A gift of good taste

MANILA, Philippines - As the holidays draw nearer, the malls are now packed with last minute shoppers, while the restaurants and hotels are fully booked for functions and parties. But there is another venue that is equally abuzz with excitement — the kitchen. Here, Christmas is heralded by the delicious aroma of both sweet and savory as enterprising individuals churn out edible goodies, and homemakers start preparing their signature dishes to lay out on the table come Christmas Eve.

Every hostess and homemaker knows that the table is not complete without a handsome roast — the Swift Christmas Hams.

There’s a Swift Christmas Ham for every type — from the classic bone-in ham, whose secret lies in the bones that give it an extra juiciness plus a special mix of spices that gives it a delectable smokey taste), to the traditional pear-shaped ham, whose signature pear shape and unmistakable taste of sweet and salty has become the staple of the season.

For a taste of the old world, the round shape boneless Jamon de Bola’s blend of Spanish seasonings will certainly evoke memories of Christmases past. Swift’s Festival Ham makes the holidays sweeter with its sugar-glazed and golden brown skin.

Meat lovers will enjoy Swift’s De-boned Ham, a sumptuous ham leg, which is all meat up to the last bite. It is moderately cured with salt to capture the taste of the traditional ham.

And as if living up to its name, Swift’s Noche Buena Ham completes the holiday spread with its choice blend of spices and flavors and its unique sunset yellow sugar glaze.

Swift Festival Ham with Mustard Sauce

Ingredients:

1 to 1.2 or 1.5 k. Swift Festival Ham

2 tbsps. cooking oil

brown sugar

1 cup sour cream

1 to 2 tbsps. dijon mustard

1 tbsp. chopped fresh tarragon or

1 tsp. dried tarragon

Procedure:

Preheat oven to 350ºF. Thoroughly thaw ham.

Remove plastic wrap of ham. In a shallow baking pan, place about 2 tbsps. cooking oil in center of pan.

Rub brown sugar on fat portion of festival ham. Place ham in center of baking pan and bake at pre-heated oven for 25 to 30 minutes.

While ham is baking, combine sour cream, mustard and tarragon in a small bowl. Chill and serve with ham.

Place ham in a serving platter and serve with chilled creamy mustard sauce.