Bayonne & the French Basque Country

Jambon de Bayonne IGP is France's flagship dry-cured ham, produced in the Adour river basin of the French Basque country. The IGP regulations (since 1998) require: pigs raised in southwest France from approved heritage breeds; cure with Adour-basin salt; minimum 7-month aging (often extended to 10-12 months); production within the Adour basin. The flavor profile is meaningfully different from Spanish or Italian dry-cure — somewhat smokier (some producers cold-smoke briefly during cure), saltier, with a leaner texture than fat-rich Italian or Spanish work.

The Bayonne tradition predates the Roman occupation; documentary evidence places ham curing in the region back to at least the 1st century BC. Bayonne also has a strong cured-pork-product range beyond ham: saucisson de Bayonne, ventrèche (rolled pork belly), and various dry-cured pork specialties using the regional cure methods.