ABSTRACT
Spanish dry-cured ham is non-smoked meat product manufactured according to ancient traditions: stabilization through salt diffusion, a decrease in water activity, and development of the typical flavor throughout a long period of maturation. This chapter examines the study of brine salting, as an alternative to pile salting in ham processing, with the benefits of a faster process and the possibility of brine reuse, with the subsequent reduction of environmental impact. Experiments were accomplished with fresh hams selected in such a way that the two hams from the same pig were used in two sets of experiments and compared to minimize the variability due to the raw material. Two ham batches were processed and compared; dry salting and brine vacuum impregnation were used in the first batch, and dry salting and brine immersion were used in the second one. Brining of ham implies a reduction in salting time compared with the use of dry salt, especially when working at vacuum pressure.
