Is Black Forest Ham Really All That Different From The Regular Kind?

Germany's Black Forest region is one of the country's culinary hot spots. It is the home of some excellent — as well as schwarzwälder kirschtorte, otherwise known as Black Forest cake. (This chocolate and cherry confection is so good that it .

) As for Black Forest ham, it has been popular for a while; it was . This begs the question, though: What, if anything, is so special about Black Forest ham? Well, it all depends on where you're purchasing said ham. In Germany, "Black Forest" (or Schwarzwäld, as it were) is used as a region-specific designator.



Much like Champagne indicates the region in France where a certain type of sparkling wine is produced, the term "Black Forest" proves the ham was produced in that region of Germany. Throughout the European Union, it's illegal to sell ham labeled as Black Forest ham if it did not come from that region. The United States does not abide by such laws, so even a premium product like may only be a Black Forest ham in style, not origin.

(This particular ham appears to be produced in Pennsylvania.) Still, if the manufacturer has made a reasonable attempt to imitate genuine Black Forest ham, the meat may stand out from some types of ham thanks to its black exterior and its smoky, salty flavor. That being said, Black Forest ham tastes pretty mild when compared to strong-tasting hams like country ham or prosciutto.

How Black Forest ham is made Black Forest ham may sound ancient, but it's really not all that old. This particular type of ham dates back to the 20th century (1959, to be exact) when a German ham producer named Hans Alder created it. The first step in making the ham is dry brining.

The dry brine is made from salt, pepper, coriander, garlic, juniper berries, and possibly some other spices as well. Brining may take up to four weeks, the first two with salt and the second two after the salt has been removed from the meat. Once brined, Black Forest ham is cold smoked, which means it's exposed to low-temperature smoke (no more than 77 degrees Fahrenheit) from burning juniper brush — or fir and sawdust — for a few weeks.

This long smoking process causes the ham to dry out and darken to the point where it's black in color as well as in name. (This darkness is only present in the skin; the meat remains pink.) After the smoking stage is complete, the ham is air cured for two more weeks, which means that from start to finish, it may take up to three months to produce a single Black Forest ham.

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