Iberian Ham Food Tour

What should you expect in this Iberian ham daytour?

Our acorn-fed Iberian ham Tour is a private full day or half day food tour experience, depending on what you want.  It is an incredible food tour for foodies where you enjoy the whole process from the farm to the table. We can arrange the tour from Cadiz province or Seville. However, please take into account that this food tour will be happening in the "Sierra de Aracena", Huelva at 10:00am.

The price will depend on what you want, we can arrange everything for you, private transportation and an accompanying guide. On the other hand we can just arrange the Iberian ham food tour and give you all the details. Tell us what you need and we will provide it for you.

You will enjoy this foodie tour visiting the Mediterranean forest and the museum to learn the traditional methods to cure Spanish meat products and then the current curing process. At the end we will have an extensive tasting of a wide variety of spanish cured meats. If you decide to do the full day tour we will head to the local caves to take in the beauty and the size of it, a total of 2130 subterranean meters divided in three levels. You will visit 2 levels in a circular route of around 1km.

What does the Iberian ham food tour consist of:

During the visit to the Mediterranean forest and the Iberian pig farm in this food tour, you will enjoy learning about the local herbs, grasses and trees that make this forest unique, and the uses through our incredibly knowledgable local guide. We will see the pigs feeding and learn about the different breeds. We will be able to see traditional "huts" that the farmers used to use, learn about local culture and traditions. Our guide will explain the different D.O., colour labels, the Difference between acorn-fed Iberian ham and cebo Iberian ham.

Next, we will head to the museum of traditions and we will see how chorizos and other Spanish meats were cured traditionally, and what spices we use to cure meats, then head to the main building to see how we cure Iberian hams and other meat products as well as learn how to differentiate the different qualities of Iberian ham.

Finally in this Iberian ham food tour we will then enjoy an extensive tasting of different acorn-fed Iberian meat products, including different chorizos, cured Iberian loin, red label Iberian ham, all paired with local wine. In case you are still hungry after such a feast, you can buy the meat here and they will cook it for you.

If you are interested to visit the caves we will head there after the tasting. If you have further questions or want to book this tour, send us an email to  info@explorelatierra.com .

What is Iberian ham?

It comes from the Iberian pig, a rare endemic breed of Portugal and Spain, which originated from the Mediterranean wild boar. They can be either acorn fed in the wild or grain fed. Most Iberian pigs are easy to recognize, they have black hoofs, are smaller, darker colour, and slender legs. However, some Iberian pigs are not black, while other non-Iberian breeds, like the Mangalica pig, may have black hoofs.

Iberian ham has to come from a pig which has at least 50% DNA of Iberian pigs. One of the best ways to differentiate it is when you cut the ham, the meat intermingles with the fat. This makes Iberian pork a type of red meat, and it creates the glossy marbling fat from the Iberian ham. Other breeds that you can find in Spain are Duroc, Pietrain, and Landrace. These are used to make Serrano ham but not Iberian ham.

Protected Denominations of Origins (D.O.)

There are 4 D.O. Iberian ham here in Spain. What this means is that there are only 4 regions in Spain where Iberian ham can be dried, each providing a different unique taste. Huelva region has two D.O. areas. The pigs can be grown in other areas as long as they are brought to these 4 areas to be cured to receive the D.O. For example, this happens with lots of pigs from Extremadura, which are taken to Salamanca or Córdoba. Or pigs from Cádiz are taken to Huelva.

Jabugo ham provides the most intense flavour and longest-lasting aftertaste of all. Guijuelo ham, on the other hand, usually has the most delicate flavour, while ham from Extremadura and Los Pedroches are of intermediate strength. This does not mean that one is better than the others, it will depend on the taste of the person.

Do you want to learn more? join us in this amazing Iberian ham tour which will immerse you fully in the Iberian ham world.