Jabugo, place of elaboration and maturing of Iberian Pata Negra Ham

Jabugo is not a breed of Iberian pig, or a type of ham, or a “Denominación de Origen”. It is simply a small village of around 2,700 inhabitants tucked away in the Sierra de Aracena y Picos de Aroche Natural Park in the province of Huelva . The sheer excellence of its cured hams has transformed its name into a synonym for quality in this particular product.
Over time, the village of Jabugo has become the birthplace of the best ham in the world.

Quality
Hidalgo Torres Jabugo implements the quality controls necessary to be able to guarantee the hams and shoulder hams protected by their stamp of quality. To that end we have our own technical, regulatory and monitoring services, and a Final Classification Committee. This monitors the treatment of animals on pig farms, watching over breeding, handling and feeding procedures, the curing process, packaging and the final labelling of the hams produced.

Marks of identity
Hidalgo Torres Jabugo classifies its ham and shoulder ham production by means of a system of vintages based on the branding of its Iberian pigs immediately prior to slaughter. The main tenets of this system are:

• The thinness of the legs of ham and the slimness of their outline as genuine signs of identity.
• Length is more important than width.
• The outside is covered by white or bluish grey mycotic flora, a signal of the characteristically slow maturing process in the cellars.
• When cut, the ham displays numerous veins of fat intermingled with the meat.
• The colour of the meat varies from pink to purple red, depending on the degree of curing.
• The shiny appearance of the ham is the result of the low melting point of acorn fat.