You always read food labels carefully to know what you're buying, and for ham, one term that's a red flag is "water added." This is what that means and why it's not good news.

Water is added to ham by soaking it or injecting it with a brine that adds moisture to the meat. However, since hams are bought by the pound, adding water can inflate the price.

More moisture also isn't better, since the extra water can make the ham mushy. On the other hand, a term you should look for on ham packaging is "no-retained water."

No-retained water means that the ham hasn’t had water added to it after it was processed. This is the kind of ham you'll want to buy for the best flavor, texture, and value.