Cured Hams: An Infinity of Flavours and Textures
Nofima's ten professional sensory assessors have analysed twelve different cured hams purchased from various grocery stores. They found clear differences in both taste and texture.
“Storage time seems to be the most important factor for the flavour and texture profile of cured hams,” says sensory analyst Gard W. Karlsnes. He emphasises that the selection tested only represents a part of the total offering of cured hams.
Tested Several Categories
The cured hams fall into the categories of salted, smoked, and well-aged. The well-aged ones have been stored for at least twelve months. The salted and smoked cured hams are typical Norwegian cured hams. Among the well-aged, there are two Norwegian hams, two Serrano hams from Spain, and one Italian Parma ham.
Naturally, there are significant differences between the various categories, and there are taste and texture differences between the hams in the same category, but these differences are smaller than between cured hams with different storage times and processing methods.
“What surprised us the most was that there are also clear differences between different packages of the same product, and these differences are greater for the more reasonably priced products. If you look a little closer at an unopened package, you can see differences in, for example, the marbling of fat. So, check several packages and choose the one that best matches your taste preferences,” advises Gard W. Karlsnes.
Sweet, Salty, or Smoked
The sensory assessors describe the texture properties of the well-aged cured hams with words like juicy, easily dissolvable, soft, sticky, and tender. Prominent flavours are sweet, umami, pork, and yeasty. There are great similarities between all the well-aged cured hams, except that the foreign hams also exhibited varying degrees of boar taint. This attribute was not found in the Norwegian varieties of well-aged hams.
For the smoked cured hams, which were all Norwegian, the chew resistance is higher, and the consistency is harder and tougher. The flavour profile is dominated by meat and, not surprisingly, characteristics like smoke and bonfire.
The third group of Norwegian cured hams can be referred to as “traditional Norwegian cured ham”. These are neither smoked nor well-aged. They have a more fibrous, dry, and firm texture, with a distinct salty and metallic taste.
“The sensory assessors’ evaluations are objective. They identify and map taste properties, not preferences. What is perceived as the best taste will, however, depend on other factors, such as the occasion and accompanying elements. For example, if scrambled eggs or flat bread and sour cream is on the menu, most people will want a salty taste and firm texture, but if they are wrapping the cured ham around a slice of melon, a more tender, well-aged, and less salty variant will be a better fit,” concludes Gard W. Karlsnes.
Research areas
Sensory sciences
Topics
Meat
Research facilities