Over in Europe, cured meat is big business. According to SIAL Paris, the European market represents a €62 billion turnover, with production reaching over 14 million tonnes. The stand-out nations for cured meat are Spain and Italy.
The Spanish produce the absolutely brilliant jamón ibérico, while the Italians are busy curing up massive quantities of prosciutto di parma. To be clear, it's not as though just anyone can produce these finely crafted hams. You need to follow a strict set of rules, live in the right place, and be a properly certified producer in order to call your product authentic.
