World's Best Ham by PataNegra.dk

Walk into almost any supermarket in Spain, and you’ll see the same thing: rows of cured ham, neatly packed, some with famous brand names and others carrying the supermarket’s own label. Those cheaper ones are often called “marcas blancas”, or private-label products. And for many shoppers,s the assumption is immediate: if it costs less, it must be worse. But according to specialists in the world of Spanish ham, that idea doesn’t always hold up. Sometimes the difference between a premium brand and a supermarket label is not as big as people think. What “Marca Blanca” Actually Means One thing many consumers don’t realize is that supermarkets usually don’t produce ham themselves. Instead, they work with established producers, sometimes the very same companies that also supply well-known brands. In other words, the ham inside a supermarket package may come from the same curing facilities, the same producers, and even the same pigs as more recognizable labels. The only real change is the br...