The sauerkraut and ham for supper made Jurgen think of Carl explaining why they were called Krauts.

With a frothy bowl of cafe au lait, a ham and melted cheese crepe followed by a lemon crepe makes a wonderful light meal.

For it is the hook of the biggest ever campaign to get people to eat the cans of chopped pork and ham made famous in wartime and by Monty Python.

Such hams made in the United States, Switzerland and Canada lack the sweet, barely salty flavor, silky texture and mild, faintly spicy aroma of the genuine Parma ham.

Some years ago Betsey brought a Virginia country ham - essentially a Smithfield-style ham made elsewhere in the state - on a trip to Scandinavia.

As presented by a preening cast led by the wonderful Brian Stokes Mitchell and Marin Mazzie, who wear a spotlight as if it were a dressing gown and vice versa, this "Kate" proves that ham can indeed make a banquet if the spices are zesty enough.

In Episode 2, that inveterate ham Orrin Hatch, the songwriting senator from Utah, tardily made his inevitable appearance to peddle his latest CD, but he might have had better luck auditioning for "American Idol."

Prosciutto di Carpegna Although the word prosciutto (pronounced pro-SHOO-toe) simply means ham in Italian, on the gastronomic scene it usually refers to the fine, air-cured hams made just outside Parma in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy.