The 4 reasons why Cinco Jotas ham is a luxury product

Those who have tried Cinco Jotas know the exceptional flavor of this Iberico Ham acorn fed. This delicacy for the palate is the result of a great effort during breeding and in the exclusivity of its pigs.

But what makes Cinco Jotas unique?

1. Purebread

Not all Iberico pigs are Black Leg. This black label is not a Cinco Jotas label, this label is provided by the government. In order to get this label, the pig needs to be purebred which means that both the father and the mother are black pig. This is extremely unique and it represents only 9% of this Iberico industry, making it hard to find Black leg even in Spain. The other 91% is crossbred

2. Acorn Feeding

There is a false myth about Iberico which is that these are pigs eat Acorns all year long. They eat Acorns, yes, but they are only fed Acorns from October to March, because that’s when they are sweet. During fall season thought, that is what they eat only and they eat 10 kg of Acorns a day. That is one of the main reasons for tasting that nutty flavour when you eat Pata Negra Ham.

Acorns are also good for the animal. It does provide flavour but also offers a lot of healthy properties; acerbic due to the oleic acid (ham fat). The diet and the exercise from a free range animal provides this fat.

3. Free ranged

This black pig are tall and has very athletic legs, within two years, these pigs will only weigh 120 kg.

Cinco Jotas is located in Jabugo, South West of Spain and breeders provide two football fields per pig. They are used to be free ranged and walk around 14 km per day. These conditions makes the breeding very exclusive and costly and the production very limited, making a Cinco Jotas a luxury product.

4. From 3 to 5 Years for the dry process

The dry process is different for each piece.

Everything depends on the weight of the ham, the size, the weather. Some years, depending on the weather the ham is going to stay hung longer or less time, that is why the average is four but it goes from 3-5.