Shannon Resnick, age 13, of Monroe, La., for her question:
HOW IS HAM CURED?
Ham is the section of a hog's hind leg that extends from the knee to the hip. Cured hams that you find at your market's butcher shop are made by adding salt and other minerals known as curing agents to the meat.
The curing agents are made into a liquid mixture called pickle. The pickle is injected into the ham's arteries and veins in a process called vascular pumping. After the injection, the ham is soaked in the pickle.
Finally when the ham is removed from the pickle, the salt is washed off and the cured ham is ready to be smoked or baked. Cured ham may be smoked over hardwood fire, or steam heat may be used. Hams are smoked mainly to keep them from spoiling too quickly.
Hams that are stamped "ready to eat" have been smoked for about a day.
The major types of ham that are sold in markets are either skinned or regular. A skinned ham has had most of its skin and fat trimmed off. A regular ham still has its skin.
A ham may be either long cut or short cut. A long cut ham includes ail of the hog's hip and a long section of the shank, or the part of the hog's leg above the knee. The short cut ham is the one more commonly sold in stores. It has only part of the hip and a small section of the shank. It is the more popular type because almost ail of it can be eaten.
Stores sell ham by the half, or by parts called the butt, the center and the shank.
The butt consists of the end of the ham that contains part of the hip. It has a lot of meat and is good for baking. The center part is all meat except for a small leg bone. It may be baked or sliced for frying or broiling. The shank has more bone and is often used to flavor soups, beans and cabbage.
Nutritionists give ham a high ratings. They say it contains many food elements that are needed by the body.
A four ounce piece of cooked boneless ham has about three fourths of an ounce of protein and 461 calories. Ham also contains such important vitamins as thiamine, riboflavin and niacin.
Boneless ham has become an important cured pork product. A boneless smoked ham is made by removing the bones and fat from the cured ham. The meat is then rolled and tied together before it is smoked.
This boneless style of ham is popular because it is easy to carve and has little waste. Boneless hams are often sold in cans.
Picnic ham is a type of meat called ham, but it actually comes from the shoulder of a hog, rather than from the hind leg.
Although most hams are cured and smoked before they are sold, it is still possible to buy the hind leg of a hog as fresh pork.