I am not going to discover here, nor to repeat once again the qualities and the extraordinary quality of the serrano ham, be it serrano or Iberian, but I am going to refer to some tricks to be able to preserve it and appreciate those qualities for a longer time.
First of all, it must be said that the ham has its best day the day it is “opened” or that it starts, due to its flavor, its texture and the rest of its qualities.
However, except in the establishments where serrano ham is sold in large quantities, especially if in them the serrano ham takes less than a day to be consumed completely, it loses part of its qualities and if its degree of drying varies, according to the type of climate and environment in which we find ourselves.
This means that when it comes to establishments where it is consumed, it is best to consume ham in which a lot of product is sold and therefore each piece is sold out more quickly, and of course with a manual cut, which always enhances its qualities. In this it would be similar to draft beer, which tastes much better when barrels are consumed quickly.
If the weather is dry, the ham loses part of its moisture and dries relatively quickly and that leads to its consistency and texture increase, with the decrease of its organoleptic qualities, and making its taste more salty.
If the weather is humid, the process is the opposite, the serrano ham absorbs moisture from the environment and gradually loses the characteristics that drying has brought, softening and losing consistency and texture, and may appear to be meat.
But then what can we do so that the serrano ham stays in the best conditions and enjoy its qualities until the end?
It is best to keep it, after starting, vacuum packed, in smaller portions, and consume those portions.
That ham can be preserved filleted or in maces, this second form being more convenient.
It has been proven that the preservation of ham in maces helps preserve its qualities more than filleting, always talking about preserving it afterwards with vacuum packaging.
Ham maces, once opened the vacuum container, are well preserved for many days in the refrigerator, wrapped in a thick cotton cloth, and consumed by cutting or filleting the part to be consumed at any time.
These suggestions are not only useful for consumers of ham in central and northern Europe, where the climate is wetter, they are also for coastal areas of Spain, where that humidity index is higher than its conservation requires.
You can buy serrano ham online through our Gastronomic Spain page, both in pieces, as vacuum packed and receive it at your home, in all European countries.
