Pig In A Poke

Pig in a poke. Strange expression. Any ideas what a poke is? It is in fact a sack or bag. The whole expression is to buy a pig in a poke, which translates as buying something without seeing it or knowing its value, especially a pig presumably. The current-day version might be to buy a bar in Mallorca - ok, it might have been seen (sometimes) but whether the true value is known is an entirely different matter. (Incidentally, the Spanish equivalent is buying a cat instead of a hare, apparently.)

But be that as it may. Bars are not the theme of the day. Pigs are. Or rather buying a pig in a bar. Or slices of the pig. It's that time of year again, one to which everyone looks forward with negligible anticipation. The ham circuit, "circuito jamón serrano". Alcúdia's annual pig in a bar traipse across the breadth of the municipality, sampling pieces of serrano in whichever bar or restaurant it happens to be on that day. It all starts today in Sa Vall in Bonaire. I know you can hardly wait.

Yet of course jamón serrano is actually pretty damn fine stuff. Whether it quite justifies its own circuit is another matter. But this ham is not the pink plastic variety also available in Mallorca and more obviously in British supermarkets. It is of superior quality, so much so that it is controlled in a way akin to wine. I don't as a rule take great chunks of archive pieces, but I'll make an exception just this once. This was how I put it two years ago:

"Whereas the British palate and visual eating sense are generally programmed to ham that is pink and often shrink-wrapped, there is a diversity of local ham in terms of its visual presentation, taste and colour. The British visitor will often retreat to the security of pinkness that comes as jamón york, but the more revered Spanish hams are jamón serrano or jamón ibérico which possess a more exotic depth of colour. The purpleness of these hams hints at a wilder taste, curing and preservation. And wilder is an apt description, jamón serrano literally meaning mountain ham."

The purpose of the "circuit" is not just to promote the ham but also to give a leg up to participating local restaurants, the thinking being that one cuts along for some free nosebag in the form of some ham and then moves onto a main course. More ham probably, but for which one pays. Given a local tendency to freeload, I do wonder if this laudable enough aim is actually achieved. Moreover, it's not as if jamón serrano is a rarity. It's hanging around all over the place - restaurants, delis, supermarkets - very often indeed hanging from the walls or ceilings. The consequence of the freebie ham is that, however unintentionally, you do end up with something of a pig in a poke. Yes you can see what you're eating but because it's free you don't know its real value. There again, go and buy a whole ham and you will soon find out.


QUIZ
Yesterday's title - Lisa Stansfield, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UAW17gtSvak. Today's title - with which comedy sketch series is pig in a poke associated?

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