Consumer advocacy group Choice has found when it comes to supermarket Christmas hams, pork price is not necessarily an indicator of quality.
In a blind taste test of 12 Christmas hams from Aldi, Coles, IGA and Woolworths, the best and worst-ranked porky products retail at almost identical prices.
The best-scoring product was the Coles Christmas Beechwood Smoked Half Leg Ham, with a price per unit of $8 a kilogram. Judges awarded it a score of 80% and described it as a “good overall ham” for its “mild but pleasant” aroma with “a nice balance between sweet and smoky flavours”.
The worst-performing product, the Aldi Festive Selection Australian Half Leg Ham On-The-Bone, is similarly priced at $7.99 a kilogram. Judges remarked on its “pale, dry and uneven” appearance, “mild” flavour and “powdery, unpleasant” texture, and gave it a score of 61%.
“The winning Coles ham was also one of the cheapest hams in our taste test … revealing that price doesn’t always indicate quality,” the Choice editorial director, Mark Serrels, said in a statement.
The second-best product was Woolworths Mountain Ash Wood Double Smoked Half Leg Ham, which scored 75% and costs $13 a kilo, followed in third place by Woolworths Bone In Half Leg Ham with a score of 70%, which retails for $8 a kilogram. By comparison, Choice says the most expensive ham cost $21.99 a kilo and scored only 68%.
The panel of three judges sampled the hams cold, and assessed them for their taste and texture, as well as appearance and aroma.
“First and foremost you don’t want the ham to be overcooked … overcooked hams can be stringy and dry,” said judge David Stössel of Sydney butcher Feather and Bone.
He said most of the tested hams were overcooked, but the first and second-best scoring products were cooked well and had a “lovely moisture”.
Fellow judge and food consultant Brigid Treloar said the winning ham was good value for money. “It was very well priced. And for a family trying to put something special on the table at Christmas time, that’s terrific.”
Choice said when it comes to purchasing Christmas hams, consumers should consider buying Australian pork, as indicated by the “Australian Pork” logo or country of origin labelling. Eleven of the 12 tested hams claimed to use Australian pork.
Additionally, Choice advises consumers to buy sow stall-free hams. According to the RSPCA, a standard sow stall is a 2-metre by 60cm crate used to house a female pig during part of her pregnancy – the sow can stand and take a step backward or forward, but cannot turn around. These conditions are more likely to result in higher stress and insufficient rest and sleep for the sows, and according to Choice, a poorer-quality ham.
Three of the taste-test hams claimed to use sow stall-free pork, but Choice did not verify these claims.
If consumers inadvertently buy a bad-tasting ham, Stössel said it can be rescued by adding a simple marmalade glaze. Carefully remove the skin from the ham while keeping the fat on, then gently warm some marmalade in a saucepan and brush it over the ham fat. Then warm the ham in the oven to caramelise the glaze. “If someone tastes the ham and thinks, ‘oh this isn’t so good’, that’s what I would do.”
