Guide to German Ham

German Hams

Ham  is one of the most important meat products in Germany. There are generally two types of ham produced in Germany: raw hams and boiled hams. Raw ham has an intense flavour, a typical red color and a long shelf life. It is treated with curing salt to prevent it from spoiling and to remove the water so it will keep longer. After curing the ham is smoked and/or air-dried which extends its shelf life still further and improves the flavor. The quality and ultimately also the price depend on how long the ham has been smoked or dried in air. A distinction is then made between Knochenschinken (ham on the bone), Nussschinken (fillet ham), Rollschinken (rolled ham) and Schinkenspeck (fatty ham), depending on the way in which the ham is cut, spiced, smoked, dried or stored.

Boiled ham is pink in color unlike the distinctive red color of raw ham. The meat is salted, laid in a curing bath or injected with a mild curing solution and left in hot smoke. It is then packed in plastic film or shaped in ham formers to give it its typical rolled, block or loaf shape and then boiled.

There are many specialty hams in Germany and they differ according to what ingredients are added during the curing process (such as caraway seeds, coriander and juniper berries) and what types of wood are used to smoke the ham(such as beech, juniper or pinewood).

As with many food and beverage products in Germany, there are also regional differences when it comes to ham specialties. For example "Katenrauch­schinken" is a speciality of Holstein in the far north and "Rauchfleisch"  is typical of Hamburg.  In addition, there are ham specialities made from other cuts of meat including beef, as well as lamb.

Black Forest ham is as important to Germans as Parma ham is to Italians. And these two specialities are also equally popular out­side their native countries. Black Forest ham comes from Baden- Württemberg and owes its unmistakable smoky flavour and typical dark red appearance with the outer layer of fat to the fact that the ham is deboned before it is cured and then smoked over pine wood.

Westphalian ham is another unique regional German speciality from the "home of ham", as the region likes to call itself. Westphalian ham is made from hind leg of pork and is smoked over beech wood and juniper berries. It has been considered a delicacy in Westphalia for centuries and is also very popular in other regions and also abroad.

Westfaelischer Schinken Westphalian smoked ham. A gently flavored ham smoked over juniper wood and left to mature for several weeks.	Air-Dried Smoked Ham Cured only with sea salt and matured for 10-12 months. This lean, air-dried ham is sold in wafer-thin slices. Very mild.
Katenspeck Katen means "barn" in German meaning that this ham is made farmhouse-style. It is cured, smoked and cooked.	Kochschinken Dark smoked cooked ham. Ham off the bone, smoked over beechwood chips.
Kochschinken Light smoked ham. A real traditional German cooked ham. Smoked over beechwood and very mild.