Ammerländer Schinken

Ammerlander ham is smoked or air-dried cured ham from the Lower Saxony region bunting country.

To prepare the ham on the bone is dry cured first three weeks of hand with sea salt and brown sugar and may be flavored with pepper, among other things, allspice and juniper. The higher the quality the meat is, the more is the ham in a position, without spices to develop its own individual character. Then it is smoked over beechwood cold a few weeks, with the relatively high humidity in the region preserves him from drying out. The subsequent maturation period ranges from about a quarter to more than two years for the best quality. Today, there is the term Ammerlander also unsmoked ham, air-dried ham.

Traditionally, Ammerlander ham under the kitchen ceiling smoked ( the " Wiehm " ) over the open hearth and manufactured only for self catering. The beech and oak forests of the region offered in addition to firewood and acorns for the pigs. Since then, the population had almost doubled in the 18th century to 9000 people and the good arable land was scarce, set up a commercial production for sale of the ham in the nearby port cities, where more durable supplies was needed for shipping. Thus reasoned the regional reputation over the Ammerlander ham.

" Ammerlander ham " is a protected geographical indication.

In the oldest, founded in 1748 Ammerlander Schinkenräucherei in Apen now houses a museum.