Influence of ham weight, trimming and pressing on Istrian dry-cured ham seasoning loss

Abstract

Influence of raw ham weight, trimming form and pressing on seasoning weight loss of Istrian dry-cured hams were studied. Swine thighs were shaped traditionally with skin and subcutaneous fat removed. The pelvis bones were left in the ham (B hams) or experimentally deboned (boneless or BL hams). After trimming the raw hams were weighted and classified into the weight classes. The hams were pressed after dry salting with different loads. High seasoning weight loss (46.31 %) of Istrian hams was expected due to raw ham skinning. However, deboning had no influence on differences in seasoning weight loss. Significantly higher weight loss of light class hams suggest to use raw hams heavier than 10 kg and 9 kg after B and BL dressing, respectively. There was no significant press load effect on seasoning weight loss