Yes, but presumably 1/2 oz in the water in which the meat is soaked, with the meat then boiled, drained and boiled again, shouldn't count as 'too much'?

Thanks Micca, I was hoping you'd show up...in fact, you don't have any contacts through whom you could get hold of saltpetre do you?

Just by the way, why DOES the addition of saltpetre cause the meat to go pink? And if it's possible to do the ham with just salt, why do we use saltpetre in the first place?

Love Lynne