January — it is the month of the year when the Spanish pigs are taken to the abattoir. All their lives the pure-bred Iberian pigs have roamed free in the meadows eating acorns and herbs, which helps make them well fattened.
Each pig eats large quantities of acorns, more than seven kilos a day. In three months their weight doubles to between 80 and 100 kilos, even though they are constantly on the move.
Acorns fall from the oaks and cork oaks from October.
Now in January comes the great slaughter, and within a few years the hams are on sale. The daily newspaper ABC today devotes an article to one of Spain’s foremost foods, the Iberian pig.
At the factory in Guijuelo in Extremadura, one of Spain’s finest hams is made: Joselito. The Guijuelo company, which has existed for over a hundred years, was one of the pioneers when Spanish ham began to be exported abroad. At that time the ham was barely known outside Spain’s borders.
Today the Joselito brand is found in more than 54 countries in Europe, America and Asia.