2. Composition

2.1 Formulation. Role of additives and ingredients

Dry-cured ham is preserved by lowering the water activity A _w (salting/drying). For this reason, only the salting mixture is used as a surface deposit on a perfectly cooled product (dry salt salting). The composition of the salting mixture is limited to 2 or 3 additives/ingredients:

• coarse sea salt, usually dried (slow, even dissolving) ;

• saltpetre quite often;

• sugars, sometimes (dextrose, sucrose) ;

• spices, quite rarely.

Some technologies (Bayonne, for example) use coarse rock salt (refined salt, or even...