ABSTRACT
This chapter explains the importance of quality to dry-cured ham manufacture. It is well known that dry-cured ham has been for years a high-value product for consumers, who day by day are more demanding. To accommodate that, producers need to improve their products, satisfying social necessities, although sometimes commercial strategies cause technological problems as well as quality consequences and it is necessary to adjust the process for the new requirements. In this sense, beside a description of the processing stages and the reactions that take place in the process, it is necessary to describe the main factors that influence the whole process, not only for their implications for the individual characteristics among different products, but also for their technological impacts. Sensory characteristics are derived firstly from lipolysis and proteolysis, and secondly from other reactions like Maillard and Strecker pathways. How these reactions take place will determine the final characteristics of the product, and therefore acceptance or rejection by the consumer. With this in mind, the desirable sensorial traits are described and we also note the possible defects that can appear. Finally, there is an overview to extend knowledge about the wide range of hams around the world.
