Crocodile Dundee once said: “That’s not a knife …. that’s a knife” as he revealed a sizeable blade to frighten off a less well-endowed mugger.
I was reminded of his words in a small tapas bar in Seville. It’s called Las Teresas after the followers of St. Teresa who, in the 16th century, founded a convent just around the corner. As you might expect, it’s a traditional bar. It attracts a good many locals and the sort of tourists that have done their homework; a place that ticks all the boxes for somewhere to simply sit at the counter, soak-up the atmosphere and enjoy a glass of something with a few tapas.
Wielding a long carving knife with a graceful, repetitive action, the waiter cuts wafer thin slices from a jamón serrano. For years I’d wanted to visit Serrano, a convivial Spanish town full of tapas bars serving amazing ham. I was so disappointed to discover that serrano means from the sierra i.e. from the mountains and that there is no one town responsible for producing serrano ham. No Serrano.
Above the bar hang the legs of ham awaiting their destiny. Not only jamón serrano but also jamón ibérico from black Iberian pigs – though I’m willing to bet that these were all Spanish and not Portuguese pigs. The tastiest and most respected is the black label jamón ibérico de bellota from pure-bred, free-range animals who feed exclusively on acorns (bellota) before being slaughtered. They are then dry-cured for 3 or even 4 years. Red label jamón ibérico de bellota is similar, except that the pigs are not pure-bred. There are other, cheaper, colour grades for pigs that eat grain and acorns (green) or only grain (white).
Behind the bar is a small display (pictured) called Vida Labora or Work Life. It’s a final resting place for, and a memorial to, eight of the hard-working carving knives that have seen service here from 1984 to 2013. Can you imagine how many times they were sharpened? The number of tapas or raciones that they have cut over the years? Like any graveyard, there are the short-lived, the hardy, the broken, the loved and the less loved; each has a story to tell.
Where … to buy a good carving knife? I don’t know, but now you know where to ask.
Where? Cafe-Bar Las Teresas, Calle Santa Teresa 2, 41004 Seville, Spain. Tel: +34 954 21 30 69
Why? Vida Labora