Editing Ham (section)

== History ==
The preserving of pork leg as ham has a long history, with traces of production of cured ham among the [[Etruscan civilization]] known in the 6th and 5th century BC.<ref>{{Cite journal |url=https://ricerca.gelocal.it/gazzettadimantova/archivio/gazzettadimantova/2013/09/26/NZ_34_01.html |first=Maria Antonietta |last=Filippini |title=Quegli Etruschi che vendevano prosciutti |trans-title=Those Estruscan that sold hams |journal=Gazzetta di Mantova |date=26 September 2013 |language=it |access-date=5 April 2022 |archive-date=22 September 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220922074859/https://ricerca.gelocal.it/gazzettadimantova/archivio/gazzettadimantova/2013/09/26/NZ_34_01.html |url-status=dead }}</ref>

[[Cato the Elder]] wrote about the "salting of hams" in his ''{{Lang|la|[[De agri cultura]]}}'' tome around 160 BC.<ref>{{cite journal|journal=British Journal of Nutrition|volume=1|issue=2–3|date=December 1947|pages=269–274|title=The Action of Salts and other Substances Used in the Curing of Bacon and Ham|last=Callow|first=EH|doi=10.1079/bjn19470037|pmid=18907930|doi-access=free}}</ref>

There are claims that the Chinese were the first people to mention the production of cured ham.<ref name=zeuthen>{{cite book|title=Meat Fermentation Worldwide: History and Principles|last=Zeuthen|first=Peter|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ie2IxsLTqfgC&pg=PA3|isbn=978-0-470-37634-8|year=2008|publisher=John Wiley & Sons }}</ref> ''{{Lang|fr|[[Larousse Gastronomique]]}}'' claims an origin from [[Gaul]].<ref>{{cite book|title=Larousse Gastronomique|year=2009|publisher=Hamlyn|isbn=978-0-600-62042-6}}</ref> It was certainly well established by the Roman period, as evidenced by an import trade from Gaul mentioned by [[Marcus Terentius Varro]] in his writings.<ref name=zeuthen />

The modern word ''ham'' is derived from the [[Old English]] ''{{Lang|ang|ham}}'' or ''{{Lang|ang|hom}}'' meaning the hollow or bend of the knee, from a Germanic base where it meant 'crooked'. It began to refer to the cut of pork derived from the hind leg of a [[pig]] around the 15th century.<ref>{{cite book|title=Shorter Oxford English Dictionary|editor=Brown, Lesley|publisher=Oxford University press|location=Oxford|year=2007|edition=Sixth|volume=II|page=3611}}</ref>

Because of the preservation process, ham is a compound foodstuff or ingredient, being made up of the original meat, as well as the remnants of the preserving agent(s), such as salt, but it is still recognised as a food in its own right.<ref>{{cite web|publisher=Food Standards Agency Scotland|page=31|title=Labelling and Composition of Meat Products: Guidance Notes|url=http://www.food.gov.uk/multimedia/pdfs/meatproductguidancescot.pdf|access-date=10 October 2013|archive-date=20 November 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121120194916/http://www.food.gov.uk/multimedia/pdfs/meatproductguidancescot.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref>