bu$hleaguer
Well-Known Member
Dude, are you serious? Wow. Hate to call you out but you certainly made yourself sound pretty ethnocentric and clueless about the countries around you when you made your above statement. Much of Europe does not have the same rules you mentioned above, but unfortunately you mentioned Italy, who happens to be one of the forerunners in the wine/food regulations. Take the "italian ham" you mentioned above, or more notably Prosciutto di Parma. Perhaps you could have sounded like you knew what you were talking about if you were talking about things others don't know anything about but unfortunately when it comes to food, several of us on here are classically trained chefs.I have had good italian ham before dont get me wrong but it can NEVER HAVE the same quality of iberian ham for 2 reasons, breed and feed which are pretty much exclusive to the region. Moreover we go as far as having specific rules and regulamentations for regional denomination of gastronimical products. Thats why i will be a dick when it comes to discussing ham quality. We have always made the best partly due to natural endowment and if you wanna make the best you will simply have to copy period. I personally find most italian ham not fattty enough.
Following is an excerpt from a famous court case in Italy where someone has been selling parma ham without the proper identifying codes:
CONSORZIO DEL PROSCIUTTO DI PARMA
(APPELLANTS)
v.
ASDA STORES LIMITED AND OTHERS
(RESPONDENTS)
ON 8 FEBRUARY 2001
Prosciutto di Parma, or Parma ham, has been made in the Parma area from pigs reared in northern and central Italy since Etruscan times. It is famous throughout the world. It is made according to traditional methods and standards. The name "Prosciutto di Parma", signifying ham from the Parma area, is a "protected designation of origin" (PDO) under European Community legislation, which I shall later have to analyse in some detail. The outward guarantee of the authenticity of the product is the brand mark in the form of a five pointed coronet (the "corona ducale") symbolising the ancient Grand Duchy of Parma. By Italian law this has to appear upon the product in whatever form it is sold to the customer. If he buys a complete ham, or slices cut from a ham in the shop, it must appear branded upon the ham itself. If he buys pre-packaged pieces or slices, it must appear stamped upon the package. The authority which under Italian law enforces compliance by producers with the required methods and standards of manufacture and also protects the name and mark against misuse by others is the "Consorzio del Prosciutto di Parma" or Parma Ham Association ("the Association"). It has a system of inspection, which includes supervision of the application of the corona ducale brand on hams and packaging.
Sorry to call you out dude, no disrespect meant, but you started the name calling above. It's definitely a matter of opinion which ham the world prefers, and I'm not arguing that fact. I'm just arguing the fact that you made Spain the only country that regulates their products.... Which is a complete falsity.