Deep in Yunnan's mountains, the village of Nuodeng produces a special ham. For centuries, people used a deep brinebrine/braɪn/L2浓盐水water that contains a lot of salt, used for preserving or flavoring food well to make salt. Today, people use that salt to cure ham for years. This ham is the only naturally dry-curedcured/kjʊrd/L2腌制的preserved by salting, smoking, or drying ham in China that is safe to eat raw. It comes from local black pigs with strong legs and a perfect fat ratio.
Ham expert Li Xiaofeng says, "Top-tier ham is not meant to be cooked." The ham comes from local black pigs with strong legs. The meat has a perfect 3:7 fat-to-lean ratioratio/ˈreɪʃioʊ/L2比例the relationship between two amounts, showing how many times one contains the other. This makes it ideal for slow, natural fermentation. People age the ham for at least three years before eating it raw.
In 2016, Nuodeng ham won a blind tasting in Shanghai, beating top hams from Spain and Italy. Critics praised its delicate rose aromaaroma/əˈroʊmə/L2香气a pleasant smell, especially from food or drink and clean taste. However, bringing the ham down the mountain is difficult because it is fragile and changes flavor easily. Traditionaltraditional/trəˈdɪʃənəl/L2传统的following the customs or ways of doing something that have existed for a long time curing takes at least three years, which makes mass production hard.
