HAM

It is taken from the hind leg of the pig, preserved by curing or pickling in brine, then dried and smoked. Ham is prepared from fresh pork meat. Boiling of ham is done by placing it in cold water first and soaking it. Then it is placed in a suitable container covered with cold water and brought to boil slowly, till it is cooked. (Cooking time is 18 to 20 minutes for 455 Gms. Of ham) hams after boiling can be decorated with Chaud froid sauce. Gammon is taken from the leg of the pig that has been reared for bacon, and the meat is cured. Gammons are mild and do not keep as long as true hams.

BACON
Bacon is obtained from the sides and back of a baconer (a pig reared and specially fed to yield bacon). The bacon is acquired by taking the meat and preserving the meat by salting. After the meat has matured, the bacon is sold as "green" bacon. Smoked bacon is very popular and this is done in smoke chambers, which gives it a distinctive flavour, and helps to preserve it for a longer time. The wood that gives good flavour is from the breech tree, or oak tree, etc.

Sausages
The origin of this popular form of meat food is difficult to trace. It was over two thousand years ago that the Romans enjoyed this delicacy and various forms were known as Tomacina, circelli etc. The word sausage can trace its ancestry to the Latin salsus (salted), which might suggest the original type was prepared from cured meats, which could be preserved for a longer time. The ancient town of salamis provided a place, association for salami and its fame evidently spread, as we now have many types; Italian, French and German salami, usually with a prefix indicating the locality of the origin. Crepinettes are flat sausages made from fresh pork and wrapped in caul. Sausages can be considered under three main sections, though there will be of course some overlapping between the sections. These sausages are used as an ingredient for potees. They are also serve hot, as a hors d oeuvres.