Jambon de Bayonne

Jambon de Bayonne is a dry-cured leg of pork, salted using dry salt sourced from the Adour basin and dried in that area for at least seven months. Its sodium chloride content on the rump half does not exceed 7.5 %, and the specification sets defined limits on fat content, dry matter, and residual soluble sugars.

About this designation

Registered as a PGI on 22 January 1997 under file number PGI-FR-0031 (eAmbrosia identifier EUGI00000013432), Jambon de Bayonne is produced within the geographical area of the Adour basin, which comprises the department of Pyrénées-Atlantiques together with specified cantons and communes in the departments of Gers, Landes, and Hautes-Pyrénées. All production stages from the point the fresh ham is placed in salt until it is deboned must take place within this area; pre-slicing and packaging must also occur there. The salt used must be sourced from the Adour basin. Pigs eligible for the designation are male and female animals bred for their meat; excluded are males with cryptorchidism, males castrated of a single testicle, hermaphrodites, uncastrated males, and cull sows. The fattening ration must contain at least 60 % cereals, cereal-based products, and peas, of which at least 50 % must be cereals and cereal-based products, and the linoleic acid content of the ration may not exceed 1.9 % of dry matter. Pigs may be reared and slaughtered across twenty-two named departments in south-west France. Chemical characteristics set by the specification include a sodium chloride content of no more than 7.5 % on the rump half, an average dry matter content of 47 %, an average fat content of approximately 6 %, and a total residual soluble sugar level of no more than 0.5 %. Labelling must include the words 'dried and cured in the Adour basin', the name and address of the certifying body, and the Jambon de Bayonne logo comprising the word 'BAYONNE' and a red Basque cross. The applicant group is the Consortium du Jambon de Bayonne, based in Arzacq.

Source: The register document this entry was written from · retrieved August 26, 2026

Distinctive facts

• Registered as a PGI on 22 January 1997 under file number PGI-FR-0031, eAmbrosia identifier EUGI00000013432.
• The salt used must be sourced from the Adour basin; no other salt source is permitted by the specification.
• The sodium chloride content analysed on the rump half must not exceed 7.5 %, and residual soluble sugars must not exceed 0.5 %.
• Uncastrated males, cull sows, hermaphrodites, and males with cryptorchidism or castrated of a single testicle may not be used.

Tasting notes

Basque-Béarn dry-cured ham from south-west France, aged minimum 7 months (often 9-12+), salted with Salies-de-Béarn salt. Deep rosy meat with white fat cap, delicate sweet-salty flavor, characteristic floral-aromatic profile, less aggressive than Italian counterparts.

HoReCa use

Sliced thin for plateau de charcuterie; used in piperade and paired with Basque and Béarn wines such as Jurançon and Irouléguy.

Packaging

• whole-leg-bone-in-7-9kg
• whole-leg-boneless-vacuum-5-7kg
• half-leg-vacuum-3kg
• deli-sliced-vacuum-100g
• deli-sliced-vacuum-80g
• pre-sliced-tray-150g