Iberian Dehesa (broader)
The cross-region wooded-pasture landscape (~3 million hectares) where free-range Iberian pigs graze on acorns during the montanera season. The fundamental Iberico terroir.
The dehesa is the cross-region wooded-pasture landscape spanning roughly 3 million hectares across western Spain (Extremadura, Salamanca, Huelva, parts of Andalusia) and Portugal's Alentejo. The landscape is human-shaped over millennia — holm oak (Quercus ilex), cork oak (Quercus suber), and grass pasture maintained at low tree density to allow grazing. The system produces acorns (bellotas) October through March (the montanera season) that free-ranging Iberian black pigs eat in volume — up to 10 kg per pig per day during the peak.
The acorn diet alters the pig's fat profile dramatically: high oleic acid content (50%+ of fat, similar to olive oil), high antioxidants from acorn polyphenols, marbled white fat that turns translucent at room temperature. All four Iberico DOP zones (Jabugo, Guijuelo, Los Pedroches, Extremadura) operate within the dehesa system, but the specific microclimate of each zone produces meaningfully different aged products.
Typical products
- Jamón Ibérico de Bellota
- Paleta Ibérica de Bellota
- Lomo Ibérico de Bellota
- Chorizo Ibérico