What is ham?

The cut of meat from a hog's hind leg, generally from the middle of the shank bone to the aitch (hip) bone. The actual length of the cut varies according to the producer. The unprocessed meat is referred to as fresh ham, but most ham goes through a curing process after which it's referred to as cured ham. The final flavor of a ham can be attributed to a combination of many factors. Before the animal is slaughtered, those factors include its breed, the type of feed on which it was raised and the age at which it was slaughtered. Most hogs are fed corn, but animals headed for the gourmet market may have treats such as acorns, beechnuts, chestnuts or peanuts added to their diets. After the hog is slaughtered, the meat is usually cured in one of three ways-dry curing, sweet-pickle curing or injection curing. Dry curing involves salting the surface of the ham thoroughly, then storing it until the salt saturates the meat. This procedure may be repeated several times. Sweet-pickle cur…