Which brings us to the humble acorn, known as the 'bellota'. Many centuries ago, the rulers of western Spain decreed that each town and village should maintain pastures studded with oak trees, called the dehesa, for the long term stability of the region. This forest/pasture continues to serve many purposes. The holm and cork oaks provided firewood for the people, shade for the plants and livestock, cork products, and acorns (bellota) during fall and winter. During the spring and summer cattle and sheep graze the fields. During the fall and winter, when the acorns are falling from the trees, the pigs are released to fatten up. This ancient human-maintained ecosystem survives intact to this day. An aside: with the construction boom in modern Spain there has been pressure on the owners of the dehesa to convert it into real estate for homes and apartments. The renaissance of the Ib̩rico ham, which began less than thirty years ago, is a major ingredient in preserving this jewel of Spain for future generations. Ib̩rico pigs love acorns. They really love acorns. Each pig can eat ten kilos of acorns a day. When the pigs destined to be Bellota hams are released onto the dehesa at the age of about 10 months they weigh in at about 200 pounds each. The once svelte young pigs become gleeful plump pigs, gaining up to 2 pounds of fat each day. After 3 to 4 months of the period known as the ‰Û÷montanera‰۪ each pig roughly doubles its weight. In the winter, once they have reached a certain weight, their time has arrived for the ‰Û÷sacrifice‰۪ (Both male and female pigs participate in the montanera. All are neutered and spayed; the males to protect the quality of their meat, and the females to protect them from the attentions of wild boars from the mountains.)

The 'matanza', or sacrifice, has traditionally been a family affair. A pig would be slaughtered and the whole family would gather to preserve the meat for the rest of the year. Chorizo, salchichÌ_n and morcilla sausages would be made on the spot. Choice cuts would be set aside to be eaten fresh. And the fatty legs would be packed in sea salt and hung to dry in the cool winter air. This process still continues in some towns as it has for thousands of years.

Over the last century, family factories have begun curing these hams in large quantities using the same methods. The hams are left to absorb the salt for a few weeks. Then they are hung in factories that still have open windows to allow the mountain air to circulate around the hams. Ib̩rico hams usually about two years, JamÌ_n Ib̩rico de Bellota hams for longer periods.

This extraordinarily long curing process is possible because of the huge amount of fat on each ham and, in the case of the Bellota hams, the antioxidant quality of their diets. Over the curing period they loose nearly half their weight as the fat drips away. An incredible transformation occurs as the winter moves to spring and summer. The salted ham starts to sweat. Because of the salt, bacteria cannot take hold, but massive chemical changes occur. The meat becomes dryer, and cools off as the second winter commences. The special aspect of Ib̩rico is that it can go through this cycle two or three times. The result is a build up of complex, volatile molecules in the ham that transform it from a piece of pork into an orchestra of flavors. With the Bellota hams, the most miraculous transformation is of the fats. Through this period of heating and cooling, salting and drying, the fats are broken down. Because of the antioxidants in the acorns and the unique curing process, the saturated fats are changed into healthy mono-unsaturated fats high in oleic acid. The only fat higher in oleic acid is olive oil.

The Ham