Jambon de l'Ardèche

Appearance & taste

The ham is round and tapers towards the joint where the foot was removed. The texture is pleasant and elastic, somewhat firmer at the surface. When cut, it shows lean, dark red meat, sometimes slightly marbled, with a white layer of fat of 1 to 2 cm depending on the size of the ham.

It has a pronounced meaty flavour, slightly salty and spicy, with nutty notes and the rich aromas of a dry-cured mountain ham. The chestnut flour gives it a very light chestnut aroma that reaches right into the interior. The longer it ripens, the firmer the meat and the more distinctive its flavour and aroma.

It is sold whole on the bone, unpackaged or in a cloth bag; whole or in halves and quarters, boned, pressed and vacuum-packed, also without rind and with the fat removed; or in slices. The label states the ripening time and, where applicable, “dry-smoked with chestnut wood”.

Production

The meat comes from pigs born, reared and slaughtered in the EU. They receive at least 60 % cereals and cereal products; growth-promoting additives are prohibited throughout their lives. The fresh, trimmed leg weighs at least 8.5 kg.

It is trimmed round and rubbed by hand with dry salt mixed with saltpetre, pepper and other spices; saltpetre is the only permitted additive. After a resting period, the ham dries in several stages. During ripening, the opened lean side is rubbed with lard, spices and chestnut flour from the Ardèche. Its age is counted from the first day of salting until it leaves the drying room.

If desired, the finished ham can also be lightly smoked, dry and only with chestnut wood; smoke flavouring is not permitted. Salting, drying, ripening and smoking take place in the area of origin.

Origin & history

The area comprises 213 municipalities in the mountains of the Ardèche, from the Monts du Vivarais and the Boutières across the Coiron massif to the Tanargue and Les Vans in the south. It lies between 500 and 1,700 m, is wooded with firs and chestnuts and is often windy. The climate is continental to semi-continental, with harsh winters and short, sunny summers. According to the specification, around half of the French chestnut harvest comes from the Ardèche.

Pig-slaughtering feasts are mentioned as early as the 16th century; bacon and ham hung at that time next to chestnuts that were being dried in the smoke. In the 16th century the agronomist Olivier de Serres, a native of the Vivarais, described how ham was made. To this day many small and medium-sized businesses in the area, some over a hundred years old, make cured meats, and ripening still takes place in the mountains.