Xuanwei ham () is a dry-cured

ham Ham is pork from a leg cut of pork, cut that has been food preservation, preserved by wet or dry Curing (food preservation), curing, with or without smoking (cooking), smoking."Bacon: Bacon and Ham Curing" in ''Chambers's Encyclopædia''. Lo ...

Qujing Qujing () is a prefecture-level city in the east of Yunnan province, China, bordering Guizhou province to the east and the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region to the southeast; thus, it was called "Key between Yunnan and Guizhou" () and "Throat of Yu ...

Prefecture of

Yunnan province Yunnan , () is a landlocked province in the southwest of the People's Republic of China. The province spans approximately and has a population of 48.3 million (as of 2018). The capital of the province is Kunming. The province borders the C ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

. Xuanwei ham has a 250-year history dating back to 1766. In 1909 it was first mass-produced and gained popularity. In 1915 Xuanwei ham won a gold medal at Panama International Fair. Xuanwei ham enjoys a high reputation both internationally and locally. The ham is "rose-red" in color and similarly shaped to a

pipa The pipa, pípá, or p'i-p'a () is a traditional Chinese musical instrument, belonging to the plucked category of instruments. Sometimes called the "Chinese lute", the instrument has a pear-shaped wooden body with a varying number of frets rang ...

History

Xuanwei ham was first created and produced in 1909 by a business man in

Yunnan Yunnan , () is a landlocked Provinces of China, province in Southwest China, the southwest of the People's Republic of China. The province spans approximately and has a population of 48.3 million (as of 2018). The capital of the province is ...

China. In 1911 they started canning the ham and it first shipped around the world in 1912. In 1915 Xuanwei ham won a gold medal at the Panama International Fair. After that it was shipped all across the world and became an international sensation. The current production rate is at 10,000

ton Ton is the name of any one of several units of measure. It has a long history and has acquired several meanings and uses. Mainly it describes units of weight. Confusion can arise because ''ton'' can mean * the long ton, which is 2,240 pounds ...

s. In 2001 its production center was moved by the

PRC China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population exceeding 1.4 billion, slig ...

Preparation

Mostly the pigs of the Wujin breed from the

Xuanwei Xuanwei () is a county-level city in the northeast of Yunnan Province, China, bordering Guizhou province to the east. It is under the administration of the prefecture-level city of Qujing. Administrative divisions Xuanwei City has 9 subdistricts ...

district are used to make Xuanwei ham because of the high body fat content and muscle quality. During the processing of Xuanwei ham the green legs are salted three times before put in a ventilated chamber for 8–12 months. Penicillium spores

Certain

mold A mold () or mould () is one of the structures certain fungus, fungi can form. The dust-like, colored appearance of molds is due to the formation of Spore#Fungi, spores containing Secondary metabolite#Fungal secondary metabolites, fungal seco ...

s have been found to alter the flavor of the ham, the most predominant were the members of the genera

Penicillium ''Penicillium'' () is a genus of ascomycetous fungi that is part of the mycobiome of many species and is of major importance in the natural environment, in food spoilage, and in food and drug production. Some members of the genus produce pe ...

and

Aspergillus ' () is a genus consisting of several hundred mold species found in various climates worldwide. ''Aspergillus'' was first catalogued in 1729 by the Italian priest and biologist Pier Antonio Micheli. Viewing the fungi under a microscope, Miche ...

, Eight species of Aspergillus were found including A. fumigates which account for more than one third of all Aspergillus, and four species of Penicillium were discovered. Three main

yeast Yeasts are eukaryotic, single-celled microorganisms classified as members of the fungus kingdom. The first yeast originated hundreds of millions of years ago, and at least 1,500 species are currently recognized. They are estimated to constitut ...

genera were found,

Saccharomyces ''Saccharomyces'' is a genus of fungi that includes many species of yeasts. ''Saccharomyces'' is from Greek σάκχαρον (sugar) and μύκης (fungus) and means ''sugar fungus''. Many members of this genus are considered very important in f ...

Schizosaccharomyces ''Schizosaccharomyces'' is a genus of fission yeasts. The most well-studied species is ''S. pombe''. At present five Schizosaccharomyces species have been described (''S. pombe'', ''S. japonicus'', ''S. octosporus'', ''S. cryophilus'' and ''S. ...

, and

Hansenula ''Pichia'' (''Hansenula'' and ''Hyphopichia'' are obsolete synonyms) is a genus of yeasts in the family Pichiaceae The Pichiaceae are a family of yeasts in the order Saccharomycetales. According to the 2007 Outline of Ascomycota, the family cont ...

List of Chinese hams

Anfu ham Anfu ham () is a type of dry-cured ham named after the town of Anfu in Jiangxi, China, where it originated. The ham gets its flavor from being salted and smoked and can be eaten on its own or used to add flavor to dishes. It is made in Anfu and ...

Jinhua ham Jinhua ham () is a type of specialty dry-cured ham named after the city of Jinhua, where it is produced, in Zhejiang province, China. The ham is used in Chinese cuisines to flavor stewed and braised foods as well as for making the stocks and ...

Rugao ham Rugao ham () is a dry-cured ham that originated in Jiangsu province, China. It dates to the Qing dynasty, and was first prepared circa 1851. Rugao ham is produced in a variety of flavors, colors and weights. The local breed of Jiangquhai pigs are ...

References

{{Ham Chinese cuisine Ham Yunnan cuisine

History

Preparation

List of Chinese hams

See also

References