In Spain red wine meets red meat like no where else. Beef sure, but the hams have pride of place. In

In Spain red wine meets red meat like no where else. Beef sure, but the hams have pride of place. In the states traffic report los angeles we mistakenly think Italian prosciutto is as good as it gets. That s only because the food Puritans let in so little Spanish jamon. So in Spain, try it whenever you can, which is breakfast, lunch, and dinner and tapas for you won t find it s like at home. Jamon Iberico is not pink but blood red, the flesh as silky as the fat; the preferred hams are treated like fine wine, air-cured and cellar-aged up to ten years. The most revered is the black-footed breed raised in many places, traffic report los angeles but usually finished on a diet of Spanish acorns. The best restaurants display the whole haunch including traffic report los angeles the hoof as proof it is pata negra. Then a trained server slices it by hand. Rich stuff, but a few slices less than an ounce is all the indulgence you need. Or can afford. A whole ham from Joselito of Salamanca, the most expensive luxury jamon brand in the world, sells for 3,000 euros. Very high on the hog.