For us it is important that our Ibérico pigs feel "happy as a pig in muck"...
When we speak about "ibérico", then we speak about pure-bred, 100% "ibérico" without any cross breeding, e.g. with Duroc Jersey.
This is extremely important, on the one hand, because it guarantees their perfect adaptation to the natural environment and, on the other hand, assures the unique fat quality in the meat products.
Thanks to their constitution and development in growth the Ibéricos walk uphill and downhill looking for food on the entire "Dehesa" concentrating in the months of fall and winter on the acorns. This "automassage" produces the fat-depots in the meat which will later give the quality and unique taste to it.
The Ibérico pig is the animal which best ennobles the acorns.
And not without reason it is said that "the best hams grow on the oak trees".
The taste is not produced – as often assumed – in the meat, but in the fat. Therefore, connoisseurs call the fat from the Ibérico pigs the "fat gold"... it’s taste of acorn oil contains the aroma of the entire "Dehesa"...
In the case of our Ibérico pig the fat has a very special quality since it has a high content of unsaturated fatty acids, as well as mono- also polyunsaturated fatty acids. Therefore the products from the Ibérico pigs gained the nick name of "olive oil on four legs".
We can act on the assumption that as well as the genetic also the diet and the extensive living conditions, perfectly according to the animal’s needs, are the reason for this unique and special fat composition.
It could be proved that the unsaturated fatty acids between mono- and polyunsaturated fatty acids in a ham from an Ibérico pig sum up to 65-67% of all fatty acids, whereas the saturated fatty acids only make a 25%.
| % | Iberian Ham | Holm Oak Acorn | Corn Oak Acorn | Olive |
| Palmitic Acid C16:0 | 21,22 | 14,20 | 20,00 | 7,00 - 18,00 |
| Palmitoleic Acid C16:1 | 1,69 | 0,30 | 1,70 | 0,30 - 3,00 |
| Estearic Acid C18:0 | 7,28 | 2,40 | 7,50 | 0,50 - 5,00 |
| Oleic Acid C18:1 | 56,22 | 63,10 | 65,00 | 61,00 - 83,00 |
| Linoleic Acid C18:2 | 9,63 | 16,10 | 1,60 | 2,00 - 18,00 |
| Linolenic Acid C18:3 | 0,69 | 1,10 | --- | > 1,50 |
Apart from that, the meat of the Ibérico pig is rich in vitamin B (B1, B2, B6, B12) and, among others, folic acid.
It also contains selenium, manganese, copper, zinc, iron, magnesium, calcium, phosphor, potassium and sodium.
All data from: The Iberian Pig, Rearing, products and gastronomy [El Cerdo Ibérico: Crianza, Productos y Gastronomía], Iniciativas Leader Sierra de Aracena y Picos de Aroche S.A., 1998 (Translation by Daniel Dryden, 2002)
