Xuanwei ham () is a dry-cured

ham Ham is pork from a leg cut that has been preserved by wet or dry curing, with or without smoking."Bacon: Bacon and Ham Curing" in '' Chambers's Encyclopædia''. London: George Newnes, 1961, Vol. 2, p. 39. As a processed meat, the term '' ...

Qujing Qujing ( zh, c= , p=Qūjìng) is a prefecture-level city in the east of Yunnan province, China, bordering Guizhou province to the north and east and the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region to the south; thus, it was called "Key between Yunnan and Gui ...

Prefecture of

Yunnan province Yunnan; is an inland Provinces of China, province in Southwestern China. The province spans approximately and has a population of 47.2 million (as of 2020). The capital of the province is Kunming. The province borders the Chinese provinces ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

. Xuanwei ham has a 250-year history dating back to 1766. In 1909 it was first mass-produced and gained popularity. In 1915 Xuanwei ham won a gold medal at Panama International Fair. Xuanwei ham enjoys a high reputation both internationally and locally. The ham is "rose-red" in color and similarly shaped to a

pipa The pipa, pípá, or p'i-p'a () is a traditional Chinese musical instrument belonging to the plucked category of instruments. Sometimes called the "Chinese lute", the instrument has a pear-shaped wooden body with a varying number of frets rangi ...

History

Xuanwei ham was first created and produced in 1909 by a business man in

Yunnan Yunnan; is an inland Provinces of China, province in Southwestern China. The province spans approximately and has a population of 47.2 million (as of 2020). The capital of the province is Kunming. The province borders the Chinese provinces ...

China. In 1911 they started canning the ham and it first shipped around the world in 1912.In 1915 Xuanwei ham won a gold medal at the Panama International Fair. After that it was shipped all across the world and became an international sensation. The current production rate is at 10,000

ton Ton is any of several units of measure of mass, volume or force. It has a long history and has acquired several meanings and uses. As a unit of mass, ''ton'' can mean: * the '' long ton'', which is * the ''tonne'', also called the ''metric ...

s. In 2001 its production center was moved by the

PRC China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the second-most populous country after India, representing 17.4% of the world population. China spans the e ...

Preparation

Mostly the pigs of the Wujin breed from the

Xuanwei Xuanwei () is a county-level city in the northeast of Yunnan, Yunnan Province, China, bordering Guizhou province to the north and east. It is under the administration of the prefecture-level city of Qujing. Geography Xuanwei is located in northea ...

district are used to make Xuanwei ham because of the high body fat content and muscle quality. During the processing of Xuanwei ham the green legs are salted three times before put in a ventilated chamber for 8–12 months. Penicillium spores

Certain

mold A mold () or mould () is one of the structures that certain fungus, fungi can form. The dust-like, colored appearance of molds is due to the formation of Spore#Fungi, spores containing Secondary metabolite#Fungal secondary metabolites, fungal ...

s have been found to alter the flavor of the ham, the most predominant were the members of the genera

Penicillium ''Penicillium'' () is a genus of Ascomycota, ascomycetous fungus, fungi that is part of the mycobiome of many species and is of major importance in the natural environment, in food spoilage, and in food and drug production. Some members of th ...

and

Aspergillus ' () is a genus consisting of several hundred mold species found in various climates worldwide. ''Aspergillus'' was first catalogued in 1729 by the Italian priest and biologist Pier Antonio Micheli. Viewing the fungi under a microscope, Miche ...

, Eight species of Aspergillus were found including A. fumigates which account for more than one third of all Aspergillus, and four species of Penicillium were discovered. Three main

yeast Yeasts are eukaryotic, single-celled microorganisms classified as members of the fungus kingdom (biology), kingdom. The first yeast originated hundreds of millions of years ago, and at least 1,500 species are currently recognized. They are est ...

genera were found,

Saccharomyces ''Saccharomyces'' is a genus of fungi that includes many species of yeasts. ''Saccharomyces'' is from Greek σάκχαρον (sugar) and μύκης (fungus) and means ''sugar fungus''. Many members of this genus are considered very important in f ...

, Schizosaccharomyces, and Hansenula.

List of Chinese hams

Anfu ham Anfu ham () is a type of dry-cured ham named after the town of Anfu in Jiangxi, China, where it originated. Red with a yellowish tint, the ham's skin is thin, but the meat itself is thick. The ham gets its flavor from being salted and smoked a ...

Jinhua ham Jinhua ham () is a type of specialty dry-cured ham named after the city of Jinhua, where it is produced, in Zhejiang province, China. The ham is used in Chinese cuisines to flavor stewed and braised foods as well as for making the stocks and ...

* Rugao ham

References

{{Ham Ham Yunnan cuisine

History

Preparation

List of Chinese hams

See also

References