In common Spanish usage, fiambres are prepared meat products designed to be eaten cold and sliced. They are often moist, compact and heat-treated. Typical examples include cooked ham, cooked turkey breast, mortadella and other moulded cooked meats<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

The formulations can vary widely. Two products that look almost identical may contain very different proportions of meat, added water, starch, proteins, salt and other ingredients. That is why the legal product name and ingredient list matter more than the picture on the front of the pack.<\/p>\n

Is chorizo a cold cut?<\/h2>\n

Chorizo is more precisely described as an embutido. Cured chorizo also undergoes curing and maturation, giving it a lower-moisture, firmer texture and a more concentrated flavour than cooked ham.<\/p>\n

Is salchich\u00f3n a fiambre?<\/h2>\n

People may loosely include it on a \u201ccold cuts\u201d platter, but technically it is better described as a cured sausage<\/strong>. Meat and fat are minced, seasoned and matured to develop the characteristic texture and flavour.<\/p>\n

Is cooked ham an embutido?<\/h2>\n

That is not the most useful description. Cooked ham is a heat-treated meat product usually presented as a formed piece or block for slicing. In everyday Spanish it clearly sits within the fiambre family.<\/p>\n

What about cured pork loin?<\/h2>\n

Lomo embuchado is another useful example. It is not made from a minced sausage mixture like chorizo or salchich\u00f3n. It starts with a whole muscle that is seasoned and cured. Although it is placed into a casing, gastronomically it makes more sense to describe it as a whole-muscle cured meat<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Practical differences when buying<\/h2>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Aspect<\/th>\n	Cured sausage<\/th>\n	Cooked cold cut<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
Main process<\/td>\n	Mincing\/mixing, stuffing, curing or maturation<\/td>\n	Formulation and heat treatment<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Texture<\/td>\n	Drier, firmer, more concentrated<\/td>\n	Moister and softer<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Flavour<\/td>\n	Often stronger from spices and maturation<\/td>\n	Often milder<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
After opening<\/td>\n	Depends on curing and format<\/td>\n	Usually strict refrigeration and relatively quick consumption<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Examples<\/td>\n	Cured chorizo, salchich\u00f3n<\/td>\n	Cooked ham, cooked turkey, mortadella<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n Storage is different too<\/h2>\n A whole cured sausage does not behave like moist sliced cooked ham. Curing reduces moisture and changes the food in a way that improves stability, but that does not make the product maintenance-free<\/strong>. Once opened or cut, protect the surface and follow the producer\u2019s storage instructions.<\/p>\n Cooked cold cuts contain more moisture and normally require strict refrigeration. Pay particular attention to the use-by date and the manufacturer\u2019s after-opening guidance.<\/p>\n For cured products, see our guide to storing chorizo, salchich\u00f3n and cured loin after opening<\/a>.<\/p>\n The most useful way to classify them<\/h2>\n When you want to be precise, start with how the product was made<\/strong>. Chorizo and salchich\u00f3n are cured sausages; cooked ham and cooked turkey are cooked cold cuts; lomo embuchado is a whole-muscle cured meat; and a fresh sausage is an embutido that still needs cooking.<\/p>\n This is more useful than calling everything at the deli counter \u201csausage\u201d. It lets you compare similar products and understand why their flavour, texture and storage needs differ.<\/p>\n <\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Cured sausage and cold cuts are often treated as the same thing, but they are not identical categories. Learn what each term means, how the products are made and why chorizo, salchich\u00f3n, cooked ham and mortadella are not the same type of product.<\/p>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":13442,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[443],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-13520","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-embutidos-y-curados"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t