#3 - Black Forest Ham

 card by A Sea of Ink of Etsy (click card above to go to shop)

Yesterday we stopped by Whole Foods to pick up a few things...one of which was black forest bacon. That got me thinking. What the heck does black forest mean?  I mean, I'm pretty sure the bacon I just ate wasn't from the forest!

Turns out the Black Forest is a wooded resort in Germany and this is where this type of ham/bacon gets its name. Making black forest pork can take up to 3 months. The meat is salted and seasoned and cured for two weeks. Then the salt is removed and the ham is cured for another 2 weeks. The meat is then cold smoked for several weeks.


In Europe, the name "black forest" is regulated and the product must come from the Black Forest region of Germany. However, outside Europe, the name isn't regulated and many different companies produce pork products  sold as "black forest" ham, bacon, etc. Black forest pork products here in the US are prepared to mimic the products from Germany.

Someday if I get the opportunity to travel to Germany, I'll have to try black forest ham there. :)