Eileen Lucarell, age 13, of Providence, R.I., for her question:
HOW IS A HAM CURED?
Ham is that section of a hog's hind leg that extends from the knee to the hip. Nutritionally it contains such vitamins as thiamine, riboflavin and niacin as well as protein. Ham is usually cured and smoked to give it flavor and color, and to make it safe to keep for a while before eating.
Cured hams sold in stores are made by adding salt and other materials known as curing agents to the meat. The materials 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. 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 a hardwood fire or steam heat may be used. Hams stamped "ready to eat" have been smoked about a day. Hams are smoked mainly to keep them from spoiling too quickly.
Meat markets sometimes sell ham that has not been cured or smoked. Hams that are cured but not smoked include the imported Polish, Dutch and Danish canned hams.
Hams in the market will be either skinned or regular. A skinned ham has had most of its skin and fat trimmed off while a regular ham still has its skin.
Boneless ham has become an important cured pork product. A boneless smoked ham is made by removing the bones and fat from a cured ham. The meat is then rolled and tied together before it is smoked. This type of ham is popular because it is easy to carve and has little waste. Boneless hams are often sold in cans.
Markets sell ham by the full section, 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 much meat and is especially good for baking.
The center part of the ham is all meat except for a small leg bone. It may be baked or sliced for frying or broiling.
The shank of the ham has more bone. Often it is used to flavopr soups, beans or cabbage.
The piece of pork called the picnic ham is actually not ham at all. It comes from the shoulder of a hog. Often it is cured and smoked like a ham.
A ham may be either long cut or short cut. A long cut ham includes all the hog's hip and a long section of the shank, which is that part of the hog's leg above the knee. The short cut ham is 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 all of it can be eaten.
Most pork sold in butcher shops comes from hogs that are seven to 12 months old. The younger hogs produce the highest quality pork.
Americans eat about 75 pounds of pork per person in a year.