Jamon, a food product-turned tourism item

Spain's wine, artichoke, and jamon have successfully established their global reputation by combining tourism with primary production and secondary processing industries. This is the second of a two-part series on Spain's senary industries. ― ED.

By Yun Suh-young

MADRID, Spain ― Jamon and wine are two items that cannot be missing from a Spanish dining table.

Jamon, which refers to sliced ham made from the hind legs of pigs, is an essential part of Spanish diet. It is said that the Spanish cannot dine without jamon on the table.

The quality of jamon that ends up on the table, however, differs depending on the type of the pig and the forage they are fed on.

The highest of quality comes from Iberico pigs which are black, active and slim. Of that made from Iberico pigs, the top-notch comes from livestock fed on acorns, which are sold as Iberico de Bellota (bellota means acorn in Spanish).

In Spain, there are only two villages that specialize in producing Iberico jamon. One of them is Guijuelo, 207 kilometers Northwest of Madrid. Of the total number of Iberico jamon produced in Spain, 70 percent is produced in this village.

Inside the village of Guijuelo is a jamon producing company run by the fourth generation of the family which specializes in Jamon Iberico de Bellota.

Julian Martin, established in 1933, is a forerunner in the jamon tourism business which has combined farming, production and service (tourism) all into one package -- serving as an example of an established senary industry.

The term "senary industry," otherwise called "sixth-level industry," refers to the combination of primary production industry (agriculture and fisheries), the secondary processing industry and the tertiary service industry (1+2+3=6), which increases the competitiveness of the original agricultural products.

Jamon tourism

"Jamonturismo," which translates to "jamon tourism" in English, is a Spanish term first derived by Julian Martin. The company was a trailblazer in the jamon tourism industry as it was the first to start such a tour program a decade ago.

"It's a term only we can use because we came up with it. The word is registered as a trademark so no other jamon producers can use it although they do offer such tours," said Luis Miguel Barragan Arroyo, the export manager at Julian Martin.

Combining the diverse resources the company had into a tour program was a great way to promote their products but also a means to increase understanding about jamon and Spanish culinary culture and quench the thirst of visitors seeking unique experiences in Spain.

"The motif of Jamon tourism came from the winery tour. The purpose isn't to promote domestically but to reach out globally. We wanted to show foreign tourists how our products are made, how they're eaten, and make them experience jamon in general," said Angel Garcia, marketing manager at Julian Martin.

During the four to five-hour tour, visitors are first taken to the company-run farm to take a look at the Iberico pigs bred there and how they are fed with acorns and cereals naturally produced at the farm.

Then they are guided through the production facilities wearing disposable hygiene clothing. Wearing head caps and translucent overcoats and overshoes, visitors are taken through the "curing chambers" where the butchered hind legs of the Iberico pigs go through an elongated process of "curing" which is synonymous to aging. The process takes up to 48 months for Iberico de Bellota.

The initial process before curing is salting where the meat loses 7 percent of its moisture. Then lard oil is applied and the meat is left to dry for five to six months, a curing process during which more water is lost. When it's done, the leg has lost 50 percent of its water from when it started.

"The facilities fake winter during the first critical moment for the curing process and the jamon are placed for five to six weeks in temperature controlled chambers," said Luis Miguel Barragan Arroyo, the export manager at Julian Martin.

"We use modern technology but respect the old way of doing things."

During the production process, smart technologies are involved such as automatic rails to relocate the jamon and computerized drying chambers set to measure the humidity and temperature.

When the tour of production facilities is over, visitors are shown a movie about jamon and Julian Martin and then introduced a Maestro Jamonero, a jamon slicing master, who shows them how to slice jamon. The tasting session includes tasting of a variety of jamon and sausages produced at the factory such as lomo (pork loin), chorizo (sausage), salchichon (white sausages), and morcilla (blood sausages) as well as Iberico de Bellota, the highest quality of jamon, served with bread and wine.

"Our export market expanded from five to 35, including South Korea, in the past decade," said Barragan Arroyo.

The tour program attracts 4,000 to 5,000 visitors a year which is ten times the number 10 years ago.