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Here are some questions that consumers ask when making their choice. The benchmark product is the ham and these answers mainly deal with this type of cured meat, but are applicable to other pieces.
THE IBERIAN PIG - ITS PECULIARITIES
Serrano ham VS Iberian ham
Do not be fooled, a serrano ham simply designates a ham from the Spanish Sierra (mountain). It does not carry any notion of origin or of breed. Hams which are called serranos can also come from non-Iberian pigs. This is one of the essential criteria that must be taken into account when purchasing. Intensively-bred white pigs may carry the "Serrano" tag, but this is not an indication of quality.
Iberian ham implies a notion of breed and purity, of pedigree. Made from black pigs, the best, which, since the 2014 standard, are called Pata Negra. It is a particular breed, which has physical characteristics totally different from other breeds: short fur, dark skin, thin legs, long snout and ears, etc.
And the Pata Negra?
Since 2014, a pig that is not 100% Iberian (genetically 100% pure Iberian breed) cannot be called Pata Negra. Note: there are other black pigs which are not Iberian pigs (the black pigs of Bigorre and Corsica, for example).
Are all Spanish denominations made from Iberian pigs?
Ideally, yes, but realistically: no. There are only four DOs Denominación de Origen that control the production of the Iberian pig:
- D.O. Jamón de Jabugo in Andalusia
- D.O. Guijuelo near Salamanca
- D.O. Dehesa de Extremadura (between Portugal and Andalusia)
- D.O. Jamón Los Pedroches (near Cordoba)
For non-Iberian breeds, the Spanish Ministry of Agriculture recognizes 3 main areas: D.O. Jamón de Teruel, Denominación específica Jamón de Trevélez (to the south of the Sierra Nevada) and Denominación de calidad jamón Riojano.
LA BELLOTA - ACORNS
Do Iberian pigs feed exclusively on acorns?
No. In reality, the pig naturally feeds on herbs, fruits, and small insects or reptiles found in the pasture (dehesa) and its diet is not composed solely of acorns, for the simple reason that acorns are not available all year round. In addition, from birth and throughout its growth, the pig needs another element in its diet (fodder, vegetables, cereals, etc). It is from autumn, at the time of the montanera, when the pigs rout under the oaks in the dehesa.
Not all pigs have the same diet, as there are not enough acorns for all the pigs. In fact, depending on the producers, it takes one hectare of oaks for each pig.
Why do Iberian pigs wear a ring on their snout?
Ring on the Iberian pig’s snout: explanation and farming tradition
In free-range Iberian pig farming, it is not uncommon to see some animals wearing a metal ring on their snout. This traditional practice, known in Spain as anillado, is directly linked to the preservation of the dehesa pastures.
The Iberian pig has a very strong natural instinct: it digs into the ground with its snout, a behaviour known as rooting. While searching for roots, bulbs or insects, the pigs deeply turn over the soil and tear out grass roots. In grazing areas, this can slow regrowth for several months. Clover, highly valued by farmers for its nutritional qualities and its ability to naturally enrich the soil, may even disappear until the following year.
The ring placed on the snout does not completely stop this behaviour, but it limits it by making rooting less comfortable. The pigs then spend more time grazing on the surface, feeding on grasses, wild plants and acorns (bellotas) during the montanera, the period when they roam freely through the oak pastures.
For farmers practising extensive breeding, anillado is considered essential to preserve the fragile balance of the dehesa. A pig that roots less also uses less energy and remains more focused on its natural feeding.
However, this practice remains controversial. Some consider it essential for protecting the soil and maintaining pastures, while others believe it limits an instinctive behaviour of the pig. Above all, it reflects the search for a balance between animal welfare, environmental preservation and Iberian farming traditions.
CURING, STORING AND TASTING HAM
Which is the best Iberian ham?
In Spain, the best ham is the 100% Iberian bellota ham. There are 4 categories/labels:
- black, for pigs of 100% Iberian breed, fed on acorns, raised in the wild.
- red, for pigs reared on acorns but of 50-75% Iberian breed.
- green, for free-range pigs in the dehesa, fed on forage, cereals and legumes
- white, for pigs raised on a farm and fed on fodder, cereals and legumes
How can you recognize a bellota ham?
It is not so easy, and attempts at deception or fraud do exist. Depending on the curing time, the outer color of a ham tends to darken and may appear almost black, which can be misleading. The inner meat is less confusing, but you still need to be able to see inside the piece. The safest way is to check and decode the label, as it contains all the product information (producer, quality, origin, etc.).
The white spots should also be taken into account. They are sometimes scattered over the flesh, which are associated with the slow curing and maturation process of the leg. The degradation of the proteins present in the meat causes the formation of these small crystals of amino acids, called tyrosine. The presence of these white crystals is generally indicative of higher quality.
What is the weight of an Iberian ham?
The weight generally ranges between 6.5 kg and 9 kg. Below or above this range, quality is less certain: the ham may be too fatty or too dry. The ideal weight is between 7.5 and 8 kg. After the long drying and curing process (usually at least 3 years for bellota hams), the weight is significantly reduced.
How much of a ham is actually edible and sliceable?
For an Iberian ham, there is approximately 40–50% loss. This mainly consists of the bone, fat (tocino), rind, and of course the hoof. This is not cooked white ham; losses are greater than with standard pink pigs. For paletas (shoulders), the loss is closer to 50–60%. For example, from a 4.5 kg shoulder, you will obtain around 2 kg of slices.
What is the curing time of an Iberian ham?
The duration varies depending on the weight and size of the ham or shoulder. A large bellota ham (10 kg) can easily be cured for 4 to 5 years. On average, curing time is about 36 months for hams and 24 months for shoulders. Ventilation and temperature are also key factors. This is why the Jabugo designation is so highly prized: winters are not too cold, and summer heat is tempered by Atlantic winds from the south.
How should you store a ham once it has been started?
Once you have begun slicing your ham, it should be kept in a cool, dry place. It is recommended to cover the exposed area with the rind and fat, which helps prevent it from drying out.
How do you cut a ham?
First of all, you need one or more properly sharpened knives. You can use a ham stand to help with slicing, but it is not essential (for example, the charcuterie vendors at the Encarnación market do not use one). Start by removing the rind, then the first layer of fat. Many videos explain this very clearly, but keep in mind that in Spain, slices are not large: they are small pieces of about 5 × 5 cm. The ideal slice should be almost transparent.
How many Iberian pigs are free-range raised in Spain?
Just as the area of the dehesas is limited, the number of Iberian pigs that can feed there is also regulated. It is estimated that around 500,000 pigs can be fattened in Spain each year.
Some informations about the dehesa
The "dehesa" is the Iberian pigs' natural habitat. It is a pasture area composed mainly of cork and holm oaks, where it begins to rout when its weight reaches approximately 80-100 kilos. During this period, the acorn forms the basis of their food and gives the unique flavour to Pata Negra hams.
The composition of the acorn varies considerably from one oak to another and depends on the time of year. However, the seeds of the holm oak are generally considered to be the sweetest.
In Andalusia, the dehesa covers around 1.2 million hectares, mainly distributed along the Sierra Morena, and to a lesser extent the Sierra de Cádiz and the Sierra de Málaga.
The holm oak is a species of tree that retains its leaves for 3 to 4 years on average. It flowers between April and May and produces fruits in the months of October and November.
The cork oak, whose acorns mature between September and February.
The "montanera" is the period during which the pig is fed mostly acorns found in the dehesa. During this fattening phase, the pig can consume around 10 kilos of acorns a day. The montanera lasts from four to five months (from December to April, approximately) according to the acorn season.
The "descorchadores" are the people in charge of removing the cork layer from the cork oaks. In this way the dehesa is revitalised, and the acorn harvest is more abundant in the years when the cork is removed, more or less every 9 years (affecting the fattening of the pigs and the quality of their hams). An important part of this cork is destined to bottle stoppers, which give quality to those wines that pair perfectly with the ham.
The acorn is the Iberian pig's food par excellence, being exclusive to it, as it is the only animal that has the ability and intelligence to peel, discard and not eat the skin. It contains tannins, which are very unpalatable. Humans also get some benefit from acorns, especially those of holm oaks, as they are sweeter than those of the "chaparros" cork oaks, which are usually bitter. In the post-war years, the years of the "famine", when all kinds of foodstuffs were scarce, coffee being one of them, the rural population used to prepare "buche de café" with roasted and ground acorns. Some army barracks even prepared it for the troops. Recently, an Andalusian company have marketed acorn milk as a great novelty.
An ecosystem suited to the richness of the terroir
According to the Real Academia Española (RAE), the word "dehesa" means: « land generally delimited and wooded, most often intended for grazing ». In other words, "dehesas" are very distinctive forest areas, rich in biodiversity, where pigs, sheep, goats, cattle raised for meat production, fighting bulls, and even purebred Spanish horses, among other animal species, feed.
According to data from the Ministry of Agriculture in 2025, in Spain, the area classified as "dehesa" ranges between 3.5 and 5 million hectares and is distributed as follows:
- Extremadura: 1,237,000 hectares
- Andalusia: 946,482 hectares
- Castile-La Mancha: 751,554 hectares
- Castile and León: 467,759 hectares
- Community of Madrid: 113,051 hectares
Across the country, there are nearly 25,000 "dehesa" farms, of which approximately 75% are privately owned. The remainder corresponds to communal lands, neighborhood associations, or municipalities.
The Dehesa and the Acorn
In the past in Spain, rural people relied on proverbs as guidance, reflecting popular wisdom and experience accumulated over generations. Some of them are part of the heritage of the Sephardic people…
“If you do not see acorns in May, you will never see them.”
In reality, what can be seen in the dehesas are the flowers of the future acorns. In some regions, they are called “small coins.” At this time of year, when seen from afar, the dehesas take on a yellowish hue.
In May, the Iberian Peninsula needs a little rain so that the acorn flower develops properly. If it does not rain, a large part of the harvest is usually lost.
It is also important that the month of May is not windy, because the wind is the enemy of all flowers. Some years, it happens that “March brings May weather, and May brings March weather,” which reduces the harvest.
In summary, the rain in May is essential, for all the reasons mentioned above. Then, in October, another rainfall is needed so that the acorn grows larger and loses some of its hardness. These two rains make the great “montaneras” possible (the free-range grazing period when Iberian pigs feed on acorns).
As already mentioned, "dehesas" are places where various animal species graze freely and, in addition to making a significant contribution to the environment and biodiversity, they play a major role in the economy of the regions where they are located.
"Dehesas" are a true natural paradise: vast expanses of Mediterranean forest located in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula, of wild and captivating beauty, where, among large stretches of fresh grassland, oaks, cork oaks, and above all holm oaks grow.
The acorn comes from these trees, a berry of great nutritional richness that constitutes the main source of the quality of the future ham. A true jewel of the forest.
In the "dehesa", shrubs, flowers, and wild fruits are also found, arranged in a way that promotes animal grazing, as well as streams and ponds where they can quench their thirst. This water comes from rainfall or snowmelt. It is here, in this exceptional environment, that pigs live freely for several months.
"Dehesas" play a fundamental role in the production of acorn-fed Iberian ham, as it is here that pigs undergo the "montanera", the period during which they feed on acorns and other natural resources.
For animals to be brought there, "dehesas" must meet certain conditions. For example, land must provide at least 100 m² per pig; if the space is smaller, it will be insufficient, and Iberian pigs will not be able to move freely or feed abundantly on the magnificent fruit of the holm oaks.
In a good year, pigs find as many acorns as they wish and, thanks to this dried fruit, wild grasses, roots, and everything they encounter along their path, their diet is excellent. This diet, combined with their natural ability to infiltrate fat into the muscle and the exercise they perform during the "montanera", makes their meat unique.
The Salting of Iberian Ham
After the necessary days spent in salt, the ham continues its process while maintaining the traditional method used since time immemorial, in order to achieve optimal curing. In fact, this method was inspired by Nature itself, since it was the natural cycles of the seasons that guided the process, resulting in a product that, centuries later, has become a global gastronomic treasure.
WINTER
Salting:
The salting time varies depending on the weight of the piece, at a rate of approximately one day per kilo of ham. During this stage, the salt penetrates the muscle tissue. Once salting is complete, the pieces are washed in warm water to remove the adhering salt. After washing, each ham is shaped one by one (a process called alimonado or embolado).
Post-salting or resting:
This is a preliminary phase before curing, during which the homogeneous distribution of salt takes place, both on the surface and inside the ham. In this stage, the pieces are hung for at least 40 days.
SPRING
Ham drying:
At this stage, the ham continues its dehydration process, accompanied by proteolysis and lipolysis phenomena that will influence its aroma and flavor. The temperature gradually increases while relative humidity decreases. As the temperature rises, the fat melts and infiltrates the muscle tissue: this is one of the typical characteristics of ham.
SUMMER
Curing:
This corresponds to the summer months. During this period, at the hottest times, the exudation of the hams becomes much more intense and the dripping of fat more pronounced. This phase lasts about three months, favoring the reactions that give Iberian ham its unique and incomparable texture, aroma, and flavor.
AUTUMN
Aging or maturation:
After leaving the drying rooms, the pieces are classified according to their weight, quality, and shape, and then transferred to natural cellars to reach the final stage of curing. Hams are usually moved to the cellars in autumn, when the temperature begins to drop. The duration of this stage in the cellar is highly variable, depending on the degree of weight loss and aroma required for each piece. It is at this point that the role of the master ham maker becomes essential: he decides the right moment.
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