The feeding of Iberian pig determines the different qualities of hams. Unfortunately not all the Iberian pigs reach the highest category in terms of quality of food. Sometimes because of the scarcity of pastures, where there is no cost and many years to convert a spot in a dehesa, to other poor acorn crops and others to market requirements, which demand cheaper products, the result is the emergence of three categories or qualities as pig feed:

- Acorn, corresponds to Iberian pigs fed on the “open range”, which is the traditional way, loose in the Dehesa, which requires a continuous exercise, which contributes to a better distribution of intramuscular fat (marbling). It is obvious that the highest quality products are slaughtered immediately after the fattening of acorns (between November and February).

- Recebo, corresponds to animals after a certain time on the “open range” finishes their feed with fattening before slaughter. The fat is softer when their level of unsaturated are higher, and precisely the acorn-fed pigs have a large percentage of unsaturated fats and therefore soft, and with a low melting point. The best way to distinguish between an Iberian acorn pork ham and Iberian recebo pork ham is looking the leg. The recebo, as usually has been enclosed in an area, it has more worn inside the nail. This is because in the enclosed area, normally wet and due to food fortification, greasy, suffers from multiple slips, naturally pork tries not to fall and made repeated movements ranging eroding claw inside.

- Bait, corresponds to animals that have been fed with feed in stables. The fat distribution in them has not been helped by the daily exercise and continued, however the muscle fibres is naturally lower in some muscles that have not been sufficiently exercised.