Filipino Christmas and Ham

A Filipino Christmas meal won’t be complete without the ham. Even as early as September, different kinds of ham would start filling up supermarket shelves. With this, expect different tastes, different variations, different shapes and even different kinds.

Would you believe that there is Turkey Ham? Or how about Vegetarian Ham? I know it’s a misnomer, but marketing would have it that manufacturers have to use a term that is familiar to consumers.

Misnomers aside, ham is actually a portion of preserved pork thigh. This originated in cold western countries. The need to preserve their food for the long winter prompted them to come up with a way of keeping their meat edible for a long time. Back then there were no freezers and refrigerators. Salt was used to cure the meat. Eventually people started putting in spices and other seasonings to add flavor to the meat as it ages. Then glazes were introduced to give it more taste.

A year ago, I was introduced to perhaps one of the best hams that I have ever encountered. Sadly, I couldn’t taste it as I have abstained from consuming pork years ago, so I got my friends to judge it for me.

Based on the stories I was told though, I could not help but conclude that this piece of ham is the best in the region, and perhaps the archipelago.

I was told that the most loved deposed president of the country, Mr. Joseph Ejercito Estrada, praised Tita Oling’s Homemade Ham to be the best in the world. And back then, when Zamboanga City matriarch Maria Clara Lobregat was still alive, she used to place bulk orders as gifts for her closest friends and loyal supporters.

So what is with Tita Oling’s ham that made it so popular among the country’s elite? Tita Oling confessed that her secret is in the way she cooked the ham.

The pork is smoked and then boiled for many hours, a painstaking procedure that requires a lot of patience.

A special sauce is then concocted out of the juices that would ooze out during the process. This sauce is what will be used to heat up the slice of ham that you will be serving on the table.

The best thing about Tita Oling’s ham is that it has less salt, and is a little bit sweet making it perfect for the Filipino palate. And mind you, the long process of making it will reward those who will taste the ham with an extremely juicy piece of meat that literally melts in your mouth.

You can also personalize your orders: either with bone or without, lean or a little bit on the fat side. A kilo? Or how about more than that? If you want the one with the bone, well, you can use the flavorsome bone for soups and other soup-based dishes. It can make the dish magnificently heavenly.

Should you want to taste Tita Oling’s ham, drop by Abuhan Tres (Address: i2 Bldg., Asiatown IT Park, Lahug). Here they serve Tita Oling’s ham by the slice. Why not give them a visit before placing your order, after all this piece of Christmas fare does not come in cheap.