The story of Hidalgo de la Jara is deeply connected to the Iberian pig and the dehesa of Los Pedroches. Five generations have been dedicated to breeding 100% Iberian pigs, a breed they have known from the very beginning and around which they have developed their entire way of working.
Everything starts in the countryside. The pigs are born and raised free-range, first alongside their mothers and, once they can fend for themselves, making use of the resources they find in the dehesa. Piglets born in autumn may even enjoy their first acorns during weaning; later comes the montanera, when the animals destined for acorn finishing complete their final fattening period by feeding on acorns, grass and other natural resources from the surrounding land.
The dehesa remains part of their diet throughout the rest of the year. In summer, when its natural resources are scarcer, chickpeas, broad beans, vetch, oats and other cereals and pulses are sown for the pigs to graze ad libitum, feeding directly from the land. It is a way of keeping their farming closely connected to the countryside even outside the montanera season.
Over the years, that experience in breeding Iberian pigs led Hidalgo de la Jara to take responsibility for making their products as well. In Villanueva de Córdoba, in the heart of Los Pedroches, they control the process from raising the animals through to the production and maturation of their hams and shoulders.
That same connection with their surroundings is also reflected in their facilities, where they use a photovoltaic solar energy self-consumption system, bringing renewable energy into an activity that has always been closely linked to the resources and landscape of Los Pedroches.
After salting and settling under controlled conditions, the hams and shoulders move to natural cellars, where the local temperatures accompany their maturation slowly. Cold winters and hot summers form part of a gradual curing process that, for their hams, lasts for more than 30 months, allowing each piece the time it needs to develop its aromas, texture and character.
Hidalgo de la Jara's connection with Los Pedroches goes beyond its location. They were among the promoters of the Los Pedroches Designation of Origin, working alongside other livestock farmers and producers in the region on the development of the criteria that would ultimately define the designation.
Five generations later, Hidalgo de la Jara continues to work with the Iberian pig from the same place where its entire journey begins: the dehesa. Their approach to livestock farming and production is one in which experience, the surrounding environment and respect for the time required by each process continue to shape the character of their products.