## 3 Results  
### Processing Weight Loss, Physiochemical and Colour Properties of TP Dry-Cured Ham  
The results for processing loss, physicochemical properties and the colour of BF and SM muscles, as well as the colour of the subcutaneous fat of TP dry-cured hams, are shown in Table 2.  
Compared to the control hams (CH), the hams from acorn-fed pigs (AH) had lost less weight and were heavier at the end of processing, whereas the processing method itself had no effect (\(p>0.05\)) on the weight and processing yield of the hams.  
\begin{table}
\begin{tabular}{c c c c c c c c} \hline \hline  & \multicolumn{2}{c}{**Processing (P)**} & \multicolumn{2}{c}{**Diet (D)**} & \multicolumn{3}{c}{**Significance**} \\ \cline{2-9}
**Trait** &
\begin{tabular}{c} **Less** \\ **Smoke** \\ \end{tabular} & **Standard** & **Acorn** & **Control** & **RMSE** & **P** & **D** \\ \hline Green ham weight, kg & 6.7 & 6.5 & 6.9 & 6.3 & 0.86 & ns & ns \\ Ripe ham weight, kg & 4.5 & 4.1 & 4.6 & 4.0 & 0.56 & ns & * \\ Processing loss,\% & 33.9 & 34.4 & 33.1 & 35.3 & 2.0 & ns & * \\ _M. biceps femoris_ & & & & & & & \\ Moisture, g/kg & 557.2 & 548.6 & 558.8 & 547.0 & 13.6 & ns & t \\ Fat, g/kg & 66.9 & 61.3 & 65.5 & 62.7 & 11.1 & ns & ns \\ Protein, g/kg & 256.0 & 267.0 & 253.0 & 270.1 & 12.5 & t & * \\ Salt, g/kg & 74.3 & 78.7 & 77.0 & 76.0 & 7.0 & ns & ns \\ \(\mathrm{a_{w}}\) & 0.894 & 0.890 & 0.894 & 0.889 & 0.02 & ns & ns \\ pH & 6.00 & 6.00 & 5.96 & 6.04 & 0.13 & ns & ns \\ Proteolysis index, \% & 12.2 & 10.9 & 12.6 & 10.5 & 1.8 & ns & * \\ Lightness, L\({}^{*}\) & 36.8 & 35.7 & 36.4 & 36.0 & 1.8 & ns & ns \\ Redness, a\({}^{*}\) & 15.8 & 16.0 & 15.9 & 16.0 & 0.84 & ns & ns \\ Yellowness, b\({}^{*}\) & 5.5 & 5.5 & 5.6 & 5.3 & 0.50 & ns & ns \\ Chroma, C\({}^{*}\) & 16.7 & 16.9 & 16.8 & 16.9 & 0.93 & ns & ns \\ Hue, h\({}^{\circ}\) & 19.0 & 18.8 & 19.5 & 18.3 & 1.1 & ns & * \\ TBARS, mg MDA/kg & 0.71 & 0.68 & 0.64 & 0.75 & 0.29 & ns & ns \\ \hline \hline \end{tabular}
\end{table}
Table 2: Effects of the animal’s diet and processing method on processing loss and the physiochemical and colour traits of TP dry-cured ham.  
In terms of physicochemical traits, the AH hams had a lower protein content and a higher proteolysis index (ratio of non-protein to total nitrogen) and tended (\(p<1.0\)) to contain more moisture in the BF muscle. In the SM muscle, there were only tendencies towards higher moisture and lower protein and fat contents in the AH compared to the CH. The salt content, the water activity (a\({}_{\text{w}}\)), the pH values and the TBARS (BF only) were not influenced (\(p>0.05\)) by the pigs' diet.  
The effect of acorn feeding on the colour measurements showed higher lightness (L*), redness (a*), yellowness (b*) and chroma (C*) values in the SM but not in the BF muscle, with the exception of hue (h\({}^{\circ}\)), which was higher in both muscles compared to the control. For the subcutaneous fat, the a* and C* values were increased and the L* value tended (\(p<1.0\)) to be higher in the AH.  
The effects of processing methods on physicochemical traits, lipid oxidation and colour properties were generally not significant (\(p>0.05\)), with only a tendency (\(p<1.0\)) towards lower protein content in the lightly smoked hams (LSH) than in the standard smoked hams (SH).