MEAT

Meat Science 68 (2004) 45–51

SCIENCE

www.elsevier.com/locate/meatsci

Sensory characteristics of Iberian ham:Influence of salt content and processing conditions

A.I. Andr�es a,*, R. Cava a, J. Ventanas a, V. Thovar b, J. Ruiz a

a Facultad de Veterinaria, Tecnolog�ıa de los Alimentos, Universidad de Extremadura, Avda. Universidad, s/n 10071 C�aceres, Spainb Ciencia y Tecnolog�ıa de los Alimentos Escuela de Ingenier�ıas Agrarias, Universidad de Extremadura, Ctra. C�aceres, s/n 06071 Badajoz, Spain

Received 10 February 2003; received in revised form 18 August 2003; accepted 20 August 2003

Abstract

Sensory characteristics of Semimembranosus and Biceps femoris muscles from 24 dry-cured Iberian hams were assessed. Hams

were salted with different amounts of salt (6% and 3% w/w) and then ripened at different temperature conditions (traditional

processing vs. modified processing). Hams manufactured using modified processing showed higher scores for dryness (P < 0:05),hardness (P < 0:05) and rancid flavour (P < 0:001) in the Semimembranosus muscle than those processed in a traditional way. The

Biceps femoris muscle of hams salted with 6% of salt was drier (P < 0:05), harder (P < 0:05) and more fibrous (P < 0:01) than in

hams salted with 3% salt. Salty taste was more intense in the Semimembranosus and Biceps femoris from hams with a higher level of

salt (P < 0:01 and P < 0:001, respectively). A more intense rancidity in hams ripened in modified processing could affect the overall

aroma. A decrease in salt content produces less salty hams, but the changes in texture traits should be also considered.

� 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Keywords: Iberian ham; Sensory evaluation; Salt content; Processing conditions

1. Introduction

Originally, cured ham was the usual way to keep pork

meat by salting and subsequent dehydration (Flores,

1997). However, even though the processing technology

has scarcely changed, it has acquired a new dimension asa method for obtaining a variety of sensorial charac-

teristics, differing among types of dry-cured hams.

Iberian ham is a typical meat product from the

southwest of Spain, very appreciated by consumers.

Over years, Iberian hams have been elaborated follow-

ing a traditional method using non-controlled condi-

tions (Ventanas, Ruiz, & C�ordoba, 2001) which led to

long ageing times reaching even two years.In recent years, some technological changes have ta-

ken place in the processing of dry-cured Iberian ham.

Most of these changes are prompted by the need to

adapt the traditional processing to the new industrial

* Corresponding author. Tel.: +34-927-25-7122; fax: +34-927-25-

7110.

E-mail address: aiandres@unex.es (A.I. Andr�es).

0309-1740/$ - see front matter � 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

doi:10.1016/j.meatsci.2003.08.019

procedures of manufacture and trade of Iberian ham.

Changes are directed toward the attainment of a less

variable and seasonal product. A reduction of costs is

also currently attempted in order to increase competi-

tiveness of Iberian ham. On the other hand, consumers

demand less salty meat products (Guerrero, Gelabert,Gou, Guardia, & Arnau, 2000) due to health recom-

mendations to lessen hypertension (Morgan, Aubert, &

Brunner, 2001). In order to reach these aims, it is be-

coming very usual to decrease the salt content and time

of processing of dry-cured Iberian ham (Ventanas &

Cava, 2001).

However, a decrease in salt content and/or a modifi-

cation of ripening conditions could seriously compro-mise sensory quality of Iberian ham, since sensory

characteristics and processing are closely related in this

product (Ruiz, Ventanas, Cava, Tim�on, & Garc�ıa, 1998)and other types of hams (Arnau, Guerrero, & Gou,

1997;Virgili, Parolari, Schivazappa, Soresi Bordini, &

Borri, 1995). Therefore, setting the limits of the decrease

in salt content and new processing conditions that do

not compromise the sensory quality of Iberian ham is

46 A.I. Andr�es et al. / Meat Science 68 (2004) 45–51

essential. Thus, the objective of this work was to eval-

uate the influence of different salt levels and processing

conditions on sensory traits of dry-cured Iberian ham.

2. Materials and methods

2.1. Experimental design

A 2� 2 factorial design with two levels of salt and

two ripening processes was conducted to evaluate the

influence of different amounts of salt and processing

conditions on sensory traits of dry-cured Iberian ham.A total of 40 raw hams obtained from Iberian�

Duroc pigs weighing 10.3� 0.9 kg were used in this

study. Hams were placed on shelves in a cold room held

at 1–3 �C and 85% relative humidity and were salted by

individual addition of a controlled amount of salt to the

lean part of the raw ham. Two different salt levels were

considered: a group of 20 hams was salted with 6% salt

(w/w) high salt batch (HS) whereas, the other 20 hamswere salted adding 3% salt (w/w) low salt batch (LS).

Added salt was computed for each single ham. The

amounts of 6% and 3% of salt are the maximum and

minimum levels, respectively, which are normally found

in dry-cured Iberian hams. Salting was completed when

there was no visible salt on the ham surface (approxi-

mately 9 days). After completion of salting, all hams

were held at 2–5 �C and 85–75% relative humidity for 60days (postsalting phase). Temperature was thereafter

increased from 5 to 20 �C at 0.25 �C/day during 60 days,

while relative humidity was progressively reduced to

65%. Before the beginning of the drying stage, HS and

LS batches were divided into another two groups, each

one following a different processing thereafter. Half the

hams of each salt level followed a process which tried to

mimic the temperature evolution of the traditionalprocessing. This group (traditional -T-) was processed

under a maximum temperature of 28� 2 �C during the

drying stage (77 days), followed by a cellar phase (202

days) at 15.5� 0.5 �C. The other group of hams was

ripened following a modified processing (modified -M-),

in which the temperature was kept constant (19� 1 �C)during both the drying stage (77 days) and the cellar

stage (202 days). Both processes took 415 days andhams were bone-in 7.3� 0.5 kg. Semimembranosus and

Biceps femoris muscles from six hams from each of the

batches (HS-T, HS-M, LS-T and LS-M) were sensory

evaluated.

2.2. Sensory analyses

Twenty four out of the 40 processed hams were se-lected. The rest of the hams were assigned to further

chemical analysis. In order to evaluate the influence of

the anatomical location and the different amount of salt

and processing conditions on sensory characteristics,

the selected hams were assessed by a trained panel of

12 members, using a quantitative-descriptive analysis

method (QDA) (Ruiz et al., 1998) for 20 different at-

tributes.Panellists were trained and had participated in sen-

sory evaluation of dry-cured hams for two years. Indi-

vidual flavour and aroma recognition thresholds were

used to select the subjects. Selected panellists underwent

further training in dry-cured ham sensory traits during

two years (i.e., pig feeding, pig breed etc.) Subjects had

a total of 120 h of training in preparation for QDA of

ham. Consistency of panellists was validated using theRasch model (Garc�ıa, Ventanas, Antequera, Ruiz,

Cava, & Alvarez, 1996).

Two samples from two different hams were evaluated

in each session. The panel was held at 11 a.m., 3 h after

breakfast. Three thin slices (1 mm thick), corresponding

to Semimembranosus and Biceps femoris muscles, of

about 8 g each were given to the panellists. Slices were

obtained using a commercial slicing machine and wereserved immediately on glass plates, both the slices and

the plates being at room temperature (20–23 �C). A glass

of about 100 ml of water at 12 �C was provided for each

assessor between samples. All sessions were held in a 6

booth sensory panel room at 22 �C equipped with white

fluorescent lighting (220–230 V 35 W) and a personal

computer (Hewlett–Packard). The Fizz Network com-

puter system (Version 1.01) was used for preparing andconducting the test. Descriptor selection was carried out

on the basis of previous publications on Iberian ham

(Cava, Ventanas, Ruiz, Andr�es, & Antequera, 2000;

Ruiz et al., 1998) and the acquired experience of our

research group. Twenty sensory traits of Iberian hams,

grouped in appearance of the lean (redness, brightness

and marbling), odour (intensity, rancidity, cured), tex-

ture of the lean (firmness, dryness, fibrousness, juicinessand pastiness), taste (saltiness, sweetness and bitterness),

and aroma (intensity, cured, rancid, after-taste, toasted,

non-pleasant) were assessed. The panellists answered

using an unstructured 10 cm line, ranging from the

lowest intensity of each trait (left side) to the highest

(right side), following the sensory descriptive test pre-

viously developed by Ruiz et al. (1998). Definitions of

sensory traits and extremes are explained elsewhere(Cava et al., 2000; Ruiz et al., 1998).

2.3. Statistical analyses

The effect of the amount of salt (HS vs. LS), pro-

cessing conditions (T vs. M) and their interaction on the

sensory traits was analysed within each muscle, by a

two-way analysis of variance together with interaction(salt� processing), using the GLM procedure (SPSS

10.0). When the interaction was significant, Tukey’s test

was used at the 5% level to make comparisons between

A.I. Andr�es et al. / Meat Science 68 (2004) 45–51 47

sample means of each batch. Data were presented as the

mean of each group and pooled standard error of the

mean (SEM) together with the P -values of the main

effects and interactions.

3. Results and discussion

3.1. Effect of processing conditions

Tables 1–5 show mean scores for appearance, odour,

texture, taste and aroma traits scores, respectively from

Semimembranosus and Biceps femoris muscles of dry-cured Iberian hams with different salt content and pro-

cessing conditions.

Appearance and odour traits were not significantly

affected by salt content nor by processing factors

(P > 0:05) (Tables 1 and 2).

Table 1

Mean values for appearance traits of Biceps femoris and Semimembranosus

processing conditions, together with the P -values of both factors (Salt and P

Sensory traits Batchesb

HS-T HS-M LS-T L

Biceps femoris

Redness of lean 4.46 4.69 3.92 4

Bright of lean 4.56 4.44 4.49 4

Marbling of lean 4.67 4.98 5.18 4

Semimembranosus

Redness of lean 5.84 6.06 6.01 6

Bright of lean 4.85 4.43 4.38 4

Marbling of lean 3.12 3.24 3.33 2

aValues represent scores from an unstructured scale ranging from less (0)bHS-T¼high salt content (6%)-traditional processing; HS-M¼high salt

tional processing; LS-M¼ low salt content (3%)-modified processing.c Significance levels: ns¼>0.05.

Table 2

Mean values for odour traits of Biceps femoris and Semimembranosusmuscles

conditions, together with the P -values of both factors (Salt and Proc.) and t

Sensory traits Batchesb

HS-T HS-M LS-T L

Biceps femoris

Odour intensity 4.27 4.54 4.37 4

Rancid 1.33 1.44 1.33 1

Cured 3.18 3.09 3.05 2

Semimembranosus

Odour intensity 4.18 4.26 4.07 4

Rancid 1.31 1.23 1.21 1

Cured 3.36 3.26 3.02 3

aValues represent scores from an unstructured scale ranging from less (0)bHS-T¼high salt content (6%)-traditional processing; HS-M¼high salt

tional processing; LS-M¼ low salt content (3%)-modified processing.c Significance levels: ns¼>0.05.

The processing system did not affect any of the

sensory characteristics in the Biceps femoris muscles

(P > 0:05) whereas it did for the Semimembranosus.

Semimembranosus muscles from hams processed using

a traditional system (maximum temperature of 28�2 �C at the drying stage) exhibited the lowest scores for

hardness and dryness (P < 0:05) (Table 3). Several

factors may affect hardness. Those related to process-

ing are mainly dehydration and proteolysis (Virgili,

Parolari, Soresi Bordini, & Schivazappa, 1999). Some

authors have reported that increasing temperatures

throughout processing of dry-cured hams leads to en-

hanced proteolytic activity (Arnau et al., 1997; Mart�ın,Antequera, C�ordoba, Tim�on, & Ventanas, 1998) which

could in turn produce softer and even defective textures

(Parolari et al., 1994; Garc�ıa-Garrido, Quiles-Zafra,

Tapiador, & Luque de Castro, 2000; Virgili et al.,

1995). Thus, the higher temperature of the traditional

muscles from dry-cured Iberian hams with different salt content and

roc.) and their interaction (Int.)a

P -valuesc

S-M SEM Salt Proc. Int.

.39 0.12 ns ns ns

.73 0.10 ns ns ns

.94 0.16 ns ns ns

.57 0.14 ns ns ns

.14 0.12 ns ns ns

.94 0.16 ns ns ns

to more (10).

content (6%)-modified processing; LS-T¼ low salt content (3%)-tradi-

from dry-cured Iberian hams with different salt content and processing

heir interaction (Int.)a

P -valuesc

S-M SEM Salt Proc. Int.

.19 0.07 ns ns ns

.21 0.06 ns ns ns

.87 0.06 ns ns ns

.71 0.10 ns ns ns

.34 0.05 ns ns ns

.47 0.09 ns ns ns

to more (10).

content (6%)-modified processing; LS-T¼ low salt content (3%)-tradi-

Table 3

Mean values for texture traits of Biceps femoris and Semimembranosus muscles from dry-cured Iberian hams with different salt content and pro-

cessing conditions, together with the P -values of both factors (Salt and Proc.) and their interaction (Int.)a

Sensory traits Batchesb P -valuesc

HS-T HS-M LS-T LS-M SEM Salt Proc. Int.

Biceps femoris

Hardness 3.19 3.55 2.61 2.74 0.13 * ns ns

Dryness 2.61 2.93 2.21 2.31 0.10 * ns ns

Fibrousness 3.42 3.50 2.90 3.04 0.09 ** ns ns

Juiciness 5.33 5.47 5.31 5.38 0.09 ns ns ns

Pastiness 2.85 2.14 2.71 2.59 0.11 ns ns ns

Semimembranosus

Hardness 4.91 4.94 4.72 5.44 0.15 ns * ns

Dryness 4.34ab 4.37ab 3.99c 5.11a 0.14 ns * ns

Fibrousness 3.89 3.98 3.80 4.35 0.08 ns ns ns

Juiciness 4.41 4.44 4.31 4.03 0.11 ns ns ns

Pastiness 1.51 1.55 1.69 1.36 0.06 ns ns ns

a–c: Means within a row followed by different letters differ (P 6 0:05).a Values represent scores from an unstructured scale ranging from less (0) to more (10).bHS-T¼ high salt content (6%)-traditional processing; HS-M¼ high salt content (6%)-modified processing; LS-T¼ low salt content (3%)-tradi-

tional processing; LS-M¼ low salt content (3%)-modified processing.c Significance levels: ns¼>0.05; *, P < 0:05; **, P < 0:01; ***, P < 0:001.

Table 4

Mean values for taste traits of Biceps femoris and Semimembranosus muscles from dry-cured Iberian hams with different salt content and processing

conditions, together with the P -values of both factors (Salt and Proc.) and their interaction (Int.)a

Sensory traits Batchesb P -valuesc

HS-T HS-M LS-T LS-M SEM Salt Proc. Int.

Biceps femoris

Saltiness 5.72a 5.55ab 4.60b 4.63b 0.16 *** ns ns

Sweetness 1.29 1.40 1.51 1.42 0.07 ns ns ns

Bitterness 1.29 1.24 1.18 1.25 0.04 ns ns ns

Semimembranosus

Saltiness 4.35ab 4.80a 3.96c 4.09ab 0.09 ** ns ns

Sweetness 1.28 1.29 1.42 1.25 0.03 ns ns ns

Bitterness 1.10 1.15 1.11 1.27 0.03 ns ns ns

a–c: Means within a row followed by different letters differ (P 6 0:05).a Values represent scores from an unstructured scale ranging from less (0) to more (10).bHS-T¼ high salt content (6%)-traditional processing; HS-M¼ high salt content (6%)-modified processing; LS-T¼ low salt content (3%)-tradi-

tional processing; LS-M¼ low salt content (3%)-modified processing.c Significance levels: ns¼> 0:05; *, P < 0:05; **, P < 0:01; ***, P < 0:001.

48 A.I. Andr�es et al. / Meat Science 68 (2004) 45–51

processing at the drying stage could have led to a more

intense proteolysis, which could partly explain the

lower scores for hardness found in these hams. Desic-

cation in this work did not seem to have an important

effect on hardness, since moisture differences between

hams elaborated in traditional or modified conditions

were not significant (35.4% for T hams vs. 34.7% for M

ones).Dryness is usually attributed to low moisture content

in ham (Buscailhon, Touraille, Girard, & Monin, 1995;

Chizzolini et al., 1996). However, as has been afore-

mentioned, samples from hams ripened by modified

processing (constant temperature of 19� 1 �C at the

drying and cellar stages), which showed higher scores

for dryness than those from a traditional processing, did

not have a significantly lower moisture content. In a

previous study of Iberian ham, no relationship was

observed between the degree of dehydration and dryness

(Ruiz-Carrascal, Ventanas, Cava, Andr�es, & Garc�ıa,2000). Thus, it seems that dryness does not only depend

on moisture content, but other chemical and sensorialparameters could also be related to that trait, such as fat

content or hardness and fibrousness, as observed by

Ruiz-Carrascal et al. (2000).

It is not possible to prove from the results in this

work if the effect that processing seems to have on tex-

Table 5

Mean values for aroma traits of Biceps femoris and Semimembranosusmuscles from dry-cured Iberian hams with different salt content and processing

conditions, together with the P -values of both factors (Salt and Proc.) and their interaction (Int.).a

Sensory traits Batchesb P -valuesc

HS-T HS-M LS-T LS-M SEM Salt Proc. Int.

Biceps femoris

Intensity 4.64 4.70 4.44 4.56 0.08 ns ns ns

Cured 2.79 3.16 3.17 3.17 0.09 ns ns ns

Rancid 1.40 1.58 1.36 1.52 0.08 ns ns ns

After-taste 3.75 3.77 3.65 3.81 0.08 ns ns ns

Toasted 1.49 1.87 1.53 1.60 0.07 ns ns ns

Non-pleasant 0.74 0.64 0.53 0.49 0.06 ns ns ns

Semimembranosus

Intensity 4.59 4.62 4.14 4.67 0.08 ns ns ns

Cured 3.87 3.30 3.31 3.73 0.09 ns ns **

Rancid 1.32ab 1.65a 1.18b 1.59a 0.06 ns *** ns

After-taste 3.81ab 3.76ab 3.27c 3.91a 0.09 ns ns *

Toasted 1.70 1.73 1.56 1.77 0.04 ns ns ns

Non-pleasant 0.57 0.63 0.63 0.72 0.04 ns ns ns

a–c: Means within a row followed by different letters differ (P 6 0:05).a Values represent scores from an unstructured scale ranging from less (0) to more (10).bHS-T¼high salt content (6%)-traditional processing; HS-M¼high salt content (6%)-modified processing; LS-T¼ low salt content (3%)-tradi-

tional processing; LS-M¼ low salt content (3%)-modified processing.c Significance levels: ns¼> 0:05; *, P < 0:05; **, P < 0:01; ***, P < 0:001.

A.I. Andr�es et al. / Meat Science 68 (2004) 45–51 49

ture traits of the Semimembranosus muscle might detract

from acceptability of the hams, since no relevant sensory

analysis has been carried out. Nevertheless, a recent

work revealed that hardness and dryness do not seem toaffect Iberian ham acceptability (Ruiz, Garc�ıa, Muriel,

Andr�es, & Ventanas, 2002).

Processing conditions significantly affected rancid

aroma in Semimembranosus muscle (P < 0:001), thosehams ripened using modified processing showing higher

scores than samples from hams ripened using traditional

conditions (Table 5). Rancid aroma is related to the

presence of some compounds derived from lipid oxida-tion which exhibit rancid notes, especially those origi-

nating from the oxidation of linoleic (C18:2 n)6) and

arachidonic acids (C20:4 n)6) (Decker, 1998; Flores,

Grimm, Toldr�a, & Spanier, 1997), such as hexanal

(Shahidi, 1994). Several studies pointed out a rise in

compounds derived from oxidation as the temperature

of processing increased (Antequera et al., 1992; Mart�ın,Tim�on, Petr�on, Ventanas, & Antequera, 2000). Themore intense rancid aroma of hams processed using

modified conditions is surprising since these hams were

exposed to milder temperatures (constant temperature

of 19� 1 �C) than those processed in the traditional way

(maximum temperature of 28� 2 �C) during the drying

stage. However, when carrying out the analysis of vol-

atile compounds of hams used in this work in a parallel

study (Andr�es, 2002), it was observed that hams ma-tured following modified processing showed a signifi-

cantly higher ratio between hexanal, which shows rancid

notes, and other volatile compounds, such as 2- and

3-methylbutanal, with pleasant notes (3.2 for T hams

vs. 5.4 for M ones). These results match up with the

aroma scores of this work.

Several studies reveal the great importance of aroma

in the overall quality of dry-cured ham (Buscailhonet al., 1995; Parolari, Virgili, & Schivazappa, 1994; Ruiz

et al., 2002). Among volatiles related to the aroma of

hams, those derived from oxidation of lipids stand out

as the most important compounds (Ruiz, Ventanas,

Cava, Andr�es, & Garc�ıa, 1999). However, professionals

and consumers consider that very rancid hams are de-

fective. In fact, Ruiz et al. (2002) reported a certain

negative influence of rancidity on the acceptability ofIberian ham. Considering these observations, modified

processing could hence lead to hams that are more

rancid and, from the point of view of acceptability, less

suitable final products than those obtained using a tra-

ditional system.

3.2. Effect of salt content

As expected, Semimembranosus and Biceps femoris

muscles from hams with a higher salt content were

considered saltier (P < 0:01 and P < 0:001, respectively)(Table 4). This is due to the higher chloride content of

HS hams than LS hams, though differences were not

significant (5.2% vs. 4.0% – on dry basis – for HS and LS

hams respectively). In fact, salty taste and salt content

showed a significant correlation (R ¼ 0:574, P < 0:001).However, salt is not the only factor determining salty

taste. This attribute can also be influenced by other kind

of compounds such as aminoacids or nucleotides having

a salty taste (Careri et al., 1993) or a low proportion of

50 A.I. Andr�es et al. / Meat Science 68 (2004) 45–51

intramuscular fat (Buscailhon et al., 1995; Cambero,

Ordo~nez, Pereira, Cobos, & De la Hoz, 1994).

Salt level significantly affected some texture charac-

teristics, such as hardness, dryness or fibrousness of the

Biceps femoris (P < 0:05) whereas juiciness and pasti-ness were not significantly influenced by salt content

(P > 0:05) (Table 3). Biceps femoris muscles from hams

with a higher salt content were harder, dryer and more

fibrous than muscles from less salted hams. Some tex-

ture traits are related to protein hydrolysis. Several

authors have observed an inhibitory effect of salt on the

activity of proteases (S�arraga, Gil, Arnau, & Monfort,

1989; Toldr�a, Flores, & Sanz, 1997) which could explainthe lower hardness of Biceps femoris muscles from hams

with a lower salt content in this work. In contrast, Ar-

nau et al. (1997) did not find differences in hardness of

hams with a different salt content (6.5% vs. 7.9% of salt

w/w). Texture defects are currently becoming frequent

in the dry-cured ham industry because of decreasing

time of salting. Soft and pasty textures are the most

common texture problems (Garc�ıa-Garrido et al., 2000).The results obtained in this work point out a possible

texture alteration in hams with a lower salt content,

hardness, fibrousness and dryness being affected.

Garc�ıa-Garrido et al. (2000) also observed that Serrano

hams with a lower level of salt (3% salt dry matter)

showed a defective soft texture, whereas pastiness was

not affected.

The effect of salt on aroma traits scores was not sig-nificant (P > 0:05) (Table 5). A more intense overall and

rancid aroma could be expected in samples with a higher

salt content considering the prooxidant effect of salt

(Kanner, Harel, & Joffe, 1991). However, in parallel

studies carried out with hams used in this work, salt did

not promote formation of volatiles, which agrees with

our sensory results (Andr�es, 2002).

4. Conclusions

Modified processing, with lower temperatures during

the drying stage, may lead to more rancid dry-cured

Iberian hams than using traditional processing. This

could negatively affect the quality of dry-cured Iberian

hams ripened at lower temperatures.Dry-cured Iberian hams processed with lower salt

contents are, as expected, less salty. This fits with con-

sumer demands and health requirements. Nevertheless,

decreased salt contents promote softer textures, which

could affect the overall quality of dry-cured Iberian ham.

Acknowledgements

This research was supported by the EUREKA pro-

ject Standardization of Iberian pigs products (EU-1554).

The authors are thankful to Ana Galaz and Natividad

Hurtado for technical assistance.

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