A diet of acorns alone is only a fraction. It takes extraordiinarily more to achieve the unique taste of Jamón Ibérico. As mentioned previously, you need the microclimate and biodiversity of la dehesa, massive terrain and 3 types of oak grown on the property. Rigorous quality and origin control. And of course it takes time to raise the animals and to cure.
The terrain required to raise Iberico pigs is so vast you most likely don’t see them at all. But if you are lucky to come across them near the fence on your hikes just throw acorns over the fence and they’ll come closer.
More stuff from my trip to the Sierra here.
I like presunto and Black Forest ham OK but really, most hams taste to me as if the makers own multiple salt mines. And btw, the pig legs used to make “Parma” ham come from around here. We are EU’s biggest meat producer and have one of the biggest slaughter houses. We are a very small and industrious country in which animal welfare and quality (of anything) are of no importance. Destroy the land to make money is how we operate. Capitalism, yay.
I ate Mangalica in Hungary. It’s all right. Mangalica are primarily raised for the fat. If you don’t like Mangalica it’s quite OK. There’s not enough of it to go around Hungary so Hungarians will be glad if you scoff at Mangalica fat, that only means more for them.
Mangalica meat (very little meat): one, two, three.
The prized fat. I got some. The smoked one is nice.
Mangalica “jamon”. I bought it from a market stall.
