84-Lancaster Fanning, Saturday, April 7,1990
By Doris W. Thomas
Extension Agent - Family Living
Review Of Terms For
Easter Ham
With all the terminology used,
it is no wonder consumers become
confused when they try to select
just the right ham. Do you know
what all these terms mean --
whole, halves, portions, end
slices, butt, shank, fully-cooked,
semi-boneless, boneless, shank
less, skinned, canned, perishable,
water added, country-style?
A “ham” is the upper portion of
a hog’s hind leg. A fresh ham is an
uncured ham, more similar to a
fresh pork roast than a cured ham.
Hams are generally cured by
injection of a brine solution. Most
hams are also smoked after curing,
although they may not be labeled
as such. About 90 percent of all
hams are “fully cooked.” That is,
the ham has been cooked by the
packer and need only to be
reheated to an internal tempera
ture of 140 degrees F. The Nar
tional Livestock and Meat Board
recommends 15 to 18 minutes per
pound at 325 degrees F. For best
results usea meat thermometer.
Do not overcook or you will end
Heard?
By Doris Thomas
Lancaster Extension
Home Economist
up with a lot of unnecessary
shrinkage.
Ham may be purchased whole
or in halves, portions, ends or
slices. If ham is labeled as a half, it
must not have any of the center
slices removed. Once the choice
center slices have been removed
the remainder must be labeled as
butt, shank portions, or ends.
Ham may be sold semi
boneless, bonless or shankless. A
semi-boneless ham has the leg
bone remaining, but the aitch (pro
nounced H) bone and usually the
shank have been removed. A
shankless ham has the shank
removed. A semi-boneless ham is
usually partially skinned and
defatted.
A boneless ham may be rolled,
shaped or canned. Most have been
fully cooked. Read the label to
make sure. Some canned hams
have the term “perishable” on the
label. These hams have been
cooked to 150 degrees F during
processing and must be stored in
your refrigerator. A nonperishable
ham is a small canned ham (usual
ly 3 pounds or less) which has
bfeen cooked to an internal temper
ature of at least 250 degrees F dur
ing processing. It can be stored in
yout pantry without refrigeration.
A term that sometimes confuses
shoppers is “water added.” A cur
ing solution of salt, sugar and
water is injected into the ham dur
ing processing to produce the
meat’s familiar color and flavor.
Most of this added moisture is
subsequently lost during curing
and cooking. If some moisture,
not more than 10% of the ham’s
original or “green” weight is
retained, the ham must be rework
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ed into another product or labeled
with the exact amount of water,
such as “ham with 20 percent
water added.”
Dry cured hams are rubbed with
salt and other dry curing agents,
then slowly smoked and dried.
These hams are usually very salty
and require soaking and simmer
ing before baking. They are com
monly referred to as country hams
or they may bear the name of a
specific locality like Virginia,
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use similar methods. Dry cured
hams are generally whole,
untrimmed, and include the skin,
fat and bone.
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