[Sca-cooks] Serrano hams

[Stefan li Rous]

Suey said:
<<< (Of course I am referring to Serrano ham. The pigs are raised in the
holm oak forest and only eat acorns in Huelva, Spain and of course the
best hams had black paws from digging for acorns.) >>>

Oh! I'd heard of "Serrano" hams before, but didn't know any details. I thought it was a common occurance in the Middle Ages for pigs to be let run free in the forest and for them to eat acorns. I hadn't realized they dug for the acorns. I thought they were just eating what they found on the surface of the ground. But I've heard of "pigs rooting around", so this makes sense.

I thought pigs dug with their front legs but hams cam from the back legs. Am I off here?

Is it just eating the acorns that make/made the Serrano hams desired? Or do/did they do something special in their processing?  I guess originally I was thinking "Serrano" hams had something to do with "Serrano" peppers.

Thanks,
  Stefan

--------
THLord Stefan li Rous    Barony of Bryn Gwlad    Kingdom of Ansteorra
   Mark S. Harris           Austin, Texas          StefanliRous at austin.rr.com
**** See Stefan's Florilegium files at:  http://www.florilegium.org ****