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| Duane A. Lienemann UNL Extension Educator |
Just so you know October is a Month celebrating among others: National Chiropractic Health, Health Literacy, Domestic Violence Awareness, Depression Awareness, Healthy Lung, Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) Awareness, National Brain Injury Awareness, National Down Syndrome Awareness and even National Liver Awareness. We don’t want to forget that October is also the designated Month for: National Arts and Humanities, Pastor/Clergy Appreciation, National Pizza, Hispanic Heritage, Black History, National Kink (I have no idea what this is!), Dyslexia Awareness, National Book, National Work and Family, National Cyber Security Awareness, Filipino American History, LGBT History, National Bullying Prevention, National Youth Justice Awareness, National Pregnancy and Child Loss Awareness, and Dwarfism Awareness. We must not forget that it is also the month declared for: American Pharmacists, Apple Jack Awareness, Computer Learning, Cookie Month, International Drum, Lupus Awareness, National Diabetes, National Vegetarian, National Popcorn Popping, Seafood Month and my favorite - National Sarcastic Month. Whew – Who knew?
Now that we have those out of the way let’s look at something more down my alley. You may not know that October is also designated for celebrating “National Ham Month!” So let’s learn a little about ham this week. I thank the National Pork Producers for the information. Did you know that ham has existed ever since Cato the Elder, a famous Roman Statesmen wrote about salting pork legs in 160 B.C.? Well hogs have been a part of the American culture over the past 300 years in the form of bacon, ham, pulled pork and more. For more than 2/3rd of that time, Americans have been curing and eating ham. Curing ham originated in Virginia during the mid-1700s and spread across the country over the years.
Here are ten fun facts about pigs, ham and the industry; 1) During the War of 1812, a packer named Uncle Sam Wilson sent off several hundred barrels of cured ham and pork for the troops. Each package was labeled ’U.S.’ and it didn’t take long for ‘Uncle Sam’ to be a household name for the government. 2) Swine were among the first of all animals to be domesticated - around 10,000 years ago. The Chinese were the first to raise wild pigs for food. 3) Of course we all know that baby pigs appear very greedy when they are competing for food from their mothers. For this reason, the words “pig” and “hog” have come to be associated with greedy behavior. 4) George A. Hormel & Company pioneered canned hams in America in 1926, which cost around $4.00. 5) Country Ham was first mentioned in print in 1944, referring to a method of curing and smoking done in the rural sections of the Eastern United States. 6) A ham from the right leg is tougher than a ham from the left leg; this is because a pig uses his right leg to scratch himself, which means he will use the muscles more often. 7) Pork production creates nearly 35,000 full-time jobs and an additional 515,000 indirect jobs, accounting for more than $97 billion in sales each year. 8) In 1950, there were over 3 million pork operations in America. Today there are less than 70,000, with over half of those producing over 5,000 pigs per year. 9) On Dec. 1, 2012 - Nebraska had 3,000,000 head of hogs and ranked 7th in the Nation in commercial hog slaughter with 7,889,100 head with a live weight of 2.2 billion pounds processed. 10) On the global level, pork is by far the most widely consumed meat. Now some other tid-bits.
Ham is traditionally made from only the hind legs of swine, but today can include meat that has been processed and reformed. Ham exists in many different varieties, cuts and styles. Some of the most popular are; Aged Hams are heavily cured, smoked hams that have been hung to age from 1 to 7 years and are covered in a mold that must be scraped off before eating; Brine-Cured ham is soaked in salt water brine and then smoked. This variety is the most common form of ham found in grocery stores; Black Forest Ham is a variety of dry-cured smoked ham produced in the Black Forest region of Germany, and is the most popular European variety; Canadian Bacon is a lean cut taken from the eye of the loin of the middle back. It is precooked smoked meat, and is much more akin to ham than bacon; Country Cured Ham is also known as country style ham is uncooked, cured, aged and dried and prior to consumption must be cooked with a special process; Prosciutto is an Italian ham that is seasoned, salt cured and air-dried, not smoked and is pressed into a dense, firm texture.
Ham has a healthy dose of protein and iron, but the type of ham you eat will influence how nutritious the meal is. The best choice would likely be lean deli ham. Deli ham is low in fat and pairs well on sandwiches, but it still has a large quantity of sodium. Cured hams have a small amount of calcium and potassium, but they also have an elevated saturated fat level. Your best bet will be to look for lean ham and varieties low in sodium. Many brands also manufacture deli meats that don’t contain nitrates which could affect your health. You can easily use deli ham on a sandwich and even chop it up to put it on a breakfast omelet. Add ham chunks to a pasta salad or scatter it over a tossed green salad to add a healthy dose of protein. You can also add chunks of ham to soups and casseroles for flavors. Ham is a much more versatile food product than one might expect. I think it is pretty cool that amongst all the other celebrations we can have a “National Ham Month”!
The preceding information comes from the research and personal observations of the writer which may or may not reflect the views of UNL or UNL Extension. For more further information on these or other topics contact D. A. Lienemann, UNL Extension Educator for Webster County in Red Cloud, (402) 746-3417 or email to: dlienemann2@unl.edu or go to the website at: http://www.webster.unl.edu/home
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