in the southern United States
• York Ham From England

See also

• Cuisine
• Food