FUNDACIÓN DIETA MEDITERRÁNEA

Cured meat and sausages

Historical aspects

Cured meat and sausages cannot be spoken of until the use of salt appears, around 3,000 BC, when seasoned meat and fish were articles of commerce. Previously, meat was cut into strips and sundried for preservation.

When he stopped being hunter-gatherers, began work to preserve meat sausages. In Greece and Rome, there were sausages, as can be seen reflected in many literary works of the period. The Romans had great affection towards the sausages and the Greeks can be traced to the sausage. The great Mediterranean tradition of hams is Roman and Greek origin, as evidenced by names like sausage and hot dog sausages come from Luke and Romans salsicius.

Pork gained a special attention, not only for their high reproductive capacity, but also because most of the animal could be used, as well as ease of storage, both fresh and in the form of sausages.

Modern development of the preparation of sausages does not begin until mid-nineteenth century and is closely related to the then growing industrialization.

Nutritional aspects

Sausages provide a large amount of saturated fat, cholesterol and sodium, which can adversely affect the cardiovascular system, thus its recommended intake is on occasion.

Ham has a generous amount of B vitamins, including B1, B2 and especially niacin. Only 100 g of ham provides 24% of the recommended daily intake of this vitamin. It is rich in iron, magnesium, zinc and calcium, but especially phosphorus, contributing 30% of the recommended daily intake. Significantly, the fat content of Iberian ham has an important characteristic: the main fatty acid is oleic, characteristic of olive oil. This facilitates the production of HDL (“good cholesterol”) in the body, while reducing LDL (“bad cholesterol”).

Table of Food Consumption

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