Ham, Parisian (Sliced)

As its name implies, Parisian Ham or Jambon de Paris in French comes from the French capital. While ham was first eaten by the Gauls and was a symbol of opulence in the Middle Ages, its Parisian version only appeared in 1793. Yet it only started to be eaten widely in the 20th century, in particular when vacuum-packed ham first appeared.

It is a rectangular block of pale pink meat with lines of fat, and is available in several varieties: traditional, superior or wafer-thin. Paris ham is made from pork that is boned, deveined and dressed, before being brined then cooked in a mould for several hours. For this, a stock generally made of juniper, coriander, cloves of garlic and a bouquet garni is used which gives the ham a very flavourful taste.

Paris ham is used in many French culinary specialties, like the famous Jambon-Beurre sandwich or the croque-monsieur.