Difference Between Ham and Pork

Ham vs Pork

Pig’s meat is very popular in the western countries and there are some who cannot live without their daily dose of delicious ham. The meat of the hog is known as pork but there are some who remain confused between pork and ham as they cannot differentiate between the two. Though pork and ham come from the meat of same animal, there are differences between the two which will be discussed in this article.

What chicken is to cock and meat is to goat is what pork is to pig. But the very popularity of ham has become a cause of confusion for many as many have come to think of pork and ham coming from different breeds of the same animal. For such people, the meat from domestic pig is what is called as pork. It is one of the most popular and most consumed meats worldwide though eating pig is considered a taboo in many religions also. Pork is eaten in many forms such as roasted, smoked, or cooked. In some recipes, it is both cooked and smoked.

Ham is a part of the raw meat obtained from the animal. Thus it is technically pork. Still people prefer to call it differently as it is the thigh and rump of the animal. Mostly the meat, when it is cured is termed as ham. So it is safe to say that though both pork and ham come from the meat of the same animal, ham is always cured while pork is raw meat. If you have eaten tenderloin, which is a cut from the beef, you can easily differentiate between pork and ham. Ham is the special name of a cut from the pork.

Ham is also referred to as Bacon or even Gammon at some places but what makes pork ham is that it is either salted or cured. However, fattier cut is called bacon. Less fatty meat is called ham, which has a superior ring to it.

In brief:

• Meat from pig is called pork while a special cut from thighs is called ham

• It is wrong to think that ham and pork come from different breeds of the same animal.

• The meat from the animal, when it is cured is called ham.

  • http://patientambition.com/ Nick

    Great explanation, one of the thousands of questions in my head has been answered. I will just add that ham is very popular in Poland. It’s the most popular meat product here, eating some now, mmm..