Gammon, ham, bacon, rashers: perfectly ordinary words at home, but try explaining them at a German butcher's counter. Gammon causes the most confusion, because it's neither quite “Schinken” nor “Speck”. Here's what the British cuts are called in German, what the closest German equivalents are, and what to ask for.
What is gammon in German?
Gammon is the cured but still raw hind leg of pork – ham before it's cooked. The closest German equivalents are roher Pökelschinken or a Kasseler cut from the leg. In Britain, gammon is usually cooked or roasted as a whole joint and is the traditional Christmas centrepiece alongside the turkey. Sliced and fried, it becomes a gammon steak, often served with pineapple or a fried egg.
The crucial difference from ham: ham is gammon that has already been cooked. Gammon is raw and needs cooking at home; ham is ready to eat.
The British terms at a glance, with German equivalents
- Gammon – cured, raw hind leg. Boiled or roasted. German, roughly: roher Pökelschinken.
- Ham – cooked ham, ready to eat. German: Kochschinken.
- Bacon – cured, often smoked pork in rashers. In Britain that usually means back bacon from the loin. German (approximately): Frühstücksspeck, but far meatier.
- Rasher – a single slice of bacon.
- Streaky bacon – belly bacon in thin strips. This is what Germany sells as “Bacon”.
- Bacon joint – bacon in one piece, for boiling or roasting.
- Lardons – bacon cubes. German: Speckwürfel.
English ham vs. German Schinken
In German, “Schinken” is a catch-all: Kochschinken, roher Schinken, Lachsschinken, Schwarzwälder Schinken. In England the distinction is stricter: ham is always cooked, gammon always raw and cured. Air-dried hams such as Parma or Serrano aren't called gammon in the UK but simply go by their name or “cured ham”.
So if a German friend asks you about “englischer Schinken”, they usually mean either a cooked gammon joint (often with a honey or mustard glaze) or back bacon (for breakfast, in a sandwich).
Bacon or gammon: which do I need for which dish?
- Full English, bacon butty, BLT: back bacon. Full English recipe.
- Christmas dinner, Sunday roast, honey glazed ham: gammon joint.
- Pigs in blankets for Christmas: back bacon wrapped around small sausages. Pigs in blankets recipe.
- Carbonara, stews, quiche: bacon pieces or lardons. Our Bacon Bits are made for this.
- Gammon steak with pineapple: a thick slice of gammon, briefly fried. Alternatively an extra-thick rasher of back bacon.
Buying gammon and back bacon in Germany
Gammon is hard to come by in Germany. A German butcher can offer a raw, mildly cured ham from the leg as a substitute, cooked the same way. Geordie's does not sell gammon at the moment. For a British Christmas, our back bacon still has you covered: lay a few rashers over the turkey or make pigs in blankets. Our newsletter keeps you up to date on our range.
Proper English back bacon, on the other hand, we have all year round: smoked, unsmoked, as a mixed pack or 5 kg in one piece. Made in Germany to an English recipe, dry-cured for ten days and cold-smoked over beech wood. To the shop.
Frequently asked questions
Is gammon the same as Kasseler?
Similar, but not identical. Kasseler is cured and smoked and usually comes from the loin or neck. Gammon comes from the hind leg and isn't always smoked. As a substitute in recipes, Kasseler from the leg works well though.
Can you eat gammon raw?
No. Gammon is raw-cured and must be boiled or roasted before eating. Only then does it become ham.
What's the difference between bacon and gammon?
Both are cured. Bacon comes from the loin or belly and is fried briefly in rashers. Gammon comes from the leg and is usually cooked slowly as a whole joint.
Does Geordie's sell gammon?
Not at the moment. We focus on dry-cured British back bacon, which we make all year round.