Over 1000 years of ham: Here's where it all began

Long before Italians were producing prosciutto and the Spanish their jamón, the Chinese were making their own dry-cured of ham in the small city of Jinhua. We take a look at the origins of this traditional Chinese ingredient, and how it made its way across the globe.

This Chinese city has been producing ham for over 1000 years. Source: Instagram

Don’t let the Italians fool you. Despite their long, illustrious relationship with ham, a strict pride for their Protected Designations of Origin (PDOs) on regional varieties, and internationally-craved plates of pizzas and pasta that all make use of it, they didn’t invent the stuff. At least not according to the Chinese.

When Marco Polo arrived in China in the 13th century, he was there to pilfer. Impressed with the culture and customs he saw on his travels, he returned to Venice with Chinese porcelain, paper money, spices and silks to introduce to his home country. It was from his time in Jinhua, a city in eastern Zhejiang province, he found ham.

Salt-cured Chinese hams have been in production since the Tang Dynasty (618-907AD). First records appeared in the book Supplement to Chinese Materia Medica by Tang Dynasty doctor Chen Zangqi, who claimed ham from Jinhua was the best. Pork legs were commonly salted by soldiers in Jinhua to take on long journeys during wartime, and it was imperial scholar Zong Ze who introduced it to Song Dynasty Emperor Gaozong. Gaozong was so enamoured with the ham’s intense flavour and red colour he named it huo tui, or ‘fire leg’.

Huo tui doesn’t quite resemble the soft, baked hams found on Australian Christmas lunch tables or the sweet slivers of San Daniele prosciutto, another dry-cured ham from Italy’s Friuli Venezia Giulia. Jinhua ham is tough, intensely salty and not meant to be eaten by the slice like western hams.

“Jinhua ham is complicated to cook with,” says Yin Bing Zhu, owner of his family-run factory, Sheng Yu Long in Jinhua. “It’s not the main food but more of a flavour enhancer – people in Guangdong province often use it to make soup.” Sheng Yu Long has been producing ham for more than 100 years, with every process still done by hand.

A visit to the Jinhua ham museum (yep, the city has its very own museum dedicated to ham), explains the handmade process in more detail, including the differences between Italian, French, British and American ham.

The Chinese were drying and curing hams before Europeans Source: Leigh Griffiths

The Chinese were drying and curing hams before Europeans

For Jinhua ham, 36 procedures are necessary, including dressing, trimming, salting, washing, drying, fermenting and finally, smelling. After the ham leg is cleaned and dressed, it’s salted six times; about 25–35 days between each salting time. Next comes the fermentation process, where the ham is stored in a cool dark place for between 6–8 months for the ham to create its distinct aroma and flavour. The final step, known as ‘smelling’, inserts a bamboo stick or sharp bone into the meat. Once the stick is removed, the aroma is judged to test the quality of the ham.

It’s the salting process that’s the trickiest to get right, with only skilled ham masters knowing the correct salt-to-weight ratio and the perfect temperature for curing. “Our ham can only begin salting in winter,” explains Yin Bing Zhu. “We salt the legs from December to January, and wash the legs in January when it is cold and there are no flies around.”

In Australia, it’s not easy to find Jinhua ham commercially, and in many countries, including the United States, the ham is banned completely. Melbourne chef Tony Tan says he looks to European-style cured hams as an alternative. “I’ll use jamón or sometimes prosciutto in place of Jinhua ham,” says Tan, who says the flavour difference isn’t really noticeable. “Jinhua ham is drier than jamón, so it depends how you use the [other] ingredients. I use jamón in my XO sauce and more elegant Chinese dishes.”

Noodles with XO, sprouts and peanuts Source: Chris Chen

Try our recipe for homemade XO sauce using Jinhua ham here

Love the story? Follow the author here: Twitter @eloise_baz  or Instagram @eloise_baz. Photographs by Leigh Griffiths. Lead image by joeymeow via Instagram.

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