SC - Ham

[Philip & Susan Troy]

Bonne of Traquair wrote:
> 
> well, you get what's referred to around here as 'city ham' and that most
> Americans call ham, and my husband's british family calls "gamon", but you
> don't get ham, that lovely, dry, salty, stuff that most American's feel the
> need to qualify as 'country ham' but which is really the real deal and it
> doesn't make good sandwhiches til after it's been soaked to releive the
> saltiness and texture and then baked. I know the list has been down this
> road before.

Yup. One reason it's called country ham is because in some cases it's
made in the style of Virginia or Smithfield hams, but not having those
points of origin, it can't be legally called that. (Yes, there are
sometimes other differences, such as occasionally being sold fully
cooked, etc.)

And country hams of whatever type are certainly wonderful, but then what
about York ham, Bayonne ham, Westphalian ham, and  the plethora of
others that have an equal claim to being "the real deal"? These aren't
pikers, and don't deserve to be discounted as either citified or unreal.
The country ham you refer to is certainly a fine example of its type,
but is by no means the only type, any more than Pinot Noir Grand Fenwick
'59 is the real deal for wine (and as we all know, it's really rocket fuel!).
  
Adamantius
- -- 
Phil & Susan Troy

troy at asan.com
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