Los embutidos (charcuterie) and cheese have always had a special importance in Spain. Charcuterie and cheese have become not just staple foods but gourmet products that you really cannot afford to miss.

CURED HAM, KING OF CHARCUTERIE
Ham, salt-cured, dried in mountain (serrano) air and aged for only a short time, has been around since Roman times, when it was eaten as an appetiser at the start of meals or as a snack to accompany drinks. Although the French claim to have invented it, it actually originated in Spain.

SERRANO OR JABUGO?
El jamón is the raw, cured, aged, unboned trotter or haunch of a pig. It comes with a variety of names: Serrano, Ibérico, Pata negra, Bellota and Jabugo.

Which one should you choose? Some hams cost twice as much as others, so it's important to distinguish between them. Cerdo ibérico pigs differs from other breeds in having black trotters, hence their nickname Pata Negra (black feet). Fed mainly on acorns, they live in areas rich in oak trees (Salamanca, Cáceres, Badajoz, Córdoba, Seville, Málaga, Cádiz and Huelva).

In order for the ham to be designated a true jamón de Bellota, the pig must be fed exclusively on acorns, otherwise it's jamón de recebo (fed on animal feed). In each case, the hams are aged for at least two years. The best ham is jamón de Bellota, whatever its region of origin, with the prize for the tastiest ham going to Jabugo (from the Huelva region), which is cured in the cold, dry mountain air of Andalusia, and Guijuelo (from the Salamanca region), whose flavour and texture are quite superb.

Jamón de Serrano, is also a raw, cured ham, but one that has been aged for less than two years. It may be less mature than the other hams, but it's still an excellent ham at a very affordable price.

HOW TO SERVE JAMON
Whether it's Serrano or de Bellota, a jamón must be served in the correct way. Very thin slices 3-4cm/1-1?in wide are cut from the joint using a long, flexible, extremely sharp knife. The finer the slices, the better the ham. It must be kept at room temperature, not in a refrigerator. The dry part is discarded.

MORCILLA
Popular for over five hundred years in Spanish cuisine, the morcilla is a kind of spicy black pudding. A length of intestine is filled with a mixture of blood, spices and a variety of other ingredients, then cooked to form a black sausage. The ingredients vary according to the region and can include rice, onions, pine nuts and different spices, such as cinnamon. Cut into thick slices and fried, it's quite often served by the ración or demiración as an aperitif.

EL PATE LACÓN
Pate lacón is a partly-cooked pig's trotter, eaten finely sliced, just like Ibérico ham. It's absolutely delicious, so give it a try.

EL CHORIZO
The best part of the pig for making chorizo is traditionally the back. Once it's been aged and smoked, the raw meat is mixed with chilli and formed into a small sausage. Depending on how long it's been matured, it will be labelled curado or semi-curado. Originating from Estremadura, its now produced in other parts of Spain, including Cantimpalos (Segovia), La Rioja and Pamplona. Mass production processes have caused it to lose some of its prestige, but served fried or raw, in sandwiches or as a ración, it`'s a staple of Spanish cuisine. If you take some home with you, go for chorizo semi-curado, which keeps better.

QUESO MANCHEGO, SPAIN'S GREATEST CHEESE
There's a limited choice of Spanish cheeses, but queso manchego is well worth trying. It's a favourite ración of Madrileños at tapas time. The different varieties-manchego de oveja (goat's milk) and the vaca (cow's milk), curado, semi-curado, seco and blando etc..- all come from the Castilla La Mancha area and vary in taste and texture depending upon their maturity, from fully mature (añejo), which is hard like parmesan, to the mild, softer semi-curado and the sharper curado.

The main center of goat livestock is in the west zone of the Autonomous Region, in Guadarrama, Sierra Norte of Madrid and Southwestern areas. The herds belong mostly to the indigenous breed "the Guadarrama goat" and its crosses.

In addition to their very fine meat, breeding these goats also results in the production of a kind of milk which, due to the goat's natural and varied feeding and long grazing periods, determines the product's quality.

Either pasteurized or uncooked milk can be used. The goat cheeses are elaborated as medium and sharp. The process to obtain the raw material, its preparation and the transformation phases of the cheese fulfill the technical-sanitary and quality control guarantees that distinguish the excellence of the final product. The sensorial characteristics of these cheeses are very complete: balanced texture and consistency, a shiny paste with a uniform color, intense and deep aromas and delicate tastes, witnesses of its traditional production.

The taste of the Madrilenian goat cheeses is varied; each area has its own production method. However, its somewhat acid character generally prevails, reaching the palate in a buttery and humid manner. This sequence of nuances must be enjoyed in the company of a good Madrid red wine.

SHOPS TO BUY CHEESE AND HAM IN MADRID

La Boulette
Address: Calle Ayala, 28 (Market of the Peace - Mercado de la Paz - )
Tel: 91 431 77 25
Tube: Velázquez
Area : Salamanca
Alll kind of incredibles cheese
Opening times:
8.00 -15.00 / 17.30-20.00
Saturday evening closed

El Palacio de los quesos
Address: Calle Mayor, 53
91 548 16 23
Openingo times:
Mon - Fri: 9 -2.30 pm and 5 - 8.30pm
Sat. 9 - 2.30pm - Saturday evening closed
Also bar to enjoy a "tapa"
If, after tasting a particular cheese, you want to bring some back, this little shop offers a choice of over 80 cheeses, most of which are from Spain. They'll be happy to advise you on which will travel well.

La Garriga
Address: Paseo de la Castellana, 153
Tel: 91 570 01 39
28002 Madrid
Tube: Cuzco
Area : Castellana
Excellent 
Openingo times:
9.00 -15.30 / 17.00-20.00
Sat. 9 - 2.30pm - Saturday evening closed
Also bar to enjoy a "tapa"
www.girac.com

Cuenllas
Address: Calle Ferraz, 3
Tel: 91 547 31 33
28008 Madrid
Tube: Ventura Rodríguez / Plaza de España
Zona : Argüelles
Openingo times:
9.00 -15.30 / 17.00-20.00
Sat. 9 - 2.30pm - Saturday evening closed
Also bar to enjoy a "tapa"

La Leonesa
Address: Calle Santa Isabel, 1
28012 Madrid
Tel: 91 369 06 81
Tube: Antón Martín
Zone : Lavapiés
Openingo times:
9.00 -15.30 / 17.00-20.00
Sat. 9 - 2.30pm - Saturday evening closed

López Pascual
Address: Calle Corredera Baja, 13
28004 Madrid
Tel: 91 522 85 12
Tube: Noviciado
Area: Malasaña

España en la mesa
Address: Calle Guzmán el Bueno, 82
Tel: 91 535 88 78

PLACES TO TASTE CHEESE AND HAM

Here you have some places to enjoy Ham and cheese. However, Madrid is plenty pf places where you can taste a very good cheese and ham maked as a "racion" ( dish of cheese and Ham served with delicious bread) or as a "tapa". Try in bouth ways and try in any places because for sure you are goingo to find a good place in a any corner of the city.

El Palacio de los quesos
Address: Calle Mayor, 53
91 548 16 23
Openingo times:
Mon - Fri: 9 -2.30 pm and 5 - 8.30pm
Sat. 9 - 2.30pm - Saturday evening closed
If, after tasting a particular cheese, you want to bring some back, this little shop offers a choice of over 80 cheeses, most of which are from Spain. They'll be happy to advise you on which will travel well.

Museo del Jamón
There is several Museos del Jamón around center of Madrid
Address: C/ Gran Vía, 72
Tel: 91 541 20 23
 C/ Alcalá, 155
Tel: 91 431 72 96
C7 Atocha, 54
Tel: 91 369 22 04

CIAR
Address: Marcelino santamaría, 8
Tube: Santiago Bernabeu (L:10)
Tel: 91 564 68 48
 www.iciar.net  

La Musa
Address: San Andrés, 1
Tel: 91 523 27 47
http://www.lamusalatina.com    

El reino del pincho
Address: Diego de León, 10
Tube: Núñez de Balboa
Tel: 91 562 19 08

Paninoteca d'E
Address: Velázquez, 32
Tel: 91 426 38 16

Arriba y Abajo
Address: Panamá, 3
Tube: Cuzco
Tel: 91 344 02 71

Mayor 31
Address: Mayor, 31
Tube: Sol y Ópera