70-Year-Old Ham Back on Display in N.C.

[Foxy Brown]

A 70-year-old slab of blackened pork went on display in a downtown Raleigh restaurant this week in a curious tradition that began in 1937.

[chera]

Aged ham, yuummmm.......... 

Seriously, they should auction slices of this off for charity.  I'm a great fan of Pata Negra/Jamon Iberico Bellota, which is Spanish/Portuguese naturally cured black ham.  Made of black hoofed acorn-fed free-range hogs.  They hang legs from the ceiling of the cellar of the house, then open the windows so the cold dry mountain wind can blow in.  This naturally cures the ham, effectively mummifying it.  After a few years, a core sample is retrieved.  If you're lucky, and the ham doesn't go bad, what you'll get is a thin layer of healthy mould, a strip of pure mono-unsaturaed fat, and wonderful dark meat so rich that it'll make you faint... ZOMG, it brings tears to my eyes.  A completely different world compared to the pink ham that the English and the Americans eat.  Last time I checked, this stuff can't be imported into the US, because the USDA wont approve the Spanish facilities.  So if you're ever in Spain or Portugal, make sure you try a few slices of this stuff.