The word Jabugo, although it designates a locality in the Sierra de Huelva and the Protected Designation of Origin of the Iberian hams that are protected by the Regulatory Council DOP Jabugo, is also used in Spain to say that a ham is of very high quality.
The PDO Jabugo is one of the 4 Protected Designations of Origin in Spain for Iberian hams. The other three are: DOP Guijuelo, DOP Dehesa de Extremadura and DOP Valle de los Pedroches, but the one that has been around the longest and is the best known is Jabugo. For this reason, the word "Jabugo" has always been used to refer a good Iberian ham, but only at a popular level, as with the legal quality regulations governing these products, it is forbidden to use this word on the label of a ham unless it is attached to the regulatory council and passes the demanding quality standards.
What is a Jabugo iberico ham?
A 100% Iberian Jabugo ham is a leg of pork that has been produced from purebred Iberian pigs that have been reared and fed in specific areas of Spain:
The breeding and fattening area of 100% Iberian pigs is delimited by the holm oak, cork oak and gall oak pastures of Badajoz and Cáceres in Extremadura and Cadiz, Cordoba, Huelva, Malaga and Seville in Andalusia.
And the area where Iberico hams and pork shoulders are produced or cured, which is made up of 31 municipalities in the province of Huelva, forming a rural garden located in the Sierra de Aracena y Picos de Aroche Natural Park, whose dehesas have been declared a Biosphere Reserve by UNESCO.
But not all those that meet this requirement can be labelled as Jabugo ham, as the producers must be registered with the Protected Designation of Origin and their Iberian hams must meet very strict quality and production requirements to guarantee the consumer a product of the highest quality.
What is NOT a Jabugo iberico ham?
An Iberian ham that has been produced from 100% Iberian pigs reared and fattened in the same pastures as the previous ones and the curing area is within the 31 municipalities of the Natural Park, cannot be called Jabugo ham, even if it is produced in the village of Jabugo itself. As I have already mentioned, in order to be awarded the European seal of differentiated quality PDO, they must meet many more requirements.
Jabugo is the name registered by the European Union that designates, protects and certifies the quality and origin of the iberico hams and shoulders produced in natural cellars in the villages surrounding the Sierra de Aracena and Picos de Aroche Natural Park, from 100% Iberian pigs reared and fattened in the wild in the dehesa, whose cellars are registered in the PDO.
Qualities of Jabugo "Oro Viejo" Iberian ham
Jabugo PDO iberico Pork shoulders and hams are those that have achieved harmony in all their organoleptic qualities, highlighting their aromatic richness as a result of the following characteristics:
Racial purity: The pigs must be of pure Iberian breed, that is to say, both on the maternal side, as well as on the paternal side, they must in turn be 100% Iberian.
Feeding: Exclusively with acorns and natural pasture in freedom in the pasture during the fattening period known as "La montanera".
Curing: Very slow in the unique microclimatic conditions of the Sierra de Aracena y Picos de Aroche Natural Park.
Where to buy PDO Jabugo Spanish ham?
Obviously, the whole of the Sierra de Aracena y Picos de Aroche is full of producers of 100% Iberian ham, but you don't have to go there to buy a good Iberico acron-fed Jabugo ham.
In specialised shops anywhere in Spain and even in Europe you can get it, because as I said, it is an internationally renowned ham.
If you choose to buy a Jabugo DOP ham from the Jamón Pasión online shop, I guarantee that the pork leg will be delivered to your home directly from the drying sheds located in the Natural Park, with the least possible handling and stored in the best conditions of temperature and humidity, which is where an Iberian ham should be so that it does not lose its qualities until it is ready for consumption.
We have a very good offer of 100% PDO Jabugo "Oro Viejo" SUMMUM" quality for you and we send it directly from Higuera de la Sierra, right in the heart of the Natural Park.