Smithfield ham
Encyclopedia
Smithfield ham is a specific form of the country ham
, a product which originated in the town of Smithfield
in Isle of Wight County
in the Hampton Roads
region of Virginia
, USA.
(passed by the Virginia General Assembly
) first regulated the usage of the term "Smithfield Ham" by stating:
The peanut feed stipulation was removed in 1966. The present statute specifies both process and method to wit;
The specificity of the statute ensures that the product is not pre-processed anywhere else, and only finished in Virginia, or the town of Smithfield. The locality of the curing process also ensures a uniformity in flavor, since during the curing and aging process the local environment's air quality, humidity, and the local varieties of airborne mold spores (whose enzymes are produced as a byproduct of growth on the hams's rind) produce a unique and repeatable flavor.
Country ham
Country ham is a variety of cured ham, typically very salty, associated with the Southern United States. Country ham is first mentioned in print in 1944, referring to a method of curing and smoking done in the rural parts of North Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, Georgia, Kentucky and other nearby...
, a product which originated in the town of Smithfield
Smithfield, Virginia
Smithfield is a town in Isle of Wight County, in the South Hampton Roads subregion of the Hampton Roads region of Virginia in the United States. The population was 8,089 at the 2010 census....
in Isle of Wight County
Isle of Wight County, Virginia
As of the census of 2010, there were 35,270 people, 11,319 households, and 8,670 families residing in the county. The population density was 94 people per square mile . There were 12,066 housing units at an average density of 38 per square mile...
in the Hampton Roads
Hampton Roads
Hampton Roads is the name for both a body of water and the Norfolk–Virginia Beach metropolitan area which surrounds it in southeastern Virginia, United States...
region of Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
, USA.
Legal definition
A 1926 Statute of VirginiaVirginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
(passed by the Virginia General Assembly
Virginia General Assembly
The Virginia General Assembly is the legislative body of the Commonwealth of Virginia, and the oldest legislative body in the Western Hemisphere, established on July 30, 1619. The General Assembly is a bicameral body consisting of a lower house, the Virginia House of Delegates, with 100 members,...
) first regulated the usage of the term "Smithfield Ham" by stating:
The peanut feed stipulation was removed in 1966. The present statute specifies both process and method to wit;
The specificity of the statute ensures that the product is not pre-processed anywhere else, and only finished in Virginia, or the town of Smithfield. The locality of the curing process also ensures a uniformity in flavor, since during the curing and aging process the local environment's air quality, humidity, and the local varieties of airborne mold spores (whose enzymes are produced as a byproduct of growth on the hams's rind) produce a unique and repeatable flavor.