There are archaeological evidences that suggest that the first settlers of Jamestown built pens for their pigs which they brought with them and continued with their ancient British traditions of making ham. In many areas of the Southeast parts of the United States, the centrepiece of their Christmas family dinner is ham and not a turkey until this day.
Ham is regulated in the United States by the USDA and they recognize the following categories:
A fresh ham is an uncured hind leg of pork. Country ham can be uncooked, dried, cured, smoked, or unsmoked and is made from a single piece of meat from the hind leg or from a pork shoulder. The Smithfield ham is the most famous ham from Virginia that is a country ham grown and produced in Smithfield, Virginia. Other lesser known hams are from Tenessee and the Appalachians. They both have a similar method of production and most often include honey in their curing and they are hickory smoked.
According to the US law, ham is defined as the cured hind leg of pork that is made up of at least 20.5% protein without counting the fatty portions and does not contain added water. Turkey ham can still be legally called ham if the meat is taken from the thigh. A ham that has less than 20.5% protein but with at least 18.5% is called a ham with natural juices added. Ham with water added contains seventeen percent protein and ten percent of an added solution. "Ham and water product" is referred to any cured hind leg of pork that has an addition of any amount of water but it must still indicate the percentage of the added ingredients. Ham that has been cut into smaller pieces and then molded is termed as "sectioned and formed" and if it is coarsely ground, it is called "chunked and formed".
Sugar is used to cover the saltiness of many dry hams in the United States. The "city ham" variety is the most common kind of wet-cured ham found in supermarkets. In this kind of ham, brine is injected into the meat for faster curing.