Softguide Madrid : Blog » Guide to buying Ibérico ham

Jamón is ham. Ibérico ham is one of the jewels –maybe THE jewel- of Spanish food products. Ibérico means that it is pork meat from an Ibérico pig, a local breed of pigs that only exists in the peninsula and whose main characteristic is its elongated legs and black hoofs, reason why these hams are sometimes also called pata negra. These pigs are traditionally fed with the acorns of the holm oaks, cork trees, and gall oaks which grow abundantly in Spain inland: in Teruel and in the meadows of the Southwest -the regions of Extremadura, Guijuelo and Huelva.
The hams are classified in different qualities, depending on the diet on which the pig has been fed. The best quality are the Ibéricos de bellota (acorn Ibéricos): these pigs are bred freely in the pastures, they ONLY eat bellotas during the season, and grass the rest of the year. These pigs produce the top quality meats, marked with a red label—.
The ones who are fed with a mixed diet (acorn, grass and dry food) are medium quality, they are called de recebo and are marked with the blue label
The ones fed just with dry food get the yellow label. Consequently, the prices vary greatly from one quality to the other.
You can buy Ibérico ham in shops specialized in pork products or in top range supermarkets. Note that if you buy the best quality -which is worth tasting- you’ll have to pay the price anyway, so we recommend to go to well stablished businesses.
Some in central Madrid:

López Pascual, Corredera Baja de San Pablo 13, –Malasaña -