Joselito Gran Reserva Guijuelo Ham

This is the greatest symbol of Spanish gastronomy and the greatest producer in Spain. Its hams are displayed luxuriously in the most select shops of Paris, Milan, Berlin, etc., or they are served in specialty bars and in the most prestigious of restaurants. Joselito knows no borders—it is on top of the world. It is a celebrity well-deserved—independent of the pieces, subject to multiple vicissitudes—for its unrelenting spirit of perfection, surpassed by no other brand of delicacies, neither in Spain, in Italy, in France….
40,000 Joselito Gran Reserva hams are sold annually. Made from Iberico pigs that live freely in the country, in seven in-house properties and other rented ones for a total area of more than 70,000 hectares. They remain there until the slaughter, which tends to be at an age of 18-24 months—time in which they eat what they can find in addition to barley, corn and wheat. They then make a minimum of two mountain journeys, from October to March, in which they also feed on acorns and fresh grass.

The average weight of a ham is 8 or 9 kilos, though some are smaller and others reach 10 kilos or more. Curing, depending on the volume of the destination market, is extended over 24-30 months.

Knowing that each piece constitutes a world in itself, that the quality is subject to thousands of variables (each farmer’s breed selection, the particular animal, life in the country, feed, the quantity of acorns consumed in the mountains, the curing process and time, etc.), we can talk about a series of general qualities that can be defined when a ham attains its excellence. The eyes hazily contemplate how it sweats out its essence. The nose detects aromas of noble meat with sweet and salty notes. And the palate delights in this unique and indefinable flavor characteristic of jamón-jamón, the ham of acorn-fed Iberico pigs.