Types Of Hams Research Articles

<i>Speck</i>: a traditional culinary specialty from the Italian Alps. A microbiological, molecular and chemical evaluation

South Tyrol is the northernmost Italian province; its history, geography, and closeness to other European countries, such as Austria and Switzerland, have influenced both culture and food production. Among the South Tyrolean culinary specialties, a type of dry-cured ham called Südtiroler Speck/Speck Alto Adige (Speck) plays a relevant role and has gained increasing significance both on a national and international level over the last 2 decades. Despite it being a common culinary product in Italian and international markets, there is not much published data regarding the microbiological and chemical features of Speck. This study describes the analytical results obtained during a period of 7 years, during which the main pathogens and contaminants were considered.

An Evaluation of Pig Type Regarding the Quality of Xuanwei Ham

To determine the influence of pig type (Landrace, Wujin, or Tibetan fragrant) on the quality of Xuanwei ham, we measured the ham pH, color, fat content, and moisture content; used an E-nose (a device intended to detect odors or flavors); and analyzed flavoring substances using headspace solid-phase microextraction–gas chromatography, free amino acids using high-performance liquid chromatography, and microbial diversity using high-throughput sequencing. The ham types differed from each other in these attributes. The moisture and fat contents of Landrace pig ham were significantly lower than those of the other pig types, the brightness values of the Tibetan fragrant pig ham were significantly lower than those of the other pig types, and the redness values of the Landrace and Wujin pig hams were significantly higher than those of the Tibetan fragrant pig ham. The essential amino acid contents, e-wind odor response values, and volatile flavor substances of Wujin pig hams were significantly higher than those of the Tibetan fragrant pig ham, and the relative aldehyde contents of Wujin pig ham were significantly higher than those of the other pig types. The dominant microbial phyla in each ham type were assessed based on the species commonness, composition, and diversity and included taxa such as Actinobacteria and Ascomycetes and thick-walled bacteria such as Orphanomyces, Grass Spirochaetes, and Pseudoalteromonas. The microbial diversity and richness were the greatest in the Wujin pig ham. Of the three pigs, we conclude that the Wujin pig produces the best Xuanwei ham.

Modelling of salt uptake for salt content standardization in dry-cured ham

Salt content standardization in dry-cured ham production is complex as there are many factors that influence salt uptake. The aim of this work was to study and model salt uptake as a function of salting time and the characteristics of green ham in two different ham types using a large amount of data obtained from an inline non-invasive characterization technology. The usefulness of these models to standardize the salt content of the industrial production was also evaluated. Magnetic induction technology was used to characterize lean and fatty hams in order to further model the salt uptake using different statistical methods. Salt content increased with the salting time showing an asymptotic behaviour which was lower in fatty hams. The best models were those that considered the salting time, weight, and fat content of hams as model independent variables. These models are helpful for salt content standardization within the industry and can be used to simulate process modifications and avoid the time-consuming and costly trial and error tests.

Characterization the microbial diversity and metabolites of four varieties of Dry-Cured ham in western Yunnan of China

In this study, high-throughput sequencing and metabolomics analysis were conducted to analyze the microbial and metabolites of dry-cured Sanchuan ham, Laowo ham, Nuodeng ham, and Heqing ham that have fermented for two years produced from western Yunnan China. Results showed that at the genus level, the dominant bacteria in the four types of ham were Halomonas and Staphylococcus, while the dominant fungi were Aspergillus and Yamadazyma. A total 422 different metabolites were identified in four types of ham, mainly amino acids, peptides, fatty acids, and their structural analogs, which were involved in pantothenate and coenzyme A biosynthesis, caffeine, and tyrosine metabolism. The dominant microorganisms of the four types of ham were mainly related to the metabolism of fatty acids and amino acids. This research enhances the identification degree of these four types of dry-cured ham and provides a theoretical basis for developing innovative and distinctive ham products.

Optimization and validation of an HS-SPME/GC-MS method for determining volatile organic compounds in dry-cured ham.

The formation of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in dry-cured ham is a result of different biochemical and enzymatic processes. Moreover, accurately quantifying these VOCs is challenging since ham is a complex matrix, which contains compounds from various chemical families and a wide range of volatilities of different molecular masses. In this study, we systematically optimized and validated an analytical method for quantifying VOCs in dry-cured ham using headspace solid phase microextraction (HS-SPME) coupled with gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Optimal SPME conditions were determined through both an experimental procedure (one-factor-at-a-time) and response surface methodology (RSM), revealing that a 60-min equilibration at 70°C, a 60-min extraction at the same temperature, and a 4-min desorption time at 250°C provided the most favorable results. To enhance quantitation, twelve multiple internal standards (ISTDs) were employed to address and improve the quantitation of the 12 VOCs. Method validation covered aspects of linearity, limits of detection (LOD: 0.03-1.13 mg kg-1), limits of quantitation (LOQ: 0.09-3.41 mg kg-1), and working ranges (0.01-19.1 mg kg-1). The practical application of this optimized method was demonstrated by analyzing dry-cured ham samples (n = 4), sourced from the Slovenian market. The initial statistical evaluation indicates that different types of dry-cured hams can be differentiated (with an 83.1% of accuracy) according to their aromatic profile. However, a larger sample size would be required to provide a more comprehensive assessment.

Application of physical, chemical, and biological preservation strategies and their effect on the shelf life of different types of cooked hams

AbstractImprovement of hygiene practices and process control in meat product facilities is an ongoing topic of importance. Consequently, the meat industry must explore alternatives to extend the shelf‐life of meat products. This study aimed to assess the effectiveness of chemical, biological, and physical strategies at the formulation, pre‐packaging, and post‐packaging stages, respectively, to extend the shelf‐life of cooked ham. Three strategies were tested on different formulations of cooked ham: (1) inclusion of organic acid salts with and without buffered vinegar in the formulation, (2) application of biopreservation cultures during pre‐packaging for the four developed formulations, and (3) high hydrostatic pressure processing (HPP) applied to two pork ham formulations during post‐packaging with and without buffered vinegar. The effect of these strategies was evaluated by measuring shelf life based on lactic acid bacteria (LAB) and mesophilic counts, monitoring pH kinetics, and conducting sensory evaluations focused on indicators of spoilage such as milkiness and swelling. Results revealed that the HPP strategy was the most effective, significantly extending the shelf life of cooked pork ham up to 97 days, with no significant differences observed when combined with buffered vinegar. In contrast, the use of organic acid salts with or without buffered vinegar did not significantly extend the shelf life compared to control hams without preservatives (p > 0.05). Furthermore, significant variations in shelf life were found between batches and types of ham (p < 0.05). Notably, the biopreservation strategy led to a reduction in shelf life reduction.Practical applicationsSliced‐packaged ham is highly susceptible to spoilage, and previous studies investigating the application of organic acid salts, biopreservation cultures, and physical interventions have demonstrated limited effectiveness in extending shelf life under industrial and Colombian market conditions. Moreover, some of these approaches have resulted in alterations to the product's sensory attributes. Consequently, there is a critical need to evaluate alternative strategies that can be easily implemented with current technology, are cost‐effective, acceptable to consumers, and can be validated in an industrial setting. Furthermore, it is crucial to investigate the potential synergistic effects of combining high hydrostatic pressure processing (HPP) with chemical interventions, such as buffered vinegar. Implementing these measures holds the potential to minimize food waste and contribute to enhancing food security. Additionally, the findings of this study present a hypothesis that can contribute to understanding the variations in spoilage between pork and turkey hams.

Insights into free fatty acid profiles and oxidation on the development of characteristic volatile compounds in dry-cured ham from Dahe black and hybrid pigs

The aims of this study were to investigate the roles of free fatty acid (FFA) profiles and oxidation in the formation of characteristic volatile compounds in ham produced from Dahe black (DW) and hybrid breed (Yorkshire × Landrace × DW, YLDW; and Duroc × Landrace × Yorkshire, DLY) pigs using two-dimensional gas chromatography-time-of-flight mass spectrometry (GC × GC-TOF-MS). Among the three types of hams studied, DW ham exhibited the highest total contents of FFAs (11,088.91 μg/kg), volatile flavor compounds (3750.867 μg/kg), aldehydes and alcohols. A total of 38 FFAs and 80 volatile compounds were identified in the three hams. According to odor activity values, 18 odorant-active compounds, including isovaleraldehyde, heptanal, 2-methylbutyraldehyde, decanal, hexanal, n-octanal, nonanal, 1-octen-3-ol, methional and eucalyptol, which mainly comprised aldehydes and alcohols, were selected for the discriminatory analysis between hams produced from DW, YLDW and DLY pigs. Furthermore, correlation analysis demonstrated that the oxidative decomposition of polyunsaturated fatty acids (i.e., trans-9-octadecenoic, cis-9,12-linoleic, γ-linolenic, α-linolenic, and arachidonic acid) is essential for the formation of volatile characteristics of ham. These results indicated that FFAs and volatile profiles of ham were breed dependent, and that the formation of volatile profiles in ham is closely related to lipid oxidation.

Cured characteristics of non-nitrite-ham produced with Ocimum gratissimum as additive

Cured meats are desirable to consumers across the world. Unfortunately, the use of nitrite to obtain cured characteristics has health implications for consumers. Three (3) kg each of ham were produced and labeled as H0, H1, H2, H3 and H4, respectively. H0 represented traditional ham produced with nitrite-curing salt and H4 contained common salt alone. H1, H2 and H3 were produced with 15.0 mg kg-1, 30.0 mg kg-1 and 60.0 mg kg-1 Ocimum gratissimum leaf extract as an additive with common salt. Proximate composition, pH, water activity and residual nitrite levels in treatments as well as color profiles were studied. The percentage contents of moisture, fat, protein and ash ranged from 40.02 (H3) to 41.20 (H4), 2.05 (H0) to 2.61 (H2), 19.37 (H4) to 20.83 (H3) and 2.27 (H4) to 2.69 (H2), respectively. Residual nitrite levels reduced significantly (P<0.05) with increased use of OG as an additive in ham production. Lightness, redness and yellowness characteristics of OG-common-salt-cured ham were not significantly different (P>0.05) from nitrite-cured ham, but redness of common-salt cured ham was significantly lower (P>0.05) compared to 60.0 mg kg-1 Ocimum gratissimum-common-salt-cured and conventionally cured types of ham. It was concluded that Ocimum gratissimum leaf extract as an additive can potentially influence the development of desirable characteristics in ham. Int. J. Agril. Res. Innov. Tech. 12(2): 60-63, December 2022

Colorimetric and fluorogenic detection of nitrite anion in water and food based on Griess reaction of fluorene derivatives

New Griess reagents for nitrite determination were developed using two fluorene derivatives; 2-amino-7-bromofluorene (ABF) and 2-amino-7-bromo-9,9-dimethylfluorene (ABDF). The system of ABF is colorimetric sensor while the ABDF system is a dual-mode colorimetric and fluorogenic sensor. The diazotization reaction of ABF, NO2-, and β-naphthol in acid solution provided azo-dye product and led to an obvious color change from colorless to pink. The same reaction with ABDF displayed the color change to pink and a fluorescence quenching of ABDF emission. Under the optimal condition, colorimetric response, fluorogenic response, anion competition and detection limitation toward NO2- were determined using naked eye observation, UV-Vis and fluorescence technique. The lowest LOD (0.0007 mg L-1) was obtained from fluorescent method of ABDF. In addition, nitrite anion in different ham types were successfully analyzed using ABDF and fluorescent method which presented satisfactory performance parameters such as working range (0.0024 – 0.020 mg L-1), %recovery (83.36–107.68) and %RSD (0.26–3.77). According to paired t-test at a 95% confidence level, there was no significant differences between the results from the ABDF and those from the reference method. The practical application of ABF/ABDF sensors based on hydrogel indicator can be used for on-site monitoring of NO2- with a high sensitivity and selectivity by showing the same results of naked-eye color change and fluorescence turning off.

Optimization of Jinhua Ham Classification Method Based on Volatile Flavor Substances and Determination of Key Odor Biomarkers.

Jinhua ham is a traditional cured meat food in China. For a long time, its grade has mainly been evaluated by the human nose through the three-sticks method, which is highly subjective and is not conducive to establishing evaluation standards through odor markers. In this paper, we analyzed the well-graded Grade I–III hams provided by Jinzi Ham Co., Ltd. (Jinhua, China). Firstly, we used different extraction fibers, extraction temperatures, and extraction time to determine the optimal conditions for headspace solid-phase microextraction (HS-SPME). Then, the aroma components of Jinhua ham were analyzed by headspace solid-phase microextraction combined with gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS), and OAV was calculated to screen the key aroma volatiles of three kinds of Jinhua ham. It was found that a total of 56 components were detected in the three types of ham. Among them, there are 21 kinds of key aroma volatiles. Aldehydes, alcohols, and acids are the three main components of Jinhua ham, and the content of aldehydes gradually decreases from Grade I to Grade III ham. The content of acids gradually increased, and we speculated that the increase in acid content was caused by the proliferation of microorganisms in Grade III ham. The key flavor volatiles in Grade I hams was hexanal and 2-methylbutanal. Grade I hams had a strong meat aroma, pleasant fatty, and roasted aroma without any off-flavors. In Grade II ham, the characteristic volatiles (E,E)-2,4-decadienal and ethyl isovalerate were detected. These two volatiles contribute greatly to the flavor of Grade II ham, which makes the flavor of Grade II ham have a special fruity aroma. They also may be prone to sourness and affect the flavor of the ham. Volatiles with low threshold values, such as pyrazines, furans, and sulfur-containing compounds, were relatively high in Grade III hams. This may also contribute to the poorer flavor quality of Grade III hams. This experiment provided a reliable test method and evaluation basis for the rating of Jinhua ham. These results have positive implications for the establishment of odor markers-based grading criteria.

Mineral content variability of two dry-cured ham types

The aim of this study was to elaborate on the mineral content variability of two dry-cured ham types for better understanding of the contribution of minerals to reference daily intake (RDI). These two ham types were based on Istrian and Dalmatian ham manufacturing process. Significantly higher (P<0.05) contents of ash, NaCl, sodium (Na), potassium (K), phosphorus (P), zinc (Zn), iron (Fe), copper (Cu), and manganese (Mn) were found in Istrian ham, while Dalmatian ham had higher moisture content. Calcium (Ca) and magnesium (Mg) content did not differ between ham types. The variability of moisture, ash, NaCl, Na, P, Mg, and Ca content can be regarded as low, while the variability of K, Zn, Fe, Cu, and Mn content should be considered as high. It was observed that mineral content variability within ham type was more often lower than overall variability. Intake of Na by consumption of 100 g of dry-cured ham is between 2350.54 mg in Dalmatian ham and 3148.33 mg in Istrian ham, respectively, thus exceeding recommended daily limitation. Therefore, more efforts in ham manufacturing have to be done to lower Na content. Average contribution of K, P, and Zn to the RDI values were 31.89 %, 40.14 %, and 50.80 %, respectively. Considering that, dry-cured ham could be regarded as a source of a significant amount of these minerals. Contribution of Fe and Cu should be carefully considered because of high variability between ham types. Contribution of Mg, Ca, and Mn to RDI values were lower than 10 %.

How does animal welfare taste? Combining sensory and choice experiments to evaluate willingness to pay for animal welfare pork

Although consumers show considerable interest in higher animal welfare, the market share for such products remains low. To provide consumers with a choice regarding different levels of animal welfare, animal welfare labels have been developed. Such product options are intended to serve as intermediate products between conventional products and more expensive organic options that are often associated with high animal welfare standards. This study aims to evaluate whether information about animal welfare practices affects consumers’ liking and willingness to pay (WTP) for a pork product. Using a within-subject design with three evaluation rounds (blind, expectation, and full information) we combine hedonic liking where subjects rate four different types of ham with a choice experiment. Hams differ in the animal husbandry conditions during the rearing and fattening process: conventional rearing, a specific treatment of mother sows, a general animal welfare label, and organic production. Results show an effect of information on consumers’ sensory evaluation of the different products, although products were evaluated to be similar in the blind condition. Consumers rated the organic product higher than those with animal welfare labels while the conventional option had the lowest liking scores. Results from the choice experiment concur with the hedonic rating. Estimates indicate that consumers are willing to pay more for ham bearing a general animal welfare or organic label in the expectation and full information condition. Consequently, information regarding animal welfare affects both consumers’ hedonic liking and WTP for ham.

Bioactive peptides generated in the processing of dry-cured ham

Peptides and free amino acids are naturally generated in dry-cured ham as a consequence of proteolysis phenomenon exerted by muscle peptidases. The generation of bioactive peptides in different types of dry-cured ham produced in Spain, Italy and China is reviewed in this manuscript. Major muscle proteins are extensively hydrolysed firstly by endogenous endo-peptidases followed by the successive action of exo-peptidases, mainly, tri- and di-peptidylpeptidases, aminopeptidases and carboxypeptidases. Such proteolysis is very intense and consists of the generation of large amounts of free amino acids and a good number of peptides with different sequences and lengths, some of them exerting relevant bioactivities like angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitory activity, antioxidant activity, di-peptidylpeptidase IV inhibitory activity among other and in vivo antihypertensive, hypoglycemic or anti-inflammatory activity. This manuscript reviews the recent findings showing that dry-cured ham constitutes a good source of natural bioactive peptides that have potential benefit for human health.

Evaluation by NIRS technology of curing process of ham with low sodium content

NIR spectroscopy combined with chemometric methods has been used to develop a prediction models of the most influential parameters in curing process of two types of hams (140 hams) using different salting techniques, lean hams salted on a tray and fatty hams in a tub, in which sodium is partially replaced. Spectral data were examined by principal component analysis and cross-validated calibration equations were developed using partial-least squares regression. Calibration errors for each parameter, obtained from cross validation (RMSECV), were similar to those obtained by reference method. For lean and fatty hams the RMSECV values were: Moisture 0.78% and 0.80; Fat 2.5 and 1.2%; Protein 0.7 and 1.7%; water activity 0.008 and 0.006; Proteolysis Index 1.6 and 1.7%; Sodium 0.11 and 0.10%; and Potassium 0.04 and 0.10. Results allow the prediction of the parameters involved in ham curing process, demonstrating the viability of the proposed method for the control and monitoring of the different stages until obtaining the final product.

Magnetic Resonance Imaging, texture analysis and regression techniques to non-destructively predict the quality characteristics of meat pieces

The quality of meat products is traditionally assessed by chemical or sensorial analysis, which are time consuming, need specialized technicians and destroy the products. The development of new technologies to monitor meat pieces using non-destructive methods in order to establish their quality is earning importance in the last years. An increasing number of studies have been carried out on meat pieces combining Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI), texture descriptors and regression techniques to predict several physico-chemical or sensorial attributes of the meat, mainly different types of pig ham and loins. In spite of the importance of the problem, the conclusions of these works are still preliminary because they only use the most classical texture descriptors and regressors instead of stronger methods, and because the methodology used to measure the performance is optimistic. In this work, we test a wide range of texture analysis techniques and regression methods using a realistic methodology to predict several physico-chemical and sensorial attributes of different meat pieces of Iberian pigs. The texture descriptors include statistical techniques, like Haralick descriptors, local binary patterns, fractal features and frequential descriptors, like Gabor or wavelet features. The regression techniques include linear regressors, neural networks, deep learning, support vector machines, regression trees, ensembles, boosting machines and random forests, among others. We developed experiments using 15 texture feature vectors, 28 regressors over 4 datasets of Iberian pig meat pieces to predict 39 physico-chemical and sensorial attributes, summarizing16,380 experiments. There is not any combination of texture vector and regressor which provides the best result for all attributes tested. Nevertheless, all these experiments provided the following conclusions: (1) the regressor performance, measured using the squared correlation (R2), is from good to excellent (above 0.5625) for 29 out of 39 attributes tested; (2) the WAPE (Weighted Absolute Percent Error) is lower than 2% for 32 out of 37 attributes; (3) the dispersion in computer predictions around the true attributes is lower or similar than the dispersion in the labeling expert’s for the majority of attributes (85%); and (4) differences between predicted and true values are not statistically significant for 29 out of 37 attributes using the Wilcoxon ranksum statistical test. We can conclude that these results provide a high reliability for an automatic system to predict the quality of meat pieces, which may operate on-line in the meat industries in the future.

Emotional responses to the consumption of dry-cured hams by Spanish consumers: A temporal approach

The objective of this study was to describe for the first time the emotional responses during the consumption of three types of Spanish dry-cured hams, namely, ‘Iberian’, ‘Serrano’ and ‘Curado’. Moreover, dynamic sensory techniques such as Temporal Dominance of Emotions and Temporal Dominance of Sensations were applied to identify the dominant emotions and sensory attributes perceived during ham consumption. >50 emotional terms were generated during sample consumption including positive, negative and neutral terms. Noticeable differences were detected among the three types of dry-cured ham for their emotional profiles. The most dominant emotions evoked by Iberian dry-cured hams were “intense”, “authentic” and “pleasant” and could be associated with the domination of cured flavour and juiciness, with both attributes being closely related to their high intramuscular fat content. However, in Serrano and Curado dry-cured hams, the domination of saltiness attribute seemed to contribute to evoking negative emotions as “ordinary”, “indifferent” and “dissatisfied”. Finally, high duration of the domination of positive emotions as “desirable”, “intense”, “pleasant” and “authentic” contributed to high overall liking scores.

Quality Assessment of Pork and Turkey Hams Using FT-IR Spectroscopy, Colorimetric, and Image Analysis.

The implementation of fast and nondestructive methods in meat products and colds cuts have become increasingly important to evaluate their quality in relation to different factors such as origin, type of processing, freshness, adulteration, and authenticity. In this study, Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FT-IR), colorimetric, and image-analysis methods were implemented to characterize and classify ham cold cuts in terms of meat type, processing, and shelf life during refrigerated storage. Two types of commercial hams (made from pork and turkey) and three types of processing (boiled, smoked, and roasted) were selected. By using the most appropriate color parameters, a*, h, and C*, as well as the textural features’ angular second moment, long-running emphasis, and standard deviation of image intensity from the hams’ images, high-classification values for the different ham samples were achieved. The FT-IR analysis revealed the presence of absorbance bands of proteins, triglycerides, fatty acids, and carbohydrates with different intensities according to meat type and processing. Refrigeration storage caused significant alterations of color parameters and a partial degradation of triglycerides and proteins. Moreover, the image-analysis findings indicated that storage period caused significant degradation of ham images relating to local linearity, and structural and textural continuum.

A dual-mode sensor for colorimetric and fluorescent detection of nitrite in hams based on carbon dots-neutral red system

Nitrite residue in hams was detected by a fluorescent and colorimetric sensor based on carbon dots (C-dots) and neutral red (NR). C-dots with green fluorescence was synthesized by a microwave-assisted method. This novel sensor was fabricated by C-dots as donors and NR as acceptors. The presence of nitrite led to decrease of absorbance and increase of fluorescence. Colorimetric and fluorescent methods for nitrite detection were developed with excellent correlation coefficients (R2 = 0.995 and 0.991) and low limits of detection (196 nM and 0.518 nM). Moreover, nitrite residue in seven types of ham was detected by the colorimetric and fluorescent methods which were verified by a standard method. The results obtained by the proposed method were comparable and agree with that of the Griess-based method (relative errors<5%). C-dots-NR system as a sensor has a potential application for nitrite detection in hams to monitor its quality and safety.

1H NMR and multivariate data analysis of the differences of metabolites in five types of dry-cured hams

In order to distinguish the taste styles of dry-cured hams (Jinhua, Xuanwei, Country, Parma and Bama), we established a 1H nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy method to identify metabolites. Totally, 33 charged metabolites, including amino acids, organic acids, nucleic acids and their derivatives, sugars, alkaloids and others were identified. The abundant glutamate, lysine, alanine, leucine and lactate could be the major contributors of taste. Total variables were explained by PC1 (67.7%) and PC2 (16.0%) which showed that Parma and Xuanwei styles were close to each other (similar amino acids, peptide, organic acids and alkaloids contents). Bama style showed the highest PC1 and amino acids, organic acids and alkaloids contents. Country style was located on the left-most area of PC1 (the lowest amino acids, organic acids and peptide, but the highest sugars contents). Sensory evaluation revealed that Bama ham had the highest overall taste score, followed by Jinhua, Parma, Xuanwei and American Country ham. We concluded that the proportions and combinations of taste components explained the specific taste instead of any single component. These findings provided a better understanding of different metabolomics among hams.

Influence of the Iberian pig's diet on the characteristics of the compounds related to the fat of cured ham

Alimentation Influence in the characteristics of compounds related with fat of ham from iberic pigs. Alimentation influence (acorn, acorn-bait mixed, bait) over characteristics fat and their degradation products, that are in part, responsible of the aroma of ham, has been studied. Influence over the naturation degree has been observed. Relation oleic/ linoleic+linolenic acids are different In the three types of hams. Also water activity, salinity index and redox potential show differences that affect to the relative percentage of satured and unsatured free fatty acids. Fat of bait hams suffer more oxidation. Acorn and mixed acornbait hams offer a higher level of pentanal and acetaldehyde. Whereas bait hams have higher level of hexanal, heptanal and octanal. The percentage of cetonic compounds are similar in all then.