Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has confused the culinary delight Jamon Iberico with run-of-the-mill Jamon Serrano. Speaking at a livestock fair in Extremadura, he left people standing with their mouths open when he said: "you can be sure that when the Chinese president visited Spain he would be served a plate of Jamon Serrano from Extremadura".
But Extremadura is known for its prized Jamon Iberico. It is made from black Iberian pigs, who are fed with acorns, and dry-cured for a minimum of 36 hours. The best ham is cured for 48 months and can cost up to $110/kg. Jamon Serrano, however, is made from regular pigs.
Sanchez was ridiculed for his gaffe, with a local official calling him a “gastronomical and cultural illiterate". Asaja Extremadura, a farmers’ lobby group, said that it would send some samples of Jamon Iberico to Madrid so that the PM won’t repeat such mistakes in the future.
Netizens added their two cents, saying that mixing up Jamon Serrano with a culinary masterpiece such as Jamon Iberico is outrageous.
Even I woudn't
— MaSa (@msag53260081) October 4, 2019
To be able to understand how Spaniards adore pork, you should look at the size of the pig population. Last year it reached 50 million. For comparison, the number of people living in Spain stands at 46 million.
There are five types of dry-cured ham. Jamon Iberico Pata Negra, the king of jamones, is made from Iberian black pigs, which are fed on acorns. This diet gives the meat a nuttier flavour. It is cured for 48 months.
Jamon Iberico de Bellota, is almost identical to Pata Negra; however, the pigs are not 100 percent Iberian, the breed can vary from 50 to 75 percent. The meat is cured between 36-48 months.
Jamon Iberico de Campo is one of the most popular types of jamon. The pig’s diet consists of grain and acorns. This jamon is easier to produce and the curation takes between 24-36 months.
Jamon Iberico de Cebo is made from pigs that are not 100 percent Iberian. Their diet consists only of grain. The meat is cured for more than 24 months.
Jamon Serrano is made from white pigs that are fed on grain and is cured from three to six months.
