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" The supermarket is owned by Marks and Spencer. "

M&S have no US operations, and have no shareholding in any US retailer. They sold Kings seven years ago (and Brooks Brothers a few years earlier). They may retain an arrangement whereby Kings sell some M&S products - but outside Europe, such arrangements usually apply only to "ambient" groceries: things that don't need chilling or freezing.

Cowboy1968

You use such wonderful images and always in the spirit of Fodor's community guidelines, BigAl.. I must admit it does arouse me a little to be given the opportunity to bask in that liguistic wit.

Now back to the olives..

There have been illegal olive oil scams, and there is "smart labeling".
The latter does not exactly circumvent EU labelling law but you would have an Italian brand name, lots of "Italian" images on the bottle, and somewhere in fineprint it would be labelled as "Made from produce from the European Union" or similar. Consumers can find that info on the bottle, but the "trick" is that most will assume that the content was 100pct Italian olives.
That's why Consumer Organizations regulary advice here to read the labels carefully and stick to D.O. produce if they want an olive oil made from just one specific geographical location. Same with almost any other foodstuff where the origin has a certain relevance for marketing.
Greece and Spain are the major producers of oilves but hardly export their own olive oil but use it mostly for domestic demand - in substantial quantities. Nevertheless, there remains a huge surplus which gets exported to Italy. To be processed and "italianized" as olive oil "made in Italy".
This is a pretty commonly known fact in Europe and not some secret information.

Michael

La Quercia out of Iowa produces some excellent prosciutto, but the prices are as high as for the imported hams: http://laquercia.us/

Robert2533

In Spain and the Pays Basque region of southwest Spain, ham (Jamón ibérico and Jambon de Bayonne) are raised on grass, grains, and acorns (Jamón ibérico) and air cured for up to 48 months. The only preserveative used is kosher salt for the Jamón ibérico and Espellete pepper for the Jambon de Bayonne.

These processes are not yet approved by the FDA in the US, except for one producer in the south (a test case). The FDA does approve of importing Jambon de Bayonne and one producer of Jamón ibérico is currently approved to import into the US (see The Spanish Table and La Tienda web pages).

Robert2533

That should be the Pays Basque region of southwest France, not Spain!

Ackislander

I don't like jambon iberico; it reminds me of the hams my father dry cured when I was younger ( sorry, Dad!).

I do love the hams in Croatia. They are called prsut but have nothing much in common with Italian prosciutto, some of which I like, some of which, not so much.

Ham in plastic or most deli ham doesn't seem to me to be all that good in any country.

ekscrunchy

La Quercia, mentioned above. Sold at Whole Foods. Not inexpensive.

http://laquercia.us/

You can now buy jamon Iberico in the US, along with jamon serrano, and many imported Italian products such as prosciutto from Parma and San Daniele.

Other idea is this famous place, owned by the Batali family in Seattle:

http://www.salumicuredmeats.com/


This is a chef's favorite:

http://bentonscountryhams2.com/

BigAleinstein

There is a place in NYC that imports Iberico called Despana. Here is there explanation. They also make their own chorizos which are exceptional.

http://www.despanabrandfoods.com/ind...s/spanish-hams

ekscrunchy

I know you asked about USA produced products, but here is more info on jamon Iberico, now available at many upscale food markets, insluding New York's Despana, mentioned above. If you are not near a retailer, you can order from The Spanish Table,, or other mail-order source.


http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...-in-the-us.cfm

But as noted, there are now many producers of high-quality US-made pork products.

TPAYT

Excellent comments. I'll have to start checking out the US market.
OR---I could move to Paris, hahaha! Always a dream but I'd have to win the lottery.

Cathinjoetown

French packaged ham slices are slightly better than U.S. counterparts, imo, and there's a huge selection--roasted, baked, boiled, jambon de Paris, 25% less salt, à la broche, etc. Herta is a popular brand.

What I haven't seen, although I admit I haven't been looking for them, are the type of bone-in hams you would bake for a buffet or Easter dinner. I'm thinking of the spiral-sliced Honey Baked ham type.

Air-dried ham is available everywhere packaged or by the slice in better charcuteries.

I've never seen ham offered as a main course on a French menu, at least not around here. It's possibly common in other regions. Of course, melon with parma ham or variants is very popular as a starter.

janisj

<b>spaarne</b>: you have been around long enough that you should have Lounge access. If you can't see it, maybe e-mail the moderators at [email protected] and see if they can figure out the problem.

travelgourmet

<i>acorns (Jamón ibérico)</i>

Jamon iberico refers to the breed of pig, not the feed. Pretty much anything labeled simply "jamon iberico" will be grain-fed. Acorn-fed products are typically labeled jamon iberico de bellota (the top grade, free-range, yadda yadda).

<i>The only preserveative used is kosher salt for the Jamón ibérico and Espellete pepper for the Jambon de Bayonne.</i>

Espellete pepper is not a preservative. Jambon de Bayonne uses salt for that purpose, just like jamon iberico (or many other dry-cured hams)

<i>These processes are not yet approved by the FDA in the US, except for one producer in the south (a test case).</i>

I'm pretty darn certain that is not true and am aware of multiple producers of dry-cured US hams that use only salt. Heck, I'm pretty sure that the USDA is the pertinent regulatory agency, not the FDA.

<i>one producer of Jamón ibérico is currently approved to import into the US</i>

Pretty sure that there is more than one producer approved for import.

Robert2533

"Pretty sure that there is more than one producer approved for import" That will come as a surprise to the FDA, the agency that approves and inspects incoming food products.

REGULATION OF IMPORTED FDA-REGULATED PRODUCTS
FDA’s primary authority over imported food, cosmetics, drugs, biological products, and medical devices, derives from section 801 of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FDC Act). Imported radiation emitting products are regulated under section 534 of the FDC Act. These authorities provide a broad statutory framework to ensure that the products are safe. Imported products are subject to examination. FDA can refuse admission into the U.S. if they appear, based on examination or other information, to be adulterated, misbranded, or otherwise violative.

Only one side of the Jambon de Bayonne is covered with salt, the other is coated in Espellete. The salt is use to draw out the fat and draw in the Espellete.

travelgourmet

<i>That will come as a surprise to the FDA, the agency that approves and inspects incoming food products.</i>

Where in that quote does it say that only one producer is approved for import?

<i>Only one side of the Jambon de Bayonne is covered with salt, the other is coated in Espellete.</i>

Nonsense. The entire ham is salted during the curing process. Espellete is added later.

Heck, Jambon de Bayonne isn't even required to be spiced with Espellete. Espellete is not a preservative and is added after the curing step for flavor.

<i>The salt is use to draw out the fat and draw in the Espellete.</i>

The salt is used - as it is in pretty much any cured meat - to extract water, as dry environments are not prone to bacterial growth.

Drawing out the fat... Crazy talk.

Robert2533

Since you're the travelgourmet, then you must be right! But it's not something I'll loose any sleep over. Judging from your posts, I think you may want to stick with commenting on things you may actually be familiar with, like Napa Valley wine tasting (really boring).

travelgourmet

<i>Since you're the travelgourmet, then you must be right!</i>

I'm right because I'm right. You are wrong because you are wrong. Nothing more to it than that.

You tried to come across as authoritative, but pretty much everything you posted was incorrect. I merely pointed out where you were in error - no need to get snippy about it. Just take the increased ham knowledge I've given you and count yourself lucky.

<i>But it's not something I'll loose any sleep over.</i>

It is lose, not loose.

Michael

<i>Only one side of the Jambon de Bayonne is covered with salt, the other is coated in Espellete</i>

No mention of <i>piment d'Espelette</i> here: http://www.jambonsdebayonne.com/fabr...u-bayonne.html

BigAleinstein

If anyone had a choice to believe TravelG or Big Russ I would believe La Tienda and others. La Tienda and Despana (explanation above) make and import quality products from Spain.

Here is their explanation plus others:

http://www.jamon.com/iberico.html

or

http://www.jamon.com/curing.html

or

http://www.meatsandsausages.com/hams...-meats/spanish

or

http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandsty...co-spanish-ham

The funniest thing was to read that only kosher salt was used to preserve Iberico. The only reference I found on-line was that of Travelg's. No source of knowledge mentions kosher salt, although two specifically mention sea salt.

What is citation for this TravelG?

Michael

<i>The only preserveative used is kosher salt for the Jamón ibérico and Espellete pepper for the Jambon de Bayonne.
</i>

This is the first reference to kosher salt as far as I can tell. It does not come from TravelG.