Free the Spanish ham for US tables
Christopher Columbus carried it on his second voyage to the Americas. Hernando de Soto, discoverer of Florida, would not have left home without it. George Washington made it on his farm in Mount Vernon.
Today, sadly, Americans are denied a Spanish delicacy enjoyed by their forebears. It is against US law to import jamón ibérico the hind leg of an Iberian pig, hoof attached, swaddled in fat, covered in a thin green layer of protective mould, occasionally sprouting wiry black pig hair because Spain does not have a single slaughterhouse that conforms to the regulations of the US Department of Agriculture. While its appearance may offend more sensitive souls, the taste of jamón ibérico inspires a cult-like devotion among international foodies. This caviar of cured hams gets its sweet, nutty flavour because Iberian pigs are allowed to roam the oak forests of western Spain where they feast on nothing but wild acorns.
Devotees include Alain Senderens, chef of the Michelin three-star Lucas Carton restaurant in Paris, and Joel Robuchon, a chef whose bespoke hams are tagged and cured at Carnicas Joselito in the town of Guijuelo, two hours west of Madrid. Joselito hams cost between $600 and $1,000, with a minimum purchase of 50. There is a five-year waiting list and no secondary market.
Another waiting list is building up at Latienda.com, an online purveyor of Spanish food based in Williamsburg, Virginia. For a $250 deposit, customers get the right to buy a jamón ibérico when it finally becomes legal in the US.
Don Harris, a former US navy chaplain who runs Latienda with his family, says he has 250 investors on his books. “It has become the thing,” he says. “That obscure object of desire which Americans just can't get.” Some impatient Americans have broken the law in the quest to smuggle a few slices of jamón ibérico past the “beagle brigade” at US customs.
But the penalties are stiff, and the chances of being caught, since September 11 2001, are much greater than before. Mr Harris says one Californian woman was fined $2,000 for trying to smuggle in a chorizo ibérico not even the real ham. She got off lightly. Jamón smugglers face federal prosecution, 10-year jail sentences and $50,000 fines.
Fortunately, the taste of jamón ibérico, sliced thinly and spread over bread rubbed with tomatoes and olive oil, may soon cease to be an illicit pleasure in the US.
Mr Harris has reached an agreement with Covap, one of the four top producers of jamón ibérico in Spain, which will supply Latienda with jamones as soon as its new abattoir in Córdoba is certified by the US Department of Agriculture.
“We don't have a firm date yet, but we expect Covap to clear the US regulatory hurdles in the first four months of 2005,” Mr Harris says. With the curing of ibérico ham taking from 18 months to three years, he expects to be able to import his first jamones ibéricos in July 2007.
The writer is the FT's Madrid bureau chief
西班牙火腿要上美国餐桌
克里斯托弗?哥伦布（Christopher Columbus）第二次航海前往美洲大陆时就带着它。佛罗里达的发现者赫尔南多?德索托（Hernando de Soto）出门时必定带着它。乔治?华盛顿（George Washington）在芒特弗农自家农场里制造它。
不幸的是，对于祖先曾经享受的这种西班牙美食，今天的美国人却享受不到。进口这种伊比利亚火腿(jamón ibérico)将违反美国法律，因为在西班牙连一家符合美国农业部规定的屠宰场也没有。这种火腿由伊比利亚猪后腿制成，火腿连着猪蹄，带着肥肉，表面附着一层薄薄的绿色保护霉菌，偶尔还有硬直的黑毛从皮里冒出来。伊比利亚火腿的样子可能会吓倒比较敏感的人，但它的味道却令国际美食家们顶礼膜拜。这种熏制的火腿极品之所以味道香甜且有坚果味，是因为伊比利亚猪被放养在西班牙西部的橡树林里，在那里它们只吃野生橡果。
在这种火腿的追随者中，有巴黎米其林三星餐馆Lucas Carton的名厨阿兰?桑德朗(Alain Senderens)，还有大厨师乔?卢布松(Joel Robuchon)。卢布松先生定制的火腿在吉胡埃洛镇的何赛利托肉品公司(Carnicas Joselito)贴上标签并进行熏制，该镇位于马德里以西两小时车程处。何赛利托熏制的火腿售价在600至1000美元之间，最低购买数量为50只。购买者需等待5年才买到手，而且没有二级市场。
另一个需要等待的名单也在Latienda.com上越拉越长。Latienda.com是一家西班牙网上食品供应商，总部位于美国弗吉尼亚州威廉斯堡。顾客要在该网站存上250美元定金，才有权等伊比利亚火腿在美国变得合法时买上一只。
唐?哈里斯(Don Harris)原是美国海军的一位牧师，现在和家人经营Latienda。他说，他的公司有250位投资者。“这火腿已成为人们志在必得的东西，”他说，“一种在美国可望而不可得的稀有物质。”一些急不可耐的美国人试图闯过美国海关的“检疫犬组”(beagle brigade) 走私几片伊比利亚火腿，因而触犯了法律。
但所受的惩罚将十分严厉，而且自2001年9＃11事件发生后，被抓的机率比以前高得多。哈里斯先生说，加州一位妇女试图走私带入一根伊比利亚香肠，甚至还不是真正的火腿，就被罚款2000美元。她的处罚还算是轻的。走私火腿的人将面临联邦起诉、10年刑期和5万美元罚款。
幸运的是，可能不久之后，在美国享用伊比利亚火腿的美味不再是非法行为了。这种火腿可以切成薄片、铺在面包上，再涂上西红柿和橄榄油来品尝。
哈里斯先生已与西班牙四大伊比利亚火腿制造商之一的Covap达成协议。一旦Covap位于科尔多瓦的新屠宰场得到美国农业部的认可，就立即向Latienda提供火腿。
“我们还没有确定的日期，但预计Covap将在2005年的头4个月里扫清美国方面的监管障碍，”哈里斯先生说。由于伊比利亚火腿的熏制需要18个月至3年，他预计能在2007年7月开始进口第一批伊比利亚火腿。
作者是本报驻西班牙分社社长。
