It is a bidding frenzy with a difference: Spaniards are queueing up to spend thousands, not on art or antiques, but on a leg of ham.

In a nation with an obsessive appetite for all things porcine, foodies are salivating over the prospect of tucking into a slice of what has been dubbed the world’s most expensive ham.

The 2006 Alba Quercus Reserve has a starting price of £1,000 for a whole leg, or £80 per lb. With only 200 legs up for sale, buyers from as far afield as Shanghai are fighting for a place on the auction list when they finally go under the hammer next year. Those fortunate enough to be able to bid cannot walk away with just a slice, but must buy a leg or at least a pound.

The “genius” behind the ham is Manuel Maldonado, one of only two ham producers who specialise in the jamon iberico puro. The ham is made from purebred Spanish pigs, which have not been crossed with the British or American pigs that produce the bulk of Spain’s ham.

Gastronomic experts speak in hushed, reverential tones of Mr Maldonado, likening his talents to that of Ferran Adria, Spain’s most famous cook.

Mr Maldonado has taken the art of creating the finest ham to new heights. His Iberian pigs are reared as if they were pets, living wild for two years, with individual swineherds to look after them as they roam the countryside, nourished on a diet of acorns to perfect the taste of the ham.

But Mr Maldonado’s stroke of genius, foodies insist, is to slaughter the pigs then cure the meat for two years – twice the normal period. The elaborate process produces a delicacy which, apparently, justifies the astronomic price.

Mr Maldonado, whose farm is in Extremadura, southwestern Spain, said: “This is the best ham in the world because it comes from the best pigs in the world. But I also cure the meat for twice as long so the taste is so much richer.”

Pedro Soley, a ham connoisseur, who has secured a place on the reserve bidding list, said: “Maldonado’s is the Rolls-Royce of Spanish ham.”

Spaniards gorge themselves on almost every part of the pig, from the trotters to the ears. In almost every bar, hanging legs of ham are as common as the drinks or fruit machine. Jamon serrano, or mountain ham, is the cheaper form, where the animals are fed on grain.

Expensive tastes

— Kobe beef can fetch up to $250,000 (£125,000) per animal. It comes from the black Tajimaushi breed of Wagyu cattle, which are raised according to strict tradition, including daily massages and supplies of sake, in Hyogo Prefecture, Japan

— In 2004, the London restaurant Zafferano bought an 850g white truffle for £28,000. It was accidentally left to rot

Source: Times archives

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