[6] However, in Italy the preserving of pork leg as ham has a much longer history, with traces of production of cured ham among the Etruscan civilization,[7] as early as the 6th and 5th century BC; as for ancient Rome, Cato[8] in around 160 BC, in his De Agri Cultura,[9] describes the process of salting the pork leg, in the way known today in Italy as "prosciutto crudo" (raw ham).

The ham has been lauded in Chinese literature, and was prominently featured in the Qing dynasty novel Dream of the Red Chamber, when the cuisine of the nobility was being described.

The ideal ham should have certain physical characteristics, such as a shiny and smooth yellow outside, a rounded shape in the style of a bamboo leaf, small joint and hoof, a thin and slender bone, an abundant layer of fat surrounding dark and red toned meat, a pronounced but not unpleasant odor, a fine textured meat with high levels of intramuscular fat, and a taste that is highly salty, umami, and sweet.

The taste is also contributed by fermentation, due largely to the molds and some yeasts present on the ham.

[14] The incident strongly affected legitimate makers of the ham and caused a sharp drop-off in market demand.