Dry-cured ham, mostly from the pig's hind leg, salted, air-dried and fermented.
Xuanwei ham comes from Xuanwei in Yunnan and is made by salting and air-drying pork hind legs; it is also called Yun ham. It has a pipa-like shape, a small bone, thin skin and thick meat, with its distinctive character credited to the local climate. It may have emerged by the late Ming dynasty and was already known in 1727; these dates come from the official project account, without a dated primary text in the available sources confirming these historical claims.
What
Xuanwei ham, also called Yun ham, is made from salted, air-dried pork hind legs. It has a pipa-like outline, a small bone, thin skin and thick meat.1,2
When
Xuanwei ham may have emerged by the late Ming dynasty and was already known in 1727. These dates come from the official project account, which quotes a county gazetteer linking its reputation to the climate but omits the title and edition, leaving the earliest attestation unestablished.1
How
Pork hind legs are salted and then air-dried over a production period of 1–3 years. This process and duration come from a secondary account with an insufficient-sourcing warning.2
Why
The local climate is credited with Xuanwei ham's regional character: neighboring areas produce markedly different ham even with the same pig breed, feed and curing method.1
Impact and influence
Xuanwei ham received a quality medal at a Guangzhou specialty fair in 1923, and its production craft joined the national intangible cultural heritage list as an extended item in batch 3 in 2011. National standard GB/T 18357-2008, Geographical indication product—Xuanwei ham, was published on July 31, 2008, and implemented on November 1 that year. These dates do not establish when geographical-indication protection was approved.1,3