# Why is ham so salty? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 20, 2011, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-ham-so-salty/606786 "2011-12-20T00:15:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Rachellelogram](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rachellelogram/32/8689_2.png) [@Rachellelogram](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rachellelogram)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2011, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-ham-so-salty/606786/1 "2011-12-20T00:15:47Z")
Every Christmas my family bakes a ham, and every Christmas I can’t eat it because it’s too damn salty. The chef doesn’t add salt or marinate it or anything. That’s just ham. It’s like it’s naturally salty. I can barely taste anything but salt when I eat a piece of ham. I love chicken, I love turkey, but I can’t do ham. Just regular, store-bought ham. Why so salty? ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Hbns](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/8edcca/32.png) [@Hbns](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hbns)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2011, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-ham-so-salty/606786/2 "2011-12-20T00:18:46Z")
[All About Ham](http://www.hoptechno.com/bookham.htm) Might want to try an uncured ham. (which would pretty much just be a pork roast) ---
**Author:** ![typoink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecb155/32.png) [@typoink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/typoink)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2011, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-ham-so-salty/606786/3 "2011-12-20T00:21:48Z")
Yeah, ham is almost always sold prepared as a cured ham. If you guessed that the curing process involves salt, you win a hock. ---
**Author:** ![Rachellelogram](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rachellelogram/32/8689_2.png) [@Rachellelogram](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rachellelogram)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2011, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-ham-so-salty/606786/4 "2011-12-20T00:42:03Z")
> [@typoink](#): > > Yeah, ham is almost always sold prepared as a cured ham. If you guessed that the curing process involves salt, you win a hock. What if I hock my hock? Then a follow up question: why is ham normally sold cured, and chicken/turkey is not? What does an uncured ham taste like? More like a pork chop? ---
**Author:** ![tim-n-va](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tim-n-va/32/3001_2.png) [@tim-n-va](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tim-n-va)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2011, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-ham-so-salty/606786/5 "2011-12-20T00:50:59Z")
Did you drop it in salt on the way home? ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2011, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-ham-so-salty/606786/6 "2011-12-20T00:52:06Z")
Soak the ham in water for a couple hours to pull out salt, makes it much better. ---
**Author:** ![sitchensis](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sitchensis/32/4892_2.png) [@sitchensis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sitchensis)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2011, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-ham-so-salty/606786/7 "2011-12-20T00:55:18Z")
An uncured ham is a big fatty pork roast. It would just taste like pork. Historically cured meats were used as a way of saving meat prior to refrigeration. Ham, prosciutto, pancetta, pepperoni, salami, smoked fish, salted pork, are all fairly rich foods and usually should be eaten in small portions. I would suggest next time get a good quality ham and eat it thinly sliced as a complement to other foods rather than as big ham steaks. ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2011, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-ham-so-salty/606786/8 "2011-12-20T00:56:58Z")
> [@aruvqan](#): > > Soak the ham in water for a couple hours to pull out salt, makes it much better. This is what I always do. I usually do it overnight and change the water a couple of times. Makes it much nicer to roast. ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2011, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-ham-so-salty/606786/9 "2011-12-20T01:02:41Z")
> [@rachelellogram](#): > > What if I hock my hock? > > Then a follow up question: why is ham normally sold cured, and chicken/turkey is not? What does an uncured ham taste like? More like a pork chop? Yep. Ham is cured pork. Uncured ham is pork. No salt. ---
**Author:** ![Darth\_Panda](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ee7513/32.png) [@Darth\_Panda](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darth_Panda)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2011, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-ham-so-salty/606786/10 "2011-12-20T01:24:48Z")
Pretty soon the anti-vaccination crowd will want us to stop curing pork. ---
**Author:** ![typoink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecb155/32.png) [@typoink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/typoink)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2011, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-ham-so-salty/606786/11 "2011-12-20T02:17:24Z")
Also, cured poulty totally exists. “Turkey ham,” which I see now and again, is precisely that. At least I assume so. I’ve never bought any, because ham ham continues to exist. ---
**Author:** ![thirdname](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d07c76/32.png) [@thirdname](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thirdname)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2011, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-ham-so-salty/606786/12 "2011-12-20T02:24:25Z")
Christmas at the rachelellorgram household: [Salty Ham - YouTube](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZR5iScQjjVk) ---
**Author:** ![zombywoof](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/9e8a1a/32.png) [@zombywoof](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zombywoof)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2011, 2:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-ham-so-salty/606786/13 "2011-12-20T02:25:39Z")
I’d skip anything called “Turkey ham” too - and totally go for some cured poultry in the form of [confit](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duck_confit). ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2011, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-ham-so-salty/606786/14 "2011-12-20T02:31:33Z")
> [@rachelellogram](#): > > Every Christmas my family bakes a ham, and every Christmas I can’t eat it because it’s too damn salty. The chef doesn’t add salt or marinate it or anything. That’s just ham. It’s like it’s naturally salty. I can barely taste anything but salt when I eat a piece of ham. I love chicken, I love turkey, but I can’t do ham. Just regular, store-bought ham. Why so salty? ☹ Ham is salt-cured pork. Salt is in its definition. ---
**Author:** ![sitchensis](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sitchensis/32/4892_2.png) [@sitchensis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sitchensis)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2011, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-ham-so-salty/606786/15 "2011-12-20T02:35:10Z")
Aren’t those big turkey legs they sell at fairs and outdoor events cured, or at least brined? ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2011, 2:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-ham-so-salty/606786/16 "2011-12-20T02:39:54Z")
> [@rachelellogram](#): > > Then a follow up question: why is ham normally sold cured, and chicken/turkey is not? What does an uncured ham taste like? More like a pork chop? Ham really just refers to the cut of meat, that is the upper part of the back leg. My mother used to cook what she referred to as “fresh ham,” which was just roast pork using this cut. In the US today, pork hams are mostly cured rather than used fresh, possibly because this is the largest piece of meat on the pig. Other cuts, like loin, are used to make pork roasts. So “ham” has become synonymous with cured pork hams, even though technically it is not. Beef is also sold cured as corned beef (which is pickled in a salt brine). Pastrami is cured beef that has subsequently been smoked. Brisket is the most popular cut for corned beef. ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2011, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-ham-so-salty/606786/17 "2011-12-20T02:44:26Z")
> [@samclem](#): > > Yep. Ham is cured pork. Uncured ham is pork. No salt. Woahwoahwoah… isn’t it: pork is meat from a pig. Ham is cured meat _from the hind leg of a pig_. Curing the shoulder would be something else, no? ---
**Author:** ![Motorgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e36b37/32.png) [@Motorgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Motorgirl)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2011, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-ham-so-salty/606786/18 "2011-12-20T02:49:06Z")
> [@thelurkinghorror](#): > > Woahwoahwoah… isn’t it: pork is meat from a pig. Ham is cured meat _from the hind leg of a pig_. Curing the shoulder would be something else, no? I believe the term for cured pork shoulder would be “delicious.” ---
**Author:** ![zombywoof](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/9e8a1a/32.png) [@zombywoof](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zombywoof)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2011, 2:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-ham-so-salty/606786/19 "2011-12-20T02:56:48Z")
> [@thelurkinghorror](#): > > Curing the shoulder would be something else, no? Capicola/Coppa. ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2011, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-ham-so-salty/606786/20 "2011-12-20T03:07:59Z")
The dead pig sorting hat goes: bacon\>ham\>\>\>pork Capicolla and prosciutto and other Italian/Spanish types are side branches. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-ham-so-salty/606786.md?page=2)