Customer Reviews

The Country Ham Book

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I was practically weaned on country ham but until I bought a copy of Jeanne Voltz's book on country ham, I never appreciated the nuances that distinguish one country ham from another,the differences in the curing, the smoking (not to mention the type of wood used for the smoking), the aging and storing. Voltz explains all of this in detail, provides mail order sources for country hams, then dishes up a fabulous variety of country ham recipes. This is definitely the definitive book on the subject of country hams.

I was misled in believe this book actually showed a person how to make (not cook) a ham, nope. Lots of recipes for ham as ingriedient and places to aquire country hams. Good book for what it is, but really was hoping to be able cure, smoke and produce a country ham.

First, let me preface this review by saying I haven't read the book in it's entirety. I have however read through the sections up to the recipes. This is probably a good book to understand how to cook and carve a country ham, but if you're looking for a good source on how to MAKE a country ham yourself, pass this one by.
With only one review (at the time I bought it), there wasn't a lot to base my decision on, and I figured it would probably be okay, if just for the recipes alone. In that regard, I'm not disappointed with the book as a whole. The authors display a good depth of knowledge of the genesis and evolution of the country ham, in an albeit abbreviated format. This is probably due to the fact that I much prefer a detailed text on a subject, rather than a summary overview.
I'm getting ready to undertake my first effort at a home cured country ham, and I'm looking for some good sources of information to help me out. Not really into testing how nasty botulism can be.
So... not a bad book... but not a source of information on how to actually make your own country hams.