The American Easter Feast: How Ham Became the Celebrated Centerpiece - Tyner Pond Farm (2024)

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The American Easter Feast: How Ham Became the Celebrated Centerpiece - Tyner Pond Farm? ›

Ham and the Spring Season

Not only is it readily available, but it comes in an array of options—honey baked, smoked, country, glazed, spiralized, bone-in, boneless, and more. When it comes to ham, they provide far more meat than lamb, making a ham easily serve a crowd or a large family.

The tradition of eating ham is thought to have evolved from the Germanic pagan ritual of sacrificing a wild boar known as a sonargöltr to the Norse god Freyr during harvest festivals.

What is the traditional Easter meat? Ham is the most traditional Easter meat. Although it's also popular at Christmas and many Thanksgiving tables include ham as an additional meat entree, Easter is when ham fully occupies the spotlight.

United States: Ham is a popular dish for Christmas and Easter in the United States. It is typically baked or glazed, and served with side dishes such as sweet potatoes, green beans, and macaroni and cheese.

Ham and the Spring Season

Before the advent of modern refrigeration, pigs were often slaughtered in the fall, and the meat was preserved through the winter months using salt and smoke. By the time spring arrived, the preserved ham was ready to be consumed, making it a natural choice for a celebratory Easter feast.

Spanish explorer Hernando de Soto arrives in Florida with thirteen Ibérico pigs—the first swine to put down hooves in the South. English colonists—and their pigs—settle in Jamestown, Virginia, and combine Native American and European techniques to preserve hams.

When the weather turned cold, they slaughtered a few pigs and hung the hams in the curing room. In the spring, after a long Lenten diet of self-denial, they pulled out a ham and it became Easter dinner. We should have probably been a lamb family.

Supposedly, the tradition started with the Germans, who wanted to appease the god, Freyr. He was the god of fertility, harvest, and boars. Paganism also offered many traditions for Christianity, including Christmas trees. And so, the tradition of the Christmas ham was born.

Roast turkey and ham are popular for Christmas dinner throughout the country, but depending on the region, so are tamales, roast goose with red cabbage, crawfish jambalaya, roast pork or “seven fishes” seafood salad.

What can't you eat on Easter? ›

CAN YOU EAT CHICKEN AT EASTER? This is a practice that Catholics still maintain, a fact that leads them to give up the consumption of red meat throughout Lent in order to remember the sacrifice of the son of God. Although fish can be eaten, many faithful choose to make a fast.

“Easter ham is as ubiquitous to the American table as Thanksgiving turkey, but it wasn't always,” Hopwood says. For many, lamb was the main protein at Easter and Passover tables. Still, serving ham was always a popular choice, for seasonal reasons.

Depends on the ham. Cured hams, like country ham or prosciutto, can be left out unrefrigerated almost indefinitely. Regular deli ham requires refrigeration, and I wouldn't gamble on it if it's been out for more than four hours. The salt content will slow down the decay, but it still happens.

Hams are either ready-to-eat or not. Ready-to-eat hams include prosciutto and cooked hams; they can be eaten right out of the package. Fresh hams and hams that are only treated to destroy trichinae (which may include heating, freezing or curing in the processing plant) must be cooked by the consumer before eating.

Bone-in ham

The bone provides the meat with better flavor and texture. As a bonus, the leftover bone is great for making soups and stews, like this Old-Fashioned Split Pea Soup. Bone-in hams are sold as half hams.

Ham is typically used in its sliced form, often as a filling for sandwiches and similar foods, such as in the ham sandwich and ham and cheese sandwich. Other variations include toasted sandwiches such as the croque-monsieur and the Cubano. It is also a popular topping for pizza in the United States.

Compared with poultry and fish, pork products like ham are higher in iron, thiamine, and other B vitamins. Yet, pork may be lower in some nutrients than other red meats, such as beef (5). Ham also provides all nine essential amino acids, making it a complete protein.

The answer, in short, is if it is cured, smoked or baked, ham is considered “pre-cooked,” and would not technically need to be cooked. This includes the ham that is purchased at the deli. In fact, most ham that is sold to consumers is already cured, smoked or baked.

Ask anyone, and you'll find out that Virginia is known across the country for having some of the best ham anywhere. Many families in the state have passed down their unique recipes for making ham from generation to generation, creating a beloved culinary tradition that endures to this day.