By Porter Lang
Start with the label. Then ask where the pig, the cure, the smoke and the knife were.
What the name is
Wikipedia says that since 1997 Black Forest ham has been a Protected Geographical Indication in the European Union, and that the designation is not recognised outside the EU, including in Canada and the United States. The Black Forest, it notes, is part of Baden-Württemberg.
A summary of the product specification, hosted by Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, describes Schwarzwälder Schinken as a trimmed, raw, smoked, boneless ham. It carries the register identifier DE-PGI-0117-0686 followed by a date, 03.12.2010. We do not know what that date records, and the document does not say.
The area
The specification summary defines the Black Forest as an area bounded by the B3 road from Basel to Karlsruhe, the Black Forest ridge, the Rhine, and a line through Schöpfheim, Waldshut, Donaueschingen, Rottweil, Calw and Pforzheim. Districts split by borders before the early-1970s municipal reform are included in full.
The one awkward question
Is the whole process done in the region, or only part?
- Wikipedia says products sold as Black Forest ham must be at least partly made in the Black Forest region.
- The specification summary says the entire production process, from testing the uncured ham to the finished product ready for sale, must take place in the Black Forest area. It gives no specific rules on slicing or packaging.
- A producer, Adler, says only ham made in its home region may use the name.
We put them side by side and choose none. Our reading: the specification summary is the closest of the three to the legal text, but we read a summary and not the full document, so check the register entry before you rely on this.
How it is made
The specification summary: hindquarter ham from meat-type pigs; dry curing with no brine injected into the muscle, using each producer’s own spice recipe; cold smoking with fir wood from the Black Forest; then several weeks in climate-controlled rooms. It gives no minimum number of weeks.
Wikipedia: raw ham is salted and seasoned with garlic, coriander, pepper, juniper berries and other spices, cured for two to three weeks, desalted, aged for another two weeks, then cold-smoked with local conifers and sawdust at around 25 °C for several days and ripened in an air-conditioned room for several weeks. It describes the ham as boneless and about one-fifth fat.
Adler, a producer, says the ham is smoked for three weeks over a mix of fir brushwood, sawdust and wood chips from the Black Forest, and is ready to eat at 12 weeks. That is a company’s account of its own ham, not a rule for every maker.
TasteAtlas, an online food guide, says it is made from the pig’s hind leg, spiced according to each producer’s traditional recipe, and cold smoked using fir wood from the Black Forest. It calls the ham the best-selling smoked ham in Europe, which is the guide’s claim and one we have not checked.
The link to the place
According to the specification summary, the upland climate suits fir growth and the cold-smoking method, and the fir wood and local air are said to shape the smoky and spicy flavour. That is the specification’s argument for why the place matters, and we present it as such.
What the ham is like
Wikipedia says the ham is boneless, about one-fifth fat, and almost black on the outside after ripening. It says the ham is usually served at room temperature, on rye or wood-oven bread, with fruit or in cooked dishes, and that whole pieces keep for months when stored properly. The specification summary says nothing on serving or storage, and Adler says only that the ham keeps for a long time if stored properly.
A note on the numbers
Wikipedia’s two-to-three weeks of curing, two weeks of resting and several days of smoking do not add up to Adler’s twelve weeks, but they do not have to. One is a general description, the other is one company’s schedule, and the specification summary sets no minimum. Our reading: when a producer quotes a ripening time, ask whether it is a rule or a house practice.
Reading a package
Our reading, from the sources above: look for the words Schwarzwälder Schinken and for the geographical indication mark, and ask the seller where the curing and smoking happened. The sources do not tell us what a retail label must show, so we make no claim about it.
Dates in order
- 1950s: Adler says it coined the name, according to its own website.
- 1959: Wikipedia credits one man with selling the ham by retail and mail order.
- 1997: EU PGI status, according to Wikipedia.
- 03.12.2010: the date in the register identifier, in the specification summary.
Side by side
Where the process must happen: partly, according to Wikipedia; wholly, according to the specification summary. How long the smoke lasts: several days, according to Wikipedia; three weeks, according to Adler. The wood: conifers and sawdust, fir wood, or a fir brushwood mix, depending on the source.
What kind of sources these are
Wikipedia; a government-hosted specification summary, which is the nearest thing here to the official text; a producer’s own site; and an online food guide. We read no consortium page and no label.
Questions a buyer would ask
Where were the curing and smoking done? Was the smoke fir wood? Is the ham a whole boneless piece or a pre-sliced pack? Does the pack carry the protected name and mark? We name no brand and make no claim about any particular ham.
What we left out
We left out Black Forest bacon, every price and the named individual in the Wikipedia history. We make no taste claim.
Quick answers
Is Black Forest ham protected? Yes. Wikipedia says it has been an EU Protected Geographical Indication since 1997, not recognised outside the EU.
What wood is used to smoke it? The specification summary says cold smoking with fir wood from the Black Forest.
Is Black Forest ham sold on the bone? No. Both Wikipedia and the specification summary describe it as boneless. The summary adds that it is a raw, smoked ham.
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Roam first. Shop later.