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Fermentation Atlas

Meat from China

Jinhua ham金华火腿

Pork hind legs are rubbed with sea salt six times over about a month in winter, soaked, scrubbed and sun-dried, then hung in airy upper-floor rooms from spring into summer while white and green moulds spread over the meat. The hams are then stacked to post-ripen; the whole cycle takes 7–10 months. Made in 6 steps over 32 days – 34 days. The longest step, salt six times and stack, takes at least 27 days (Jinhua Ham Industry Association 2019) and runs at 0–15 °C (Jinhua Ham Industry Association 2019). Salt is 10–12 % (Jinhua Ham Industry Association 2019). Surface moulds that start as small white spots and turn green as they spread and Aspergillus and Staphylococcus do most of the fermenting.

Key numbers
Main stepat least 27 daysSet[jhhta2019]Salt six times and stack
Temperature0–15 °CSet[jhhta2019]Salt six times and stack
Salt10–12 %Set[jhhta2019]Salt six times and stack
Fully documentedMeat32 days – 34 daysMore meatMore from China

Recipe

Amounts from a sourceAmounts are per 10 kg of trimmed legs in the Jinhua Ham Industry Association's traditional processing standard (T/JHHTA 0001-2019).
10 kgTrimmed fresh pork hind legs, each over 6.0 kg · Thin skin, small trotter, lean, back fat over the sacrum no thicker than 3.5 cm[jhhta2019]
About 1000 g, no more than about 1200 gCoarse, dry sea salt with no anti-caking agent · Applied in six rounds of about 200, 500, 200 and 50 g, then small top-ups[jhhta2019]
Nitrate or nitrite (optional) · Within the national additive standard GB 2760; added at the second salting[jhhta2019]
Starterspontaneous (surface moulds and bacteria)

Total time across the recorded steps: 32 days – 34 days

Start
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What changes: The leg is trimmed to a bamboo-leaf shape and blood is pressed from its vessels

Step 1 of 6
Trim the leg into a bamboo-leaf shape
Time
Not documented
Temperature
Not documented
Salt
None given
Acidity
Not documented
Which microbes the steps name, step by step
Moulds
Aspergillus

Hair, blood and loose fat are scraped off, the pelvic bones are cut back and the flesh side is trimmed smooth. Output: trimmed leg with blood pressed out of the vessels.

Flavour
Not documented
Texture
Not documented
Colour
Not documented

Microbes at work in this step

Not documented for this step.

Method

Measured measured in a studySet fixed by a specification or tested recipeReported one source reports itTypical a general value, not sourced for this fermentUnconfirmed not yet checked against a source

What makes this one different

Jinhua ham is salted only in winter with heavy sea salt (about 10 %), sun-dried, and then ripened through spring and summer in upstairs rooms open to the weather, where moulds cover it.

Related ferments

Variants

  • Xuanwei ham (Yunnan) and Rugao ham (Jiangsu)The other two of China's three famous hams.

Safety

The standard limits salting to the cold season, 0–15 °C, and needs about 10 % salt. Nitrate and nitrite, if used, must stay within the national additive standard. Drying rooms must be checked for fly larvae, cheese skippers and beetles.

Hazards the sources name: Bacillus cereus and Enterococcus faecalis (main spoilage bacteria, with Enterobacter); Ham pests (cheese-skipper larvae, maggots and Dermestes beetles) in the drying rooms.

History and sources

Every number is labelled with how it is known. How this atlas is made

The technique is recorded from the Tang dynasty. China's quality inspection authority approved Jinhua ham as a protected origin product in 2002 (announcement no. 84).

  1. [jhhta2019] Jinhua Ham Industry Association 2019, T/JHHTA 0001-2019, 金华火腿传统加工规程 (Traditional processing rules for Jinhua ham), group standardspec
  2. [mao2024] Mao J., Wang X., Chen H. et al. 2024, The contribution of microorganisms to the quality and flavor formation of Chinese traditional fermented meat and fish products, Foods 13(4):608paper
  3. [jhhta-trace] Jinhua Ham Industry Association 2022, 《金华火腿 产品追溯技术规范》团体标准编制说明 (drafting notes for the Jinhua ham traceability standard; origin-protection history)spec
  4. [wp] Wikipedia, Jinhua ham (history only)wiki