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Tuesday, January 19, 2010
Most Expensive Ham - world record set by Manuel
Maldonado
LONDON, UK -- A leg of Iberico ham, which weighs
in at 15lb (7 kilograms) and costs 2 947 USD (£1,800), produced
by pig farmer and ham expert Manuel
Maldonado, on sale at the food hall in Selfridges
in Oxford Street, sets the world record for the Most
Expensive Ham.
Photo: The 'world's
most expensive ham' weighs 7kg and costs £1,800. Photograph:
Selfridges/PA (enlarge
photo)
That is the end of a process that begins
with 50 pigs being specially selected by pig farmer and ham
expert Manuel Maldonado.
The Albarragena ham, the world's Most
Expensive Ham (pictured), selected by expert Manuel
Maldonado, hails from Extremadura, where pampered
pigs roam free while gorging themselves on the fruits of the
encina, or Holm Oak (Quercus ilex).
After the pigs are slaughtered the Most
Expensive Ham is salted and cured for three years
before going on sale in a hand-made wooden box wrapped in
an apron made by one of Spain's most exclusive tailors.
Andrew Cavanna, Fresh Food Buyer at Selfridges,
said: "Connoisseurs will appreciate the melt-in-the-mouth
texture of this truly amazing Spanish ham.
"The leg may seem to have a large price tag but
when you think about the amount of care taken from breeding
right through to the curing, it is actually amazing value.
Every single gram will be savoured as one of life's incredible
gourmet luxuries."
The world's Most
Expensive Ham will cost around $160 per pound, as
opposed to the $30 per pound price of other top-quality hams.
In addition, one must buy the entire 13-pound leg. Only 80-100
of the legs will be available, as each one must pass a sniff
test administered by Maldonado himself.
Related world records:
Most
expensive Schnitzel - 'Golden Imperial Schnitzel' sets world
record
Most
Expensive Watermelon-Densuke watermelon sets world record
Most
expensive bottles of whisky is a Bowmore
Most
Expensive Champagne-world record set by Perrier-Jouet
Tuesday,
January 19, 2010
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