On Sat, 19 Nov 2011 07:06:23 -0600, George Leppla
> wrote:

>On 11/18/2011 6:27 PM, Kalmia wrote:
>> If it's not the only meat, it could probably serve 100. Haw haw. I
>> despise, loathe and abhor ham, as you can probably deduce.
>
>
>Really? Ham is one of my favorites. Mostly in sandwiches of various
>kinds... and with breakfast.
>
>Had a ham and cheese sandwich for supper last night.

Ham n' cheese is the most popular deli sandwich. In several regions
ham is the most popular breakfast meat.

When feeding a help oneself crowd ham goes faster than all other meats
combined. Most people like ham a lot and it's one of the least messy
meats to handle making it even more popular. Most folks don't prepare
a ham at home so when available at a party they take advantage. Some
people don't like ham so they will take none, however those who do
like ham, and a most do, they will load up with as much as they dare
without appearing too piggish, and some won't care what other's think.
A ten pound bone in shank half will barely be enough at a pot luck for
ten adults. Of course one needs to know their crowd, if many are on
diets or if many are gluttons... but the average adult at a help
oneself party will consume at least 1/2 pound of ham, many will take
double and even triple portions. Ham is unique among party meats in
that it contains a lot of fat but its fat is very easy for guests to
trim away and that's what they do, so what at first looks like a large
serving is not, folks trim away about 1/4 of what they take, even the
gluttons don't eat the fat, in fact the big eaters are very adept at
trimming away fat, permits them to eat more. Truth is that there is
no scientific study with data for how much one actually consumes at a
help oneself situation... if asked most folks lie, and many really
don't know because they are very poor at judging quantities. If you
check the various major ham producer sites they are vary vague as to
what constitutes a serving, they talk portions, a very different
thing, a portion is about nutritional content, not what people
actually consume. And they are very vague about what size ham to buy
to feed so many people, and none offer actual edible yield... they
only allude, with a lot of smoke and mirrors. Typically they tend to
be PC about how much to feed. But I happen to know from personal
experience how much ham to serve so many people... a 10 pound bone-in
shank half will yield no more than 4 pounds of edible meat (we're not
talking gnawing the bone and around the gristle here), and a good
amount of the meat is passed by because of its appearance. I'll let
you do the math, but I know from vast personal experience that a
person who is a ham lover will serve themselves two, even three
"portions", many will easily consume a pound or more. The only way
they will consume less is if there are other foods present that they
also like to pig out on, but the meat eaters will zero in on the ham.
People who like ham will choose it over roast beef every time...
naturally we're assuming it's a good ham and properly prepared same as
it's a good roast beef and properly prepared... roast beef can
certainly be lousy. In the US most folks serve a roast turkey for
Thanksgiving because it's traditional but many also serve a ham. When
available most people prefer the ham over the turkey. And people who
are into pot lucks are also into eating... a Pot Luck is just another
name for a Buffet/All You Can Eat. People also tend to eat/drink more
at larger parties, they take more because the crowd affords them
anonymity, they get lost in a crowd, guests will eat/drink more freely
when in a group of 30 than in a group of 10... the larger the crowd
the more likely there'll be a feeding frenzy.