Guess you’ve never seen a tropic-cured dry ham? Bring your food-quality hacksaw it you want to eat it. I bought an tropic-cured ham, once, out of curosity, in a shop in North Carolina, and brought it home, then, to Manila. I didn’t have a hacksaw, so I don’t know what it tasted like; I could not cut it. And I mean that literally; it got tossed. Philippines has Chinese-cured dry ham; a different taste; but that’s a Christmas special; basically no other time of the year.

Again, basically, other than Chinese, there is no dry-cure ham in the Philippines. It is all wet.

And Santis is probably the the best all-round deli in Manila.

Oh My God!! Now I am sounding like the hot dog people!!!

Hmm…

Why would anyone want a canned ham? A proper dry cured country ham can boast the same shelf life or better with no refrigeration and just might be cheaper. Don’t compromise with quality even if it is a few dollars more.

I have had canned ham in my lifetime and still shudder at the very thought of it. Perhaps dry cure ham is unknown in the Philippines, but I doubt it. It seems like a perfect product for the climate to me and should have become a staple by "the age of exploration."

Perhaps that is the very problem; could it be that country cure ham is very common in the Philippines and canned seems exotic by comparison?

Goodness!! You’re not eating Purefood’s Sweet Ham, are you!!?? At least go to Santis. They’ve got some square ham that is pretty good, as well as the real stuff. But yes, if it’s square, it probably did not come straight off a pig….

Thanks, 6star. When I was in the business (35+ years ago!) we used the pullman ham for sandwiches. Sliced very thin, served on "buttered" and toasted buns, it was actually pretty good, especially if we were fixing one for ourselves! (We sold them with mayo or mustard only to save on cost. I liked mine with mayo and thin-sliced onion.) Sliced thicker and pan-broiled so the gelatin & liquid content were lowered a lot, I liked it; but it wouldn’t have sold in Memphis!

According to the Hormel website ( http://www.hormel.com/kitchen/glossary.asp?id=33935&catitemid= ):

A canned ham consists of pieces of ham that have been brine cured, pressed or molded, vacuum-sealed in a can, and then fully cooked. Many canned hams have gelatin added, which helps to absorb the natural juices of the ham. The ham is steam cooked in the can. It is ready to eat or it can be heated before serving. Canned hams are not as flavorful and have a different texture than other hams but they offer convenience. They are available in two basic forms, shelf stable and refrigerated. Shelf stable canned hams can be stored for 2 to 5 years at room temperature but should not be stored at high temperatures (above 122� F). Refrigerated canned hams can be stored, unopened, in the refrigerator for 6 to 9 months.

I have seen a little bit of what a regular ham goes through to become a "pullman" ham.. basically it is chopped or ground and formed into a loaf. It is either left whole or sliced for sandwich slices.

I don’t think any canned ham needs to be refrigerated, which is not to say that I’d leave one on my back porch in the sun for a month.
As far as the fabricating process goes, I’m totally in the dark. Which is better, I guess, than being in the can.

I suppose that a fresh ham, or even a prosciutto for that matter, could be thought to look like a pear, with a rounded bottom tapering into a thin top.
A pullman ham is one of these? I always thought a pullman ham was one of the long, square cross-section loaves, but maybe I’m thinking of pullman breads.