How to Store Your Serrano Ham
Serrano ham is usually eaten over a long period of time in small amounts, as a daily snack or for a treat, so a single ham can last many months. That means that if you're to get the most out of it, you need to know how to store your Serrano ham so that each slice delivers the full flavor and aroma.
First, you must carefully follow the cutting directions, the most important of which is that you should only cut the ham you plan to eat immediately. Cut ham is far harder to store and preserve, so if you want to know how to store your Serrano ham, that's the first step to take. Once you've begun cutting into your ham, you need to treat the area where the cuts were made slightly differently,and there are things you can do to preserve leftover slices too.
One effective method is to keep the first layer of skin and fat that you removed to get to the flesh of the Spanish ham, and replace it over the cutting area. It was once popular to impregnate the exposed surface with oil and paprika, but while this preserves the ham it alters the flavor, aroma and texture so it's less popular now than it was. The ham's own fat keeps the meat and the flavor.
Another option is to cover the Spanish ham with a cloth or a woven sack and hang with the hoof facing upwards. For convenience, many people store their hams horizontally on ham holders or even shelves, but it's far better to let the fats flow with gravity if you can (this is the reason behind the little upside-down plastic umbrellas you sometimes see underneath hams).
Covered in this way, and hung in a cool, dry atmosphere where the temperature is between 10 and 18 degrees Celsius (the ideal environment in a winery, incidentally), your Spanish ham will be in the best possible condition for you to enjoy its flavor. It's very important that you don't use plastic to wrap your ham, since it needs to be able to breathe or it will molder. If it's a long time between making cuts you should cut away the surface layer of your ham, which will tend to spoil if it's left too long, with the meat becoming hard while the fat acquires a rancid flavor.
As we mentioned above, you should cut only the number of slices that you plan to eat that day. It's better to cut a few short and have to cut more than to have leftovers. Once cut away from the ham, slices will tend to harden in just a few days and go stale. There are ways to preserve leftover slices so that, while they will never have the flavor and mouth feel of fresh-cut ham they will remain in a more or less acceptable condition. If you have too many slices, you will need to store them on a refrigerator (though not without a plate).
You should cover the Spanish ham in plastic wrap, making sure there is no air inside the plastic. You're trying to get as close to a vacuum as possible, to stop the molecules that give the ham its flavor from oxidizing. In fact, many people prefer to buy ham ready-sliced in vacuum packaging for convenience. In either case, it's important to remember that before eating them they should be exposed to the air at room temperature to recover as fully as possible their original organoleptic properties. Remember: store your Serrano ham in good condition to enjoy its unique flavor!
Tudo sobre presunto
Conteúdo
- 1 Tipos de presunto Pata Negra
- 2 Como consumir presunto Pata Negra
- 3 Cortar presunto Pata Negra
- 4 Como conservar presunto Pata Negra
- 5 Maridagem do presunto Pata Negra com outros produtos, à sua mesa
- 6 Lei da qualidade do presunto Pata Negra
- 7 As Pastagens
- 8 Denominações de origem do presunto Pata Negra
- 9 Propriedades nutricionais do presunto Pata Negra de bolota
- 10 Receitas com presunto
- 11 Diferenças entre presunto Pata Negra e presunto serrano
- 12 Diferenças entre pá e presunto Pata Negra
- 13 Diferenças entre presunto Pata Negra e presunto serrano
- 14 O presunto Pata Negra e os seus concorrentes no mundo
- 15 Propriedades nutricionais do presunto Pata Negra
- 16 Denominação de origem do presunto Pata Negra
- 17 Zonas de elaboração do presunto e do Pata Negra
- 18 Presunto cortado à mão ou a máquina
- 19 Museus do presunto Pata Negra no mundo
- 20 Provas de presunto Pata Negra: todos los segredos
- 21 Rota do presunto Pata Negra
- 22 O presunto Pata Negra de bolota e a sua maridagem ideal
- 23 Processo de elaboração dos enchidos ibéricos
- 24 História dos enchidos ibéricos
- 25 IVA para o presunto: perguntas e respostas
- 26 O presunto na literatura
- 27 Curiosidades do presunto Pata Negra
- 28 Como conservar o presunto serrano
- 29 Regulamento de qualidade do presunto serrano
- 30 Elaboração do presunto serrano
- 31 Denominações de origem do presunto serrano
- 32 Propriedades nutricionais do presunto serrano
- 33 Receitas com presunto serrano
- 34 Tipos de presunto serrano
- 35 Maridagem do presunto serrano
- 36 Como consumir presunto serrano
- 37 Cortar presunto serrano
- 38 Todos los secretos sobre la cata de jamón pata negra
- 39 Como escolher um bom suporte de presunto
- 40 Qual o melhor presunto pata negra?
- 41 É correcto o termo pata negra?
- 42 presunto pata negra e pastagens
- 43 Os segredos da maridagem do presunto pata negra