What is the difference between pork and ham?

Question

They're both made from a pig, right?
I also know that ham is a certain part of a pig...

so what I really want to know is whether it is kosher to eat ham, since it's not kosher to eat pork.

Answer 1

Hi Julka,

Ham is pork
Technically, ham is the thigh and buttock of any animal that is slaughtered for meat, but the term is usually restricted to a cut of pork, the haunch of a pig or boar. Although it can be cooked and served fresh, most ham is cured in some fashion. It is a common deli meat.

Ham can either be dry-cured or wet-cured. A dry-cured ham has been rubbed in a mixture containing salt and a variety of other ingredients (most usually some proportion of sodium nitrate and sodium nitrite), Sugar is common in many dry cures in the United States. This is followed by a period of drying and aging. Dry-cured hams may require a period of rehydration prior to consumption. A wet-cured ham has been cured with a brine, either by immersion or injection. The division between wet and dry cure is not always hard-and-fast as some ham curing methods begin wet but are followed by dry aging.

The majority of common wet-cured ham available in U.S. supermarkets is of the "city ham" variety, in which brine is injected into the meat for a very rapid curing suitable for mass market. Traditional wet curing requires immersing the ham in a brine for an extended period, often followed by light smoking. Traditional wet cured ham includes the English Wiltshire ham and the French Jambon de Paris.

Dry-cured varieties include the Italian prosciutto crudo (prosciutto di Parma, prosciutto di San Daniele, prosciutto di Carpegna, prosciutto di Modena, prosciutto Toscano, prosciutto Veneto Berico-Euganeo, Valle d’Aosta Jambon de Bosses, prosciutto di Norcia) and the Spanish Jamon serrano (notably the Cured Ham of Trevélez) and jamón ibérico (notably the Cured iberic Ham of Guijuelo). The United States has country ham (including Virginia ham), which might or might not be smoked. England has the York ham. Germany's Westphalian ham is usually smoked over juniper, in Belgium, there is the smoked Ardennes ham, and from China there is the unsmoked Jinhua ham.

Ham is also processed into other meat products such as Spam luncheon meat. Baked ham is also a traditional dish served on Easter

Answer 2

No it is NOT Kosher to eat Ham as it comes from the same animal. A pig...

The difference is the same as how Beef tenderloin, ground round, rump roast, sirloin, t-bone, porterhouse, prime rib and filet are.......................... all beef - from different parts of the animal.

Pork is meat from swine that has been processed for food. Ham is pork from the hind leg of the hog. Meat from the front leg is labeled "pork shoulder picnic." Hams are available either cured, smoked, fresh or cooked.


Check it out here....
http://www.freshmeat.co.za/Home/meatinfo/Pork/pork.html

Answer 3

Pork is meat from swine that has been processed for food. Ham is pork from the hind leg of the hog. Meat from the front leg is labeled "pork shoulder picnic." Hams are available either cured, smoked, fresh or cooked.

Answer 4

The ham is part of a pig. It can be cured, or uncured. Neither are Kosher.

Answer 5

Ham is a finished product made of Pork. "Pork" is another way of saying "Pig".

Answer 6

If I remember correctly from Alton Brown of the Foodnetwork , only one part of the pig can be used to make ham....the leg.

Answer 7

The same as the difference between steak and beef. Ham is a "cut" of pork as steak is a "cut" of beef.

Answer 8

Ham is pork which comes in several different ways..fresh which has not been cured..or cured in a variety of ways..smoked..sugar cured etc.

Answer 9

ham IS pork. pork is how you refer to pig meat. like beef is cow. i doubt if it is kosher.

Answer 10

They're the same! It's all pork...Ham is from the leg....and it's not!