IDENTIFICATION OF THE PIECES ACCORDING TO THE LABEL
Ham can be quickly identified by the label on the hoof. There are four colors:

• Black Label: for 100% Iberian acorn-fed ham: The black label on the ham indicates that it comes from a 100% Iberian breed and that during the fattening months, it has been fed with acorns and grass in a free-range pasture. Its parents will be 100% Iberian and must be registered in the Genealogical Book of the Iberian pig breed.
• Red Label: for Iberian acorn-fed ham: These are hams that come from pigs with between 50% and 75% Iberian breed and that during the fattening months have been fed with acorns and grass in a free-range pasture.
• Green Label: for Iberian Field Cebo Ham: These are hams that come from specimens with between 50% and 100% Iberian breed; however, they have not been fed with acorns in the pasture, only with feed and natural resources in the wild.
• White Label: for Iberian Cebo Ham: These also come from Iberian specimens, with a percentage between 50% and 100%; however, they have not been raised in the field. They have been fed with feed on farms.

PROTECTED DESIGNATION OF ORIGIN (PDO)
These constitute the system used in our country for recognizing differentiated quality, resulting from specific and distinctive characteristics due to the geographical environment in which the raw materials are produced, the products are made, and the influence of the human factor involved.
The producer that adheres to a PDO commits to following the defined norms to maintain quality at high standards.
Additionally, there must be a public body that regulates it and monitors compliance with the rules. In the case of Spanish PDOs, they are protected by European regulation.
What are PDOs for?
For the consumer, fundamentally to guarantee specific characteristics and a high and constant level of quality.
And for the manufacturer, it protects against the production of similar products in other areas and helps reach new markets, backed by the quality of the PDO.
How is the breeding of Iberian pigs?
Our 100% Iberian pigs are born in the field, are suckled by their mothers until they are old enough to fend for themselves, and begin to feed on the resources of the pasture. Those piglets born in autumn will be able to enjoy their first acorns during this weaning phase, although most of these will be reserved for their older siblings, who were born a year earlier and reach the montanera in their fattening phase, going from 90-100 kg of weight to 170-180 kg solely based on acorns, grass, and other natural resources from the pasture (mushrooms, roots, tubers, etc.).
What do pigs eat before the fattening phase?
They feed on the resources of the pasture; however, in the summer when resources are scarcer, they are usually fed with natural feed composed mainly of cereals and legumes. The farmers of the society plant these cereals and legumes (chickpeas, broad beans, vetch, oats, etc.) so that by summer, the pigs can feed on them ad libitum, that is, freely in the same field, without the need to harvest them.
Temperature, humidity, and aging time of hams and shoulders.
The process of making our hams and shoulders has several phases. The first of these, salting, is done at very low temperature and high humidity. This phase lasts about 2 weeks depending on the weight of the piece, and subsequently, after settling in chambers with controlled temperature and humidity, they will move to natural cellars, where the temperature will range from 18-20 degrees in summer to 10-12 degrees in winter, a slow curing process that ensures long and optimal aging, exceeding 30 months, achieving aromas that an accelerated process could never obtain.