Jamón ibérico, especially the one labeled de bellota, has a smooth texture, rich, savoury taste, and regular marbling.

In Spain, the black Iberian pig is typically found in the provinces of Huelva, Córdoba, Cáceres, Badajoz, Salamanca, Ciudad Real, and Seville.

The pigs are then allowed to roam in pasture and oak groves known as dehesa to feed naturally on grass, herbs, acorns, chestnuts, and roots, until the slaughtering time approaches.

Vacuum-packed jamón may last up to 100 days at room temperature because the packaging seals out oxygen and slows the aging process.

[3] Some notes: Meaning literally 'black foot or paw', pata negra is a commercial label for jamón ibérico.

Some of them include: Ibérico encompasses some of the most expensive ham produced in the world,[10][11] and its fatty marbled texture has made it very popular as a delicacy, with a hard-to-fulfill global demand[12][13] comparable to that of Kobe beef.

Around 13,000 metric tons of jamón ibérico and associated by-products were consumed in Spain in 2017, leading to an estimated 4 billion euros in retail sales.

Since jamón takes years from slaughter to sale, producers had to lower prices or go online to clear their stocks.

In 2005, the first slaughterhouse in Spain was approved by the US Department of Agriculture to produce ibérico by-products for export to the United States.