/ck/ - Food & Cooking

[Anonymous No.4958061]

Can someone tell me the difference between the types of ham sold in a typical supermarket?

I tried googling but all i got was sites talking about fancy, whole ham, and not the sliced type in supermarkets.

Like what is the difference between double smoked ham, "premium leg ham", champagne ham, etc?

What is the difference between the ham that comes in small boxes and the ham at the deli? I noticed boxed ham is much more expensive than deli ham for some reason.

[Anonymous No.4958081]

>>Like what is the difference between double smoked ham, "premium leg ham", champagne ham, etc?

Differences in how the ham is seasoned.

>>What is the difference between the ham that comes in small boxes and the ham at the deli?

That's a difficult question to answer--even at the deli you will find different kinds of ham.

If you take it down to basics there's really 3 kinds of ham:

Pressed ham: this is the lowest quality. It's made from scraps of pork pressed together into a block, as opposed to a single piece of pork. It's available at both the deli and pre-packaged. Think of this as the "chicken nuggets" of the ham world. You can identify it because it's labled "pressed ham" or "chopped and formed" or something similar. You can also identify it if it has an unnatural shape--like a rectangular block, unlike the natural shape of a pig.

Normal ham: made from a whole pigs leg, probably mass produced in a factory somewhere Not much to say about this. It's ordinary ham, available both pre-sliced in packages and at the deli, though in a variety of different flavorings: honey, smoked, cajun, etc, etc.

Fancy ham: could be from some kind of artisinal producer, or perhaps cured and smoked in-house. Includes specialty (expensive) hams like Chinese Jinhua, or Spanish Jamon Iberico, etc.

>> I noticed boxed ham is much more expensive than deli ham for some reason.

You mean the stuff that's pre-sliced in the refrigerated section of the supermarket? OFC it's more expensive than the deli, you're paying for the convenience of it being pre-packaged.

[Anonymous No.4958106]

cooking and seasoning.


sliced ham is usually boiled inside of a plastic bag container.... this includes shitty ham sold in containers and the ham you get sliced from the deli.


ham you buy and cook yourself is usually parcooked by boiling as well, but you finish it off in the oven.

[Anonymous No.4958113]

>>4958081
but i can get ham at the deli sliced and put into a plastic bag. Assuming the ham at the deli is the same as the one in the boxes, the only difference would be plastic bag vs box...

I did notice that the ham in boxes has a expiry date of like one month though. Is deli ham the same?

Which would you say are the best seasoning methods for ham?

[Anonymous No.4958136]

>>4958113
if the ham they are slicing off for you comes from anything without a skin, or in a rectangular shape, it's pressed meat cakes, not ham.

[Anonymous No.4958144]

>>4958136
isnt there normal ham with the skin removed?

[Anonymous No.4958833]

>>4958081
>Pressed ham: this is the lowest quality.
But does it taste worse?

[None !2fiREZiSTw No.4958838]

>>4958833
Yes

[Anonymous No.4959575]

Can someone please tell me who this fuckhead in OP's pic is?

Something about that makes me want to reach out and punch someone.

[Anonymous No.4959577]

>>4959575
Frodo from Lord of the Rings.

[Anonymous No.4959587]

About the deli hams, the "pressed" ham in US, at least where I live is called "boiled ham". It is a big block "loaf". It is also the cheapest. I wouldn't condemn it for that, it happens to be my favorite. Kind of like baloney, but salty and with a much better texture.

Be careful about buying "country ham". It is similar but tastes about as far away from "ham" as you can get. By all means, sample some, but don't fuck up like I did and buy a whole pound of it and then throw it and the sammich you just made in the trash after the first bite.

Boar's Head website might have some good descriptions... They are heavy into marketing their varieties.

[Anonymous No.4959597]

>>4959577
Thanks, and take that, Frodo's of Shelbyville!

[The Frying Dutchman No.4960579]

>>4959587
Lol, where I grew up a "pressed ham" was something completely different!!