Teach It Tuesday: Cured Ham

In the spirit of the holidays, here's this week's "Teach It" random answer.

Question:
What disease did "cured ham" actually have?

Answer:
Ham has the ability to get Clostridium botulinum, a deadly microorganism. Curing the ham with salt and potassium nitrate inhibits the growth of this microorganism, therefore “curing” the ham and making it so it can’t infect you.

Hope you had a good Tuesday.