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" Spanish ham has a problem. And like all of Spain&amp;#039;s other problems at the moment, it ties back to its economic crisis. The country&amp;#039;s ham sandwich \u2014 note that this is the same country that once produced the ultimate, 20-meter-long ham sandwich \u2014 is in trouble because Spanish cafes are closing. And the ones being bought by Spain&amp;#039;s Chinese immigrants also aren&amp;#039;t doing so well because the times are so tight they can&amp;#039;t afford to source the proper ingredients. Basically, the whole situation is terrible, Pacific Standard reports: The bread was no longer the fresh, crispy stuff the previous owners had used. It was a dry, store-bought roll. The jam\u00F3n was more pink than red, the wan color of a pencil eraser. And the meat was cut in suspiciously perfect rectangles, betraying that it had come off the shelf, not the bone. A week and a half later, the cafe was closed This is a damn shame, especially considering the history of excellence Spanish ham has enjoyed since practically the dawn of time. But it&amp;#039;s just the latest in a spate of demoralizing food news from the nation of paella, chorizo, and gazpacho: hunger is rising while food spending is dropping, Javier Bardem had to close his family restaurant in Madrid due to &amp;quot;prolonged losses,&amp;quot; and just last week we learned a historic breed of Andalusian war horses will soon be slaughtered for its meat. Now, jam\u00F3n &amp;quot;ib\u00E9rico&amp;quot; is also being produced in Italy, and that may cause problems for the Spanish original in the country&amp;#039;s fraught financial moment. And the people can&amp;#039;t even score a half-decent sandwich. For those of us in the States, we recommend counting your blessings with this jam\u00F3n ib\u00E9rico sandwich recipe here, and donate some food when you can. [via Pacific Standard] "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.esquire.com/food-drink/food/a22311/spain-ham-15383874/?click=news>