Chemical composition of the Istrian ham
The chemical composition depends directly on the type of breed, feeding, the manner of keeping and pigs health condition.
On the average, Istrian prosciutto-ham contains about 66 % of dry substance, 40% proteins, l7 % fat, 8.5 % ash and 85 mg/100g cholesterol and 5.5 - 6 % salt. Apart from that, Istrian prosciutto-ham contains Calcium (Ca), Phosphorus (P), Magnesium (Mg), Natrium (Na), Potassium (K), Manganese (Mn), Copper (Cu), Zinc (Zn) and Iron (Fe). Furthermore, the autochtonous Istrian prosciutto-ham contains 18 essential and semi-essential amino acids, and the total of 21 saturated fatty acids (SFA), monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFA) and polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA).Within the intramuscular fat of the Istrian prosciutto-ham 40.5 % accounts for the saturated fatty acids (SFA), 44.5 % accounts for the monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFA) and only l2.5 % accounts for the polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA).
As concerns the more significant fatty acids valuers, l2 % accounts for the essential acids from the Omega-6 group (arachidonic, linoleic, eicosardienoic), while 0.96 % of the total amount of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) accounts for the Omega-3 group (linolenic, eicosapentaenoic, docosapentaenoic, docosahexaenoic)
