Jamones El Castillo

Salt, water and cold weather. These are the three natural ingredients, which once they are combined with a good raw material, will produce a quality ham; a product that is completely natural, from the pig’s diet that is based on cereals and vegetables to its curing process that takes place in the Tineo mountains. Once the hams reach El Castillo plant, they undergo an exhaustive quality control and only those hams with the adequate characteristics, pass on to the curing and aging processes.

The curing process starts with the salting of each of the pieces, one by one, according to the traditional methods and with the aid of up-to-date technology. The hams are placed in special basins where they receive the exact amount of salt needed and are then duly stacked in special cellars.

The hams are then washed with warm water that removes the remaining salt and moulds them. A natural, high quality result is already obtained with this process which is followed by a “resting” process where the hams are placed in cold storage rooms with a low temperature and high humidity levels so that the hams slowly loses the excess water and the salt is gradually absorbed by the tissues.

During this last aging process, the hams are kept under milder climatic conditions that help the ham to “sweat” and allow the non saturated fats to impregnate into the ham’s muscle fibres, so that they maintain all their characteristic aroma and “bouquet” and acquire colour and texture.

After this drying process, the hams are prepared for marketing with an exquisite packaging and presentation.


	Salt, water and cold weather. These are the three natural ingredients, which once they are combined with a good raw material, will produce a quality ham; a product that is completely natural, from the pig’s diet that is based on cereals and vegetables to its curing process that takes place in the Tineo mountains. Once the hams reach El Castillo plant, they undergo an exhaustive quality control and only those hams with the adequate characteristics, pass on to the curing and aging processes. The curing process starts with the salting of each of the pieces, one by one, according to the traditional methods and with the aid of up-to-date technology. The hams are placed in special basins where they receive the exact amount of salt needed and are then duly stacked in special cellars. The hams are then washed with warm water that removes the remaining salt and moulds them. A natural, high quality result is already obtained with this process which is followed by a “resting” process where the hams are placed in cold storage rooms with a low temperature and high humidity levels so that the hams slowly loses the excess water and the salt is gradually absorbed by the tissues. During this last aging process, the hams are kept under milder climatic conditions that help the ham to “sweat” and allow the non saturated fats to impregnate into the ham’s muscle fibres, so that they maintain all their characteristic aroma and “bouquet” and acquire colour and texture. After this drying process, the hams are prepared for marketing with an exquisite packaging and presentation.



Jamones El Castillo S.A.