And this is long-term storage to the highest degree. Normal “long-term aging” of Norwegian hams is up to two years. And in Norway, Spanish Iberia hams are sold, which may have been stored for four years. But at Maihaugen, they have hung up different year classes of hams to test how they fare if they are stored far beyond the normal time, up to nine years. Meat surplus from the Christmas market in 2014 Museum farmer Anders Hagen says that they slaughter pigs for the Christmas market at Maihaugen every year. – But in 2014 we had a small surplus, and we decided to start with long-term storage, he says. It was forskning.no that mentioned the case first. EXCITING PROJECT: Museum farmer Anders Hagen in front of different year classes of cured hams. Photo: Dag Kessel / news Always reserve meat in the storehouse Old legends say that people returned to abandoned farms after the Black Death. Everyone who lived there had died because of the plague. – According to the legends, they could go to the storehouse and get food, which had been hanging there for several years. We simply want to check whether the meat can keep for that long, says Hagen. Over several hundred years, long-term storage of meat in storehouses in Norway has prevented food shortages. Regardless of whether there were bad years with drought and crop failure, there was always a reserve in the storehouse. The nine-year-old ham has a layer of fat on the outside, which has become slightly rancid. – But after cutting away a centimeter of it, the meat itself is perfectly fine, he says. Nortura has tested up to seven years of storage Line manager for packaging and slicing in Nortura Tynset, Øyvind Moen, says that they have tested long-term storage for up to seven years. – We concluded that there was little to gain in terms of taste and quality after three years had passed. And we believe that there was a certain change in consistency after three years. Øyvind Moen at Nortura Tynset. Photo: Privat Moen says that in the types they tested, there was a certain breakdown of muscle in the meat after three years, and that the meat became a little softer. He says that Nortura has a drying time for boneless cured ham from three to nine months. For cured hams on the bone, it can be up to two years. – It’s nice that others are also testing long-term storage. This is a solid tradition in Norwegian history, he says. LONG-TERM STORAGE: Cured ham is properly marked with the year. Photo: Dag Kessel / news Cannot be served to tourists Museum farmer Anders Hagen says that cured ham unfortunately cannot become a tourist attraction, with samples being handed out to curious museum guests. – With the current legislation, the Norwegian Food Safety Authority would not have approved catering to tourists. But we who work here have provided for ourselves, he laughs.
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Nine-year-old ham has been in storage at Maihaugen in Lillehammer – news Innlandet – Local news, TV and radio
