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Celestino Gomez
Ibérico Jamón de Bellota is the equivalent of caviar in the world of cured meat. Our supplier, Celestino Gomez, is a fifth generation family company located in the Pedroches Valley in the heart of Sierra Morena near the town of Cordoba, an appellation area for the production of Ibérico Jamón de Bellota.
As we drove toward the entrance of the property all we could see on the surrounding hills were hundreds of smallish trees – and seemingly no pigs. Their farm was a lovely sight to behold as far as pig farms go - free range, relaxed pigs lolling around in small groups taking in the sun – you can almost hear the sound of the Spanish guitars!
For Celestino Gomez Bellota Jamón, senior Senor Gomez himself selects the short black-haired piglets for the length and size of their haunches from his stock at 3 months of age. Those chosen are then released on the surrounding hills to range in the wild for two seasons of eating Bellota acorns, the fruit of the Holm oak tree, for which they are named (average age of 150 years). The pigs not chosen for this treatment are fed on either cereal alone or cereal and one season of acorns to become ‘cebo’ and ‘recebo’, the lower levels. Bellota is the important word here as there are other long-haired black pigs and anything from the Iberian peninsula can be called ‘Ibérico’, not just the prized and expensive Bellota.
So where were the pigs on the hills we expected to see? As it turns out the pigs have LOTS of room to roam – 1 hectare per season each, so 4 hectares per pig – and are not easily spotted – you can only see the red patches of earth where they have been. What a gourmet lifestyle!
Once captured and despatched, the curing process is a long, time-rich one as well. The haunches are steeped in Cadiz sea salt for one day per kilo of weight – and that is the only salt in the entire process. They are then hung in seasonally adjusted chambers - how long depends on the time of year - and after this are transferred to the ‘Cathedral’ for up to four years.
A nutty aroma emanating from glistening walls of long drupes of jamón (Spanish ham) curing slowly and naturally in the dimly lit ‘Cathedral of Jamón’, as Jacobo Gomez smilingly called the aging chamber of his family firm, delightfully assaulted our senses.
The fat of this particular pig is prized – and not to be avoided - as due to their nut rich, vegetarian diet it is full of omega 3, so heart healthy!
Truly one of the delicacies of the food world.
See the range in our showroom.
