# How To "Salt Cure" a Ham?



## GlockSpeed31

My grandfather is wanting to Salt Cure a ham. He used to do it years ago w/ his father, but time has passed and he can not remember how to. I gave him a Wild Hog (a sow) ham that I had in the frezzer from the hog I shot last January. So, anyone know what is the process of doing a Salt Cure Ham? 

If anyone knows, please try to be as detailed as possible.

Thanks in Advance,
GlockSpeed31


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## Vernon Holt

*Salt Curing*

Secure or build a wooden box large enough to accomodate the ham.

Secure a ten pound bag of pickling salt.

Place a layer of salt in the bottom of your box.  With your hand, rub salt into any fold and all around the ham.  If the ham has a skin side, place it down.  If the hog was skinned, ignore this part.  Place the ham in the box and cover its every surface thoroughly with salt (up to one inch thick).  Cover the box and place it in a location where leaking brine will not create a problem.

Leave the ham in the salt for thirty days, then take it out and wash thoroughly with clean warm water until all of the surface salt is gone.  Dry the ham with paper towell and rub every surface with black pepper.  Leave plenty black pepper on the ham, place it in a clean cloth bag (sugar sack) and hang it in a cool place that has good air circulation.  The ham will loose weight as it dries out and completes the curing process.  After thirty more days, cut the ham down and share it with all your friends.  They will love you.


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## CAL

Makes me hungry just to hear you tell about it Mr.Vernon.Sounds like ya have done it before.


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## GlockSpeed31

Vernon,
Does it have to be a wooden box or could you use a 5 gallon plastic bucket w/ small holes drilled in the bottom for drainage?

Thanks,
GlockSpeed31


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## Vernon Holt

Either will work equally well.  I suggested wood because that is the old fashioned way.  Drainage as you stated is needed.


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## GlockSpeed31

Yeah,
The way you described is how my grandfather somewhat remembers how. 

Thanks,
GlockSpeed31


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## James Vincent

When we did it as a kid you had to have 3 days of frost on ground after salting or it would spoil from bone out. (we were told) We stored hams in wooden box in outside shed. They do need to be below 45 degrees for 3 days till salt soaks in.


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## Vernon Holt

"Hog Killing Time" was a well known phrase which had meaning to all in former times.  Two or three conditions had to come into play before the the magic day arrived.

First requirement was for one to have a wood floored pen containing one to three corn fed hogs.

Second requirement was to have good intuition as to weather outlook.  I call it intuition simply because the best weather indicator was the Progressive Farmer Magazine which came monthly.  "Hog Killing Time" was synonomous with cold frosty mornings and dry cold days.  Apparently my Dad had good intuition since he never lost any meat that I can recall.

Finally, you needed plenty of help.  The good kind that talked little and worked hard.  There was wood to secure.  Water to heat.  Hogs to kill, scald, and scrape.  The 300 pound carcass was then gambled and hung on a rack.  The honors were then performed by an old timer who knew what to cut and when.

At end of day the family was rewarded with fried tenderloin.  This was a special treat, since it was kinda a once a year proposition.

Next day was devoted to making sausage, rendering lard, and making souse meat (or hog head cheese), and final cleaning of the chittlins.  Cooking the chittlins came close to rivaling the dinner of tenderloin, biscuits from scratch, and brown gravy.


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## JCASH

DON'T KNOW IF I WOULD RECCOMEND CURING A FROZEN HAM. I HAVE BEEN WORKING UP HOGS ALL MY LIFE AND HAVE ALWAYS CURED GREEN HAMS( FRESH HAMS OFF THE PIG RIGHT AFTER SLAUGHTER). 
MR. HOLT SUMS IT UP WITH THE WEATHER CONDITIONS AND FINE EATING.


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## CAL

Mr.Holt,
The chittlins were good,so was the sausage,but the cracklins from cooking off the lard was the real treat to me!!Might be why I got so much heart trouble today!!!!!!You sir without a doubt know about country life.


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## DCarter001

> You sir without a doubt know about country life.


AMEN.


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## raghorn

CAL said:
			
		

> Mr.Holt,
> The chittlins were good,so was the sausage,but the cracklins from cooking off the lard was the real treat to me!!Might be why I got so much heart trouble today!!!!!!You sir without a doubt know about country life.


Cal,you got me craving cracklin' cornbread now ! I hope you're happy...........


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## CAL

Man Rag,that stuff is some kinda good.


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## teethdoc

Mr. Holt you have me mmissing the good old days, and I was not even there.

Anyone ever tried this with a deer hindquarter?


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## dixie

Vernon, thats the way we did it too, only thing we did different was to leave the meat in the salt box until we were ready to use it, then we'd cut off the rind and soak it overnight. My Grand dad always tried to kill the day after thanksgiving, but as you said, it was up to the weather, he wanted a COLD morning to kill on. Lordy, I still remember  that fresh tenderloin and ribs and remember how the kitchen smelled when we made the sausage


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## Vernon Holt

teethdoc said:
			
		

> "Mr. Holt you have me missing the good old days, and I was not even there. Anyone ever tried this with a deer hindquarter"?


 
Yes, and I miss them as well. Those were days of self sufficiency. A man's word was his bond. Everybody knew who his neighbor was. They would even swap work when an overwhelming task was at hand. In cases of a shortfall, I can recall neighbors borrowing a cup of sugar, coffee, or lard. It was never expected that it would be paid back.

The primary entertainment was "going rabbit hunting", possum hunting, set-hooking, listening to a battery powered radio, or the family going to Church, to Revival Meetings and/or all day singings.

Planted spring, summer, and fall garden. Had a sorghum patch, a sweet potato patch, a "greens" patch, a pea patch, a cabbage patch, a watermelon and cantalope patch, and always had a few rows of popcorn which provided a treat for the kids gathered around the fireplace in winter.

The sorghum cane was milled and cooked into "sorghum syrup" (wish I had a gallon today), sweet potatoes dug and "hilled" as a means of storing them all winter, the greens being cold resistent, lasted well into the winter. Dry peas were placed in "tow" sacks, hung in the crib to be "thrashed" on demand when needed, Cabbage were "hilled" just like sweet potatoes for storage, and the watermelons and cantalopes consumed when ripened.

Three or four large hogs were ceremoniously and laboriously butchered and cured. Sausage made, lard rendered, hams and "middling" cured then the middling was smoked for streak-o-lean bacon. The fat back was salt cured and used as seasoning in cooking.

Everything was cooked and baked on a wood range and with cast iron cookware. Stove wood was dried and split yellow pine.

Just before Christmas my Mother would bake cakes for a solid week before Christmas. There were Chocolate, Cocoanut, lemon-cheese, and caramel. None were allowed to be cut until the week of Christmas. Children could smell, but could not touch. The cake was always shared with friends and neighbors.

I cherish the memory.

Vernon


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## Vernon Holt

Ten four Dixie.  Only problem with leaving in in the salt, it would continue to take up salt for as long as it is in the salt box.  It would get so salty as to require soaking some of the salt out before frying.  No worry about it ever spoiling though.


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## Vernon Holt

teethdoc said:
			
		

> "*Anyone ever tried this with a deer hindquarter*"?


 
I have four hindquarters hanging in my barn that have been there 2 weeks and 1 week respectively.  I check them daily and they are aging beautifully.

This is one of the blessings that comes with living in the mountains.  Deer killed late in the season can be aged without having refrigeration.  My barn is fairly well inclosed.  Even at midday it stays in the 30's with weather as it is today.


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## Hardy

Mr. Vernon,

Many of the things you mentioned remind me of the time I spent with my Grandparents. They raised and killed a hog and calf each year. Raised and canned most of the food they ate. And bought very little. My grandfather milked cows twice a day and my grandmother sold sweet milk, butter milk, and cheese. BTW....the milk you buy in the store is not the same milk that came from their cows....It doesn't even taste the same.  

As for hog killing........

I would always make it a point to be there that day. Several of the neighbors would come and help and everyone knew what their job was. After all, they had done this for many years. Of course my grandfather would go to the neighbors house and help them when they butchered also. 

The life of a farmer was a busy one.......they had some chores to do every day of the year and their lives depended on them having everything they needed. 

Some might call it the simple life but it sure required a lot of work. I could go on and on thinking about those days.


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## Nicodemus

Thanks Mr. Vernon, you can sure bring back some good memories of growin` up in Wheeler County. And I guess I miss that independence more than anything.


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## Muddyfoots

Mr. Vernon,

My grandma said she remembered her daddy using borax along with salt. Have you used this and what purpose did this serve? I have a ham packed in salt now. Gonna give it a try til I get it right.

Also, what would you do different to sugar cure a ham?

Thanks,
Muddy


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## Vernon Holt

Foots: My experience in curing hams did not include the use of Borax in any way. I suspect that its use had to do with the difficulty of getting sufficient weather in South Georgia to cure hams without fear of losing the meat.

Borax is a preservative, as is salt. To have used both would have perhaps provided an additional safety net. Borax is used as a wood preservative. It is known to penetrate several inches of wood without pressure applied.

It once was once used as a means of preserving hides and furs against spoilage. Early taxidermist use it extensively.

Obviously I do not know if it imparted any odd taste to the meat. Salt does not influence the taste of meat.

Sugar Curing Ham: The ham should be "salted down" and allowed to remain for 30 days, then taken out of the salt and washed thoroughly with warm water. This removes the exterior saltiness.

The ham is then placed in a new container and packed top, bottom, and sides with Brown Sugar. Cover and allow to stand for as long as your curiosity will allow, at least another 30 days.

Remove the ham (do not wash), place in a clean cheesecloth bag and hang in a cool, well ventilated place, and allow to complete the curing process. It will drip and loose weight during this phase of the process. There is no magic formula for determining when it is ready for you to do the honors. Let us know how it turns out.


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## Muddyfoots

Thanks Mr. Vernon...
I Thought The Borax May Have Had Somehting To Do With The Weather Not Being Cool Enough. I Have Heard Stories Of Digging A Hole In The Smokehouse, Packing The Hole With Ice, Then Placing The Salt Box In. Said They Would Then Cover With  Pine Tops And/ Or Sawdust To Retain The Chill. Hard For Her To Remember The Details At Her Age.

Thanks Again...


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## Vernon Holt

MUDDYFOOTS said:
			
		

> *Mr. Vernon, "My grandma said she remembered her daddy using borax along with salt. Have you used this and what purpose did this serve?  Also, what would you do different to sugar cure a ham".  Thanks,*
> Muddy


 
Mud:  Borax is a preservative, as is salt.  Having not used or seen Borax used to preserve meat, I am not sure as to whether it imparted any flavor to the meat or not.

I grew up in North Ga. where winters are cold enough to support meat curing with salt alone.  I'm guessing when I say this, that where winter weather is milder, people added Borax (Boron is the basic element) as a supplement to salt so as to provide some extra power of preservative.

Borax is a powerful penetrant.  It is used as a wood preservative, and will penetrate several inches of wood without having to be under pressure.  I have used it as a means of treating an infestation of powderpost beetle.

Skins of animals can be rubbed with powdered Borax and it will prevent spoilage.  Early taxidermist used it as a means of treating their specimens.

So it does fit into the scheme of things for it to be used as a meat preservative.  Again, I do not know if it effects the flavor of the meat.  Salt in no way detracts from the flavor of pork or fish.

Thanks for mentioning this, it does bring up a point of interest.

Sugar Curing:  The method that I am familiar with would involve leaving the ham packed in salt for at least thirty days.  Take it out of the salt, and wash thoroughly with warm water so as to remove all exterior saltiness.

Attain a new container (non metallic) and then pack the ham in the container with a generous layer of brown sugar on top, around, and under the ham.  I am not sure of the time required for the sugar to have good effect, but I would expect that 30 days would be the minimum.  After this period, take the ham out of the sugar, place it in a clean cloth sack and hang it in a cool, well ventilated place like a "smoke house".  Aging the ham thusly will allow it to dry and "cure" to its fullness of flavor.  Hope you are able to wait this long.

Vernon


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## JCASH

Use Twenty Mule Team Borax With Warm Water When Washing The Hams After Cured, Then Applying The Peppers And Hanging To Continue The Drying Process. That's The Time To Use Borax, Not Mixed With Salt For Application To A Green Ham.


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## SuperSport64

mr vernon you are my hero


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## SWAMPFOX

*Mr. Vernon*

After curing them in the salt as you described, did y'all smoke them in the smokehouse following that?


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## Vernon Holt

Swamp:  Nothing to be gained by smoking a ham.  Properly cured ham needs no added treatment.

Always smoked the shoulders and what was called the "middlings".  The middling is the belly of the hog from which comes bacon.  Called it middling simply because it was the mid way between the hams and the shoulders.  Have also heard it called "sow belly".  Of course none of these term are heard anymore.

Smoking the shoulders and the middling raised the quality of both considerably.  Would like to have a slab of hickory smoked streak-o-lean today.

It was always my job to restart the fire every morning in the smoke house until the job was completed.  You go by the color of the product on the outside as to when it is smoked sufficiently to impart fully the flavor.  The liquid smoke applied to "smoked pork" in no way compares with the real thing.

Anyone who has ever eaten from a genuine country cured ham will agree that it is sufficient unto itself, needing no help from smoke.


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## Paymaster

Man! what an enjoyable trip back in time. Thanks to all who've contributed to this thread and a special thanks to you Mr. Vernon. Really enjoyed this thread.


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## GlockSpeed31

I'm glad I could start a thread that everyone enjoyed and learned something! Thanks to everyone who contributed.


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## Howard Roark

Would an attic in Franklin County with ridge ventlition provice enough ventliation?


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## Vernon Holt

David:  Unless you have an unusual situation with your vented attic, I would say that an attic is the worst place you could pick to cure a ham.

Attics historically are the first unheated space to warm up and they are slow to cool down.  When the sun hits the roof the attic will warm up rapidly.  In the evening when sun goes down the attic is very slow to cool down.

In curing ham you need extended cold weather with a minimum of warming spells.

When curing hams was a common practice, they were always cured in out buildings.  Many of them had dirt floors which was an aide in keeping the facility cool.

I have never known of anyone curing in an attic.  My gut feeling is that it is not a favorable place.


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## Redman54

This has been a great thread. Thanks for the trip back in time. I love hearing stories of the past. Keep um comming.


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## Muddyfoots

FYI

My uncle tell's me, the borax, that I mentioned in an earlier post, was used to keep insects off of the ham's. Said it did not affect the taste.


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## choctawlb

Ya'll have done went and made me homesick. I remember my grandparents killing and processing pigs in the fall, smoking meat and such. They did these things till I was about 9 or so , then after that they didn't raise any more. My grand mother raised free range chickens, and milked a cow every morning till about the same time.
     When I graduated college I worked on a 600 sow farrow to finish hog operation, and the owner sugar cured and smoked about 40 hams each year to give as Christmas presents. He gave us 2 hogs each year as a bonus, and we all woluld process the pigs, make sausage, cure hams, jowl, striclean, and bacon, then smoke it all in the smokehouse over some green hickory wood. Man that stuff was awesome. 
      He used Morton sugarcure to cure his meat with. It's a mixture of salt, sugar, and saltpeter, and did a good job curing the meat. Thank you Mr. Vernon for helping me relive those ole days.
Ken


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## Bitteroot

Man that is great stuff.  I can remember grandaddy killin hogs every year just before Thanksgiving.  My job was to keep the fire going, and to mend the meat together with seasoning and feed it into the grinder for sausage.  Later the "middlings" were in the shed in salt all winter.  I got to go out every morn and cut the streak of lean for breakfast, and when momma was cooking pinto beans.  I miss grandaddy so very much, but will never forget his teaching.  Once he told me how to "guess" the weight of a hog.  He said, "boy, the distance from the tip of your finger to the second knuckle is just about equal to 40 lbs of weight on a hogs tail when measured". Then he would studiously place my finger at the tip of  tail and start measuring..... 40, 80, 120, and so on, until he rapidly jammed my finger up the hogs but and said, "now pick him up and see how much he weighs"!   I think I got my sense of humor, (often sick) from him.


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## JustUs4All

Great thread.  So many memories.  In a few short years this old joke will no longer be understood:

A young man driving a Cadillac through the country on a warn Fall day offered a ride to an old farmer who was walking to town.  Thinking of the comfort of the old farmer the young man turned on the air conditioner.  After a mile or so the old farmer said, “Let me out here young fella it's turned off cool enough to go home and kill hogs.


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## Twenty five ought six

> Attics historically are the first unheated space to warm up and they are slow to cool down. When the sun hits the roof the attic will warm up rapidly. In the evening when sun goes down the attic is very slow to cool down.




I was in the former East Germany, Serbia, and area many years ago.  Those folks are still curing hams at home.  They use juniper which is a type of conifer, and the hams get pitch black.  Before you say "yech", this is the same juniper that is the main flavoring in gin.

Anyway, they would hang these hams directly in the chimney, or in the attic as close to the chimney as possible.  I was surprised at what they were doing for the reasons that Mr. Holt lists, but they have been doing this for hundreds (thousands?) of years.  Also they tend to eat this highly cured ham as the Italians do prosciutto, thin slices.

Here is a diagram of a common set-up (page 26).  I suspect that the lower ambient temp in the winter, and the harder fat on the pigs (from feeding them nuts) helps make this method successful.  Also their attics were more or less open, so they didn't heat up as ours do.


http://books.google.com/books?id=im...=X&oi=book_result&resnum=8&ct=result#PPA27,M1


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## Sixes

Great thread, I'm only 38 but I can vividly remember "hog killings". We killed hogs every year. It was a family adventure at my grandparents, not just one hog but usually 2-3, and if it was cold the next day, then we would help out someone else that had raised a hog.

One thing that I didn't see mentioned that I always think of when talking about killing hogs is eating scrambled eggs.

I didn't know until I was grown what was "in " the scrambled eggs


Nothing like a COLD day with fresh tenderloin and sausage being cooked on an iron skillet over a fire barrel. Really brings back fond memories of my youth and of grandparents. Thanks!


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## whchunter

*Brains*



Sixes said:


> Great thread, I'm only 38 but I can vividly remember "hog killings". We killed hogs every year. It was a family adventure at my grandparents, not just one hog but usually 2-3, and if it was cold the next day, then we would help out someone else that had raised a hog.
> 
> One thing that I didn't see mentioned that I always think of when talking about killing hogs is eating scrambled eggs.
> 
> I didn't know until I was grown what was "in " the scrambled eggs
> 
> 
> Nothing like a COLD day with fresh tenderloin and sausage being cooked on an iron skillet over a fire barrel. Really brings back fond memories of my youth and of grandparents. Thanks!



BRAINS and EGGS


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## tony2001577

just went back to the winter i was 8 years old , it was snowing that day , i got to build the fire under our barrel for heating the water and got to help for the first time scraping off hair , i can still taste , smell and see that day ! 
man do i miss those days !!!


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## blues brother

Wow!
What a great thread. I am 45 yrs old...I grew up as a military brat so my "country experiences are limited. One Thanksgiving or Christmas, Dad had leave and we went to My grandparents home in Covington, Ga. I think I was around 4 or 5yrs old. I can barely remember Granddaddy killing a hog. They wouldn't let me watch the killing, but let me help with the rest. I wish I could remember more of it. Vague memory of older cousins teasing me with the chitlins. I do remember making the sausage.
Grandaddys old smokehouse is still standing, although there is no meat inside anymore.
whchunter, Thanks for digging this up. It brought back lots of good memories.


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## Mlrtime

Never experienced any of this myself but I have thoroughly enjoyed the thread.


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## jkoch

Some things stay with you FOREVER!!!!!


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## lagrangedave

I used to really love those sweet potatoes that we cooked in the coals that heated the water for scraping the hogs.


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## whchunter

*Old days*

I remember when I was in my early teens, I went to a cattle sale with one of my uncles. When we got in the cattle truck that morning he sat a paper bag between us. He says "that's for lunch, we'll get us a soda to go with it".  I was curious as to what was in the bag but was scared to ask as I knew to expect the unexpected with my uncle. When lunch came he dug the bread out, a jar of mustard and a fruit jar filled with sausages. Yep sausages.  Back then some farmers would can sausage. They would cook the sausage and pour the grease over to fill the jar and then seal it. We spread our bread, smeared on some mustard, slid out the sausages, scraped off the lard and wa la, lunch was served. Looking back I remember it was pretty good, sitting up there in that big old cattle truck cab eating lunch with my buddy and my Uncle Paul.


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## blues brother

Fishing with my granddad, uncle and dad...hoop cheese, viennas, soda crackers and a coke or orange drink.


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