Bayonne Ham - Targeting the American Foodie - 4

contributed to the success of the PGI Ham
from South West France. French chefs use
Bayonne hams and the product is found in
French restaurants all over the US. Many
find a unique versatility in Bayonne Hams
being the only dry cured hams that can be
cooked.

Production
Producers still use the same ancestral
knowledge to craft Bayonne Ham in the ideal
terroir known as the Adour basin in Southwest
France. The warm, dry wind known as Foehn,
rolls down the slopes of the Pyrenees
mountain and comes together with moist air
blowing off the Atlantic Ocean to provide a
fertile curing climate for Bayonne Ham.
The salt French craftsmen use to cure
Bayonne Hams bears a rich history that
dates back to the bronze age. The geological

structure of the Adour basin, and specifically
the Reine Jeanne d'Oraas spring, produce
the Salies-de-Béarn salt used in Bayonne
Hams. The Reine Jeanne d'Oraas' salty spring
water is drawn to the surface and undergoes
a traditional, saltpan evaporation process.
The process imparts an exceptional richness
in trace elements, as well as keeping the salt
100 percent natural.
In 1853 the medicinal virtues of the salt
gave rise to the opening of a "thermal
establishment" where thousands of
visitors came yearly to partake in the
therapeutic benefits. Trapped under the
Pyrenees mountains for millions of years
has preserved the Salies-de-Béarn salt and
concentrated it to 10 times that of the salt
found in seawater.
The technical manual for the Bayonne Ham
PGI states the coarse, white salt is the



Bayonne Ham - Targeting the American Foodie

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Bayonne Ham - Targeting the American Foodie

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