Ham 101
By: Christine Arteta
Published: April 20, 2011

Spring is ham season.  Here’s a guide on how to prepare and store one:
What is a ham? 
Ham is a leg of pork.  The shoulder part is called a picnic.  There are many choices of ham: fresh, cooked, cured, smoked, spiral-cut, boneless, bone-in, dried and country (shelf stable and dried). Ready-to-eat hams include spiral-cut, boneless, bone-in and dried hams.  You can eat those right out of the box.
How do you cook ham?
You can buy it either ready-to-eat or uncooked.  Cooking or reheating time of ham depends on its weight.  Food Safety’s Ham Cooking Chart tells how long certain types of ham must be cooked or baked. Uncooked hams must be cooked at no lower than 325°F in the oven.  It should reach 160°F measured with a food thermometer to be safely cooked.  You can also use microwave oven, stove and other cooking appliances. You can reheat ready-to-eat hams if you wish, too.  Cook it as you cook fresh hams until the internal temperature reaches 140°F.  Fully cooked spiral-cut hams are served cold.  Heating dries the meat and melts the glaze, though you can still reheat if preferred warm.  Reheat whole or half spiral-cut ham in a conventional oven, and use a skillet or microwave oven for reheating slices. Dried hams like country hams can be soaked in water for at least four hours to reduce the salt content before cooking.  Country hams are cooked by boiling or baking.
How do you store ham?
Different types of hams have different storage-lives.  Refrigerated hams can only last for days or weeks; frozen hams can last for months.  Whole country hams stay safe at room temperature for up to one year.   Sealed shelf-stable hams stay safe even at room temperature for two years.  Check out the Ham Storage Chart to see how long your ham will stay safe before you throw it away.
See Food Safety News for more information!
Photo by wEnDaLicious