- Season
- Available all year; demand peaks at Christmas and Easter, and for sandwiches and open sandwiches (chlebíčky) at celebrations
- Price
- Medium
- Nutrition per 100 g
- 106 kcal
- 16.7 g protein
- 3.7 g fat
- 0.3 g carbs
Premium-Quality Pork Ham
Meat
Premium-Quality Pork Ham
Šunka vepřová nejvyšší jakosti is Czech cooked pork ham in the highest of the three legal quality grades. Shoppers buy it sliced at the deli counter, pre-packed in slices or as a whole piece, and eat it every day as a cold cut.
In practice
How to store
- On the counter
Do not keep it at room temperature. Put it back in the fridge as soon as you have used what you need. On a buffet table, limit it to about 2 hours.
- In the fridge
Keep it chilled, usually at 0–5 °C as stated on the pack. Sealed pre-packed ham keeps until its use-by date (spotřebujte do). Once opened, or when bought sliced at the counter, wrap it tightly or put it in a closed container and eat it within 2–3 days, or sooner if the pack says so.
- In the freezer
You can freeze it at −18 °C for 1–2 months, best in portions separated by baking paper. Thaw it in the fridge. After freezing, some water runs out and the texture turns softer and crumblier, so frozen ham is best used for cooking (pasta, omelettes, fillings) rather than fresh slices.
How to choose
Look for the words 'nejvyšší jakosti' on the label. It is a legally defined grade and is your guarantee of high meat content and no starch, fibre or added plant protein. Next check the ingredient list: meat (vepřové maso z kýty) should come first and make up 90 % or more, followed by water, salt and a short list of additives. Many Czech top-grade hams list 93–96 % meat. At the deli counter, choose slices that are matte pink, with visible muscle structure and no slimy surface or grey edges. Pre-packed ham should have an intact, undamaged pack. Don't mix up the grades: 'výběrová' and 'standardní' contain less meat and may contain more water, and 'standardní' may also contain starch and added proteins. Cheaper lunch meats are sold under other names, such as šunkový salám. 'Dušená' (braised or steamed) and 'od kosti' (cooked on the bone) are style descriptions, not grades. 'Pro děti' (for children) is a marketing label: read the composition.
What to swap in
Best swap
Another top-grade cooked ham, such as Prague ham (pražská šunka), ham cooked on the bone (šunka od kosti), or top-grade turkey or chicken ham if pork is not an option
In a pinch
Selected-grade ham (šunka výběrová), or thinly sliced home-cooked or roast pork leg (vepřová kýta)
Preparation
Ham is fully cooked and ready to eat. Take slices out of the fridge a few minutes before serving to bring out the flavour. For chlebíčky and open sandwiches, fold or roll thin slices. For cooking, dice or cut into strips. Add ham late in hot dishes so it heats through without drying out. Use clean utensils and a clean board, because ready-to-eat cold cuts are not cooked again before eating.
Don't toss it
Dice ends, offcuts and slices that are starting to dry out and use them in šunkofleky (baked pasta with ham and egg), omelettes, potato salad, ham spread (šunková pěna) or toast fillings. Freeze small diced portions to use later.
In the kitchen
Cooking
Most often eaten cold: on buttered bread or rohlík, in chlebíčky and on cold platters. Hot uses include šunkofleky, ham-and-cheese toasts, omelettes, scrambled eggs, pizza and pasta bakes. It also goes into ham rolls filled with horseradish cream or vegetable salad (šunkové rolky) and into ham spreads. If you reheat leftover dishes containing ham, heat them right through until steaming hot.
Goes well with
- Rye Bread
- Rohlík
- Butter
- Edam
- Eggs
- Gherkins
- Mustard
- Horseradish
- Potato Salad
- Pasta
- Peas
- Chives
- Mayonnaise
What it is
Šunka vepřová nejvyšší jakosti is Czech cooked pork ham in the highest of the three legal quality grades. Shoppers buy it sliced at the deli counter, pre-packed in slices or as a whole piece, and eat it every day as a cold cut. Under Czech decree 69/2016 Sb. on meat products, šunka (ham) is a heat-treated meat product made from the pork leg, and it comes in three grades: nejvyšší jakosti (top grade), výběrová (selected) and standardní (standard). The top grade must contain at least 16 % pure muscle protein, and the Czech food-safety authorities give a meat content of about 90 %. Fibre, colourings, starch (including physically or enzymatically modified starch), plant proteins, other animal proteins and any other protein-boosting additions are not allowed. Many products on Czech shelves state 93–96 % meat on the front of the pack. It is not a raw, dry-cured ham like prosciutto. It is brined, cooked and chilled, and you can eat it straight from the pack.
How it tastes
Mild, gently salty and clearly porky. Cured ham is pink because of the curing salt. A good top-grade slice is firm and lean, and you can often see the muscle grain or the separate muscles of the leg. It should not look glossy, rubbery or uniformly smooth, which is a sign of a lot of added water. Steamed or braised versions (dušená šunka) taste rounder and more 'home-cooked'. Smoked versions such as some Prague-style hams have a light smoky note.
Common questions
What does 'nejvyšší jakosti' mean on Czech ham?
Is it the same as prosciutto or other dry-cured ham?
How long does it keep after opening?
Does top-grade ham contain additives?
Is it safe in pregnancy or for vulnerable people?
Deep dive
3 min read
Varieties
By legal grade.
Czech decree 69/2016 Sb. sets three grades of cooked ham, from highest to lowest pure muscle protein: nejvyšší jakosti (at least 16 %), výběrová (at least 13 %) and standardní (at least 10 %). Starch, colourings and added proteins are banned in both the top and selected grades; only the standard grade may contain them.
Dušená šunka (braised or steamed ham).
A cooking style used in top-grade products from many Czech producers, marketed as having a more fibrous, home-cooked texture.
Šunka od kosti (ham cooked on the bone).
Cooked as a whole leg on the bone, often sliced at the counter. It has a coarser texture and a fuller flavour.
Pražská šunka (Prague ham).
A traditional Czech style of brined, lightly smoked cooked ham. Many products are sold in the top grade.
Poultry hams.
Turkey (krůtí) and chicken (kuřecí) hams are also sold in top and selected grades. They are a different product from pork ham.
Nitrite-free and 'clean label' versions.
Some retailer and premium lines are made without added nitrite or phosphates. Their colour may be paler or greyer.
Relatives, not the same product.
Dry-cured raw hams such as prosciutto, jamón serrano or Czech/Central European raw ham (syrová šunka) are uncooked and air-dried, so they are a different category. Šunkový salám and similar lunch meats are cheaper emulsified or reformed products and do not belong to any ham grade.
History
Cooked, brined pork leg has long been part of Central European butchery. Prague ham is the best-known Czech style and is still a familiar name on Czech shelves. In the past, Czech consumer tests and the media pointed out cheap 'hams' with a lot of added water and fillers. The legal grade system in decree 69/2016 Sb. is meant to let shoppers tell top-grade ham from lower grades by the name on the label.
Science
To make ham, the producer brines whole or large pieces of pork leg, either by injection or by soaking, with salt and usually sodium nitrite. The nitrite reacts with myoglobin, which gives the stable pink cured colour and the typical cured flavour, and it slows the growth of some spoilage and pathogenic bacteria. Next comes tumbling or massaging. This draws salt-soluble muscle proteins to the surface so the pieces bind together during cooking. The meat is then pressed into moulds and cooked until the core is fully heat-treated. Some types are also smoked. Phosphates help the meat hold water. The protein minimum for the top grade limits how much water can be added, which is why top-grade ham is firmer and less wet than lower grades.
Sourcing and ethics
The label shows the country of origin of the pork, which EU rules require for fresh and frozen pork, and many producers state it voluntarily on ham too. Czech-made ham is not always made from Czech pork, so check the origin if it matters to you. If you care about higher animal welfare, look for the EU organic logo (bio). Czech schemes such as the Klasa quality mark and the Czech-origin label (Česká potravina) tell you about quality and origin, not about animal welfare. Packs that are partly used up are a common source of household food waste. Buying smaller quantities sliced at the counter helps you buy only what you will eat within a few days.