中外火腿制作技艺 ：什么猪的大腿最适合？
在古代，由于没有冰箱等制冷设备，食物容易腐烂变质。通过腌制、晾晒、风干，成为食物储存保鲜的一种原始手段。火腿，就是这一风干发酵而沉淀出来的美味。
In ancient times, food was easy to rot due to the lack of refrigeration facilities such as refrigerator. Processes like pickling, drying and air-drying have become original means for keeping food from getting spoiled. Ham is one delicious food created by air-dried fermentation.
在中国以金华火腿最为熟知，然而这种美食并不是中国所独有。将目光投向西班牙窖藏室里诱人的火腿正在等待世人的品鉴。中国的金华火腿和西班牙火腿虽说在制作上异曲同工，但是在风味上却各有千秋。来看看到底哪一种火腿会让你口齿生津？
While Jinhua ham is the best-known ham variety in China, this delicacy is not unique to the country. Turn to Spain, and one can find the enticing hams in the cellars awaiting the world’s taste buds. Although China’s Jinhua ham and Spanish ham are similar in production, they are different in flavor. Let’s see which ham makes your mouth water.
中国金华火腿制作起源于唐代，2008年被列入中国国家级非物质文化遗产名录。其选用金华“两头乌”品种的猪，营养价值也要比普通猪高得多，两头乌的后腿肥大、肉脂细嫩品质好，是制作金华火腿的上佳原料。
The production of China’s Jinhua ham originated in the Tang Dynasty (618-907), and was included in the country’s national intangible cultural heritage list in 2008. It chooses a unique pig variety in Jinhua known as “Two Black Ends,” which boasts much higher nutritional value than ordinary pigs. The hind legs of the pig variety are fleshy with tender and high-quality meat, which make the best raw material for producing Jinhua ham.
西班牙火腿的制作至今也有一千多年的历史。伊比利亚火腿作为顶级西班牙火腿，严格采用血统极为纯正的伊比利亚黑猪。黑猪限定放养在橡树丰茂的原始森林中，平均每头猪散养面积相当于一个足球场大。橡果也就成了黑猪主要的食物之一，做成火腿有坚果的味道。
Spanish ham enjoys a production history of over a thousand years. Iberian ham, as a top-level Spanish ham, strictly uses a very pure variety of Iberian black pigs as raw material. These black pigs are confined to the primeval forest with abundant oak trees, with an average area per pig as large as a football field. Acorns have become one of the main foods of the black pigs, making the ham take a nutty taste.
金华火腿的制作一般在当年11月至次年2月间进行，冬至过后到春节前这段时间做的就叫“正冬腿”，冬至过后，气温下降到零度左右，是露天“晾晒”火腿的最佳时间。经过上盐、洗晒、室内风干等，整个流程至少要12个月左右，经冬历夏制成传统金华火腿。
Jinhua ham is usually made between November and February of the next year. The ham made between the winter solstice and the Spring Festival is called the “ripe winter leg.” After the winter solstice, the temperature drops to around zero, which is the best time to dry ham in the open air. After salting, washing, indoor air-drying and a string of other processes that last at least 12 months in total, the traditional Jinhua ham comes into being after the tempering of time.
伊比利亚火腿，一般也多选择在冬季宰杀制作。有所不同的是，伊比利亚火腿没有露天晾晒，而是在1-4度的恒温恒湿室中经过腌制、晾晒、风干，最后在15-25度的地窖内熟成，整个流程至少需要24个月。制成的火腿油花丰富，拥有透明的质感，大理石般的花纹。
For Iberian ham, winter is also usually the time for pig slaughtering and ham production. The difference is that Iberian ham is not dried in the open air. Instead, it is cured, dried and air-dried in a room with constant humidity and temperature of 1-4 degrees Celsius, and finally matured in a cellar of 15-25 degrees Celsius. The whole process takes at least 24 months. The ham is rich in oil, with a transparent texture and marble-like pattern.
这两种火腿经过时间的发酵而愈久弥香，陈化的火腿味道更好，一般3到4年的火腿味道更加浓郁。火腿就如同酱香白酒一样，年份越久越香。
The longer these two kinds of hams are fermented, the better they taste. The aged hams taste especially good. Generally, hams aged 3 to 4 years have a tastier and stronger flavor. Ham is just like Maotai-flavor liquor: the longer it is stored, the more flavory it gets.
千年的历史传承和不同的文化背景造就了不同地域的饮食方式及民俗文化。
Inheritance over a thousand years and different cultural backgrounds have created diverse ways of eating and folk culture in different regions.
金华火腿更适合入菜熟吃，因为味道偏咸稍硬并且红肉很多，发酵过程中分解出了丰富的氨基酸，煲汤时放一些，连盐都不用加，营养价值更是丰富。“佛跳墙”、“蜜汁火方”......都是用金华火腿做出来的名菜。
Jinhua ham is more suitable for cooked dishes, as it’s salty and hard in texture with a lot of red meat. During the fermentation process, rich amino acids are decomposed. Adding some ham to the soup will spare the need to put in salt, and generate more nutritional value. Fotiaoqiang, a thick soup made with varieties of seafood and meat, and sweet square ham are among the famous Chinese dishes made with Jinhua ham.
而伊比利亚火腿不是很咸，更适合生吃，一般由专业切片师片出脂肪分布均匀的薄片，搭配水果、红酒供人细细品尝。其香气浓郁，口感细腻充满脂香，入口即化。
Iberian ham, on the other hand, is not very salty and is better eaten raw. It is usually sliced by a professional slicer into thin layers with evenly distributed fat, and served with fruit and wine for a leisurely taste. It boasts strong aroma, fine taste and rich fat flavor, and is so delicate that it feels like melting in your mouth.
不同的气候环境和生活习性，这“两条腿”都凸显了自己的本土风味，随着贸易的往来走出国门来到了世界各国，饮食文化没有高低之分，就由各位食客自己选择啦！
Due to different climates and living habits, the two ham varieties are endowed with their unique local flavor. With the trade exchanges, they have ventured abroad and made onto the dining tables across the world. It makes little sense to compare food cultures, as the diners have the final say!
