Answers to ham quiz:
Shite hams type 1 - formed ham:
"
Formed ham is muscle meat from the leg bones. It is chopped and passed under needles which inject it with a solution of water, sugars, preservatives, flavourings and other additives, or put into a giant machine resembling a cement mixer and mixed with a similar solution. The process dissolves an amino acid called myosin so the meat becomes sticky and, when put into moulds, comes out looking like a whole piece of meat.
If the ham is to be presented as a traditional cut, a layer of fat is stuck round the edge of the mould to make it look as though it has been cut off a whole leg.
It should be made from muscle meat, but does not have to have been made from cuts from the same animal."
Product 2:
Sainsbury's British Cooked Ham Slices (140g)£2.12
Product 4:
Sainsbury's Be Good to Yourself Lean Honey Roast Cured Ham 4 Slices (100g) £2.17
Product 6:
Sainsbury's Oven Baked German Ham Slices (120g) £2.19
Product 7:
Sainsbury's Taste the Difference 10 Breaded Ham Slices (270g) £4.29
Product 10:
Sainsbury's Taste the Difference Dry Cured Ham Slices (270g)£4.29
Shite hams type 2 - reformed ham
This is a lower grade of ham and usually contains 20% or more water in addition to the sludge"
"Reformed ham is made from chopped-up or emulsified meat, which is not necessarily all muscle meat.
During the process of making formed ham, scraps gather at the bottom of the machines and these may be used in making reformed ham, as can mechanically recovered or mechanically deboned meat. "
Product 3:
Sainsbury's Basics Cooked Ham (200g) 83p
Product 5:
Sainsbury's 24 Ham slices (300g) £2.16
Good hams:
These are brined or dry cured and then hung.
Shite ham cannot legally be called "ham", it must be labelled somewher "formed ham" or "reformed ham" depending on the type. Better hams often use the word "traditional" and/or "on the bone" - formed hams cannot be called traditional.
Product 8:
("Cured on the bone using a traditional Wiltshire recipe, roasted with rosemary honey.")
Sainsbury's Taste the Difference 4 Breaded Wiltshire Ham Slices (140g) £3.10
Product 9:
("Cured on the bone using a traditional Wiltshire recipe, roasted with rosemary honey.")
Sainsbury's Taste the Difference 8 Finely Sliced Honey Roast Wiltshire Ham (140g)£3.07
Product 1 appears to be a bit of a wildcard in that it's not marketed as a premium product, but unlike the other products in the 'be good to yourself range' does not declare that it is made from formed meat. It's fairly common for producers to 'forget', but in this case I suspect this might actually be a decent ham.
On special at 2 for £3.50 at the moment.