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CHARACTERISTICS OF PIGS
Breeds of pigs to make ham
Pigs are mammalian animals, which represent part of the food history of the twentieth century backwards, in the post-war years it was very common in all homes in Spain, mainly those found in rural areas will use this animal to feed the man. The production process was such that it brought the whole family together, a process that is still being done today, and which at that time was called Mondongo.
The animal is small in stature, up to 60 cm in the best cases, and long. Its length can be up to 2m, but above all its weight is noteworthy, which can be up to 400kg in some cases, although the average can be between 100 and 150kg.
It is said that they are animals that have great intelligence and that cannot come together alone, since they are animals that have cognitive properties related to other types of animals without being of the same family or class.
Animals that, in short, and comparing with a wide range of animals, are said to be fast animals and that they process feelings towards something in a very real way.
The life of pigs is long compared to other animals, and they can live between 10 and 20 years. It is true that the productive use that this animal produces to produce ham avoids animals that exceed certain characteristics of weight, height, build, length and age.
White pig breed
The white pig is called the one used in the production of Serrano ham, Serrano ham is a highly demanded product, in fact, more in demand than Iberian ham, countries like France and Belgium usually eat Serrano ham from Spain, due to its high quality in production.
Where is Serrano ham located? Serrano ham in Spain is located in 3 main autonomous communities: Aragon, Andalusia and Castilla-León, in these communities they are the most producers of serrano ham, taking into consideration Teruel as the largest producer of serrano ham in Spain.
But really, the pig breeds that make up Serrano ham are very different from those used for the production of Iberian ham, top dressing or bait, and it is necessary to take into consideration that both the diet and the curing is very different in each one of the types of hams
We can distinguish between:
Duroc white pig
White landrade pig
White pig large white
Iberian pig breeds
Iberian pork
- Black pig
- Hairless black pig
- Spotted red pig
- Torviscal red pig
White pig
Regarding the white pig, it is one of the really well-known in the world of ham and the few varieties encompass an area that can be altered.
The white duroc pig is a pig originating in the United States, it was introduced in Spain in the 60s, it is a pig that gives great results in the production of Serrano ham in Spain. Since it is a pig that has all the peculiarities of weight, height and length that the white pig needs to be able to produce Serrano ham.
This pig is very common in the use of the production of ham from Trevelez and Teruel, especially the ham from Teruel, for at least a decade, it uses the duroc pig for the production of everything that has to do with the denomination of origin and what not.
It depends on the ham drying room, and the curing time of the ham, different breeds of pig are used that provide more facilities to obtain a ham, with taste and great quality.
The landrace pig breed is the pig breed par excellence for both the female and the male, to take into consideration, in certain farms if this type of breed is used for the designations of origin. Its volume and characteristics allow it to comply with the specifications and regulations of the appellation of origin councils of the peninsula, since we have to take into consideration that currently not all pigs or all breeds meet the harsh specifications indicated by the council. regulation of DO ham from different parts of Spain.
Another breed that uses Serrano ham from Spain is the Large White breed, it is a female breed, and is usually the one that produces Serrano ham from females and sows.
This breed par excellence is the one that is crossed with the Duroc pig, and it is the most important breed in white pig breeding.
Iberian pig
The Iberian pig is said to the pig from the Iberian Peninsula, specifically from the Extremadura area.
It is a pig that feeds on wooded pastures, holm oaks and in other cases holm oaks.
The Iberian pig as such feeds on natural food and since the middle of the twentieth century it is a highly demanded product throughout the world, although the Iberian pig has certain characteristics, such as being an elongated snout, it is also an animal very predisposed to accumulate fat, with which, at present the Iberian pig has been crossed with other types of pigs to reduce the levels of fat they have.
It is important to emphasize that the most common Iberian pigs in the peninsula are black skinned and black hairless, although at present they are crossed with races such as the Duroc race and other races in order to reduce the infiltrated race of the origin of the Iberian pig.
It should be noted that the black interpelled pig has its origin or is more commonly found in the Cordoba mountains and stands out from the existing Iberian pig varieties, as it is the one with the least infiltrated fat.
Unlike the hairless black pig, it is a very large pig, especially located in certain parts of Córdoba and Extremadura. It stands out for having a high percentage of infiltrated fat.
Take into consideration that apart from the varieties of black Iberian pig, we can find varieties of red Iberian pig, the red pig stained with the particularity that we can only find it in the Sierra de Huelva.
Retinto red pig, is the pig that is used for greater production of Iberian ham, and that is located in all parts of the Spanish geography that produce Iberian ham. Another less named breed is the torviscal red pig.
All these types of breeds that we have named above have to do with breeds that are used for the production of Iberian ham in Spain. Taking into consideration the diet of these breeds, we can divide denominations that today we can find in supermarkets, butchers or delicatessens.
Acorn: Feeding during its period of development of Acorns
Recebo: Food based on Acorns, although in the fattening stage, it is complemented with natural feed authorized for the Iberian pig.
Bait: Always fed with natural feed specified for the Iberian pig
It is important to note that in this article an attempt has been made to explain the different breeds that exist for the production of Iberian ham and Serrano ham, let us bear in mind that there are breeds that, without being so famous, are worked on in order to obtain high quality ham
