Regarding the question: What is Ham? The 'ham' portion comes from a upper hind leg portion of a pig. When butchering you get the raw meat. That portion is then baked [using ingredients of a variety---our favorites are mustard, brown sugar, cloves and pineapple]. Another way is to preserve it--there are several ways to do that [salt cure-by putting a thick layer of salt all over it or by soaking in a brine solution] [smoking in a smoke house--preferably with a hardwood such as hickory and wood from fruit trees such as apple and cherry].There are probably other methods someone has tried. Here in mid-USA we like both kinds. The preserved style is what we call Country Ham. Country folks love it on biscuits or in my husbands case, any time I will fix it for him. We buy it sliced and I fry in the skillet. It is tougher meat but good anyways. The brand of soft drink [Cola] makes no difference in cooking but is used for flavor as well as a tenderizer. As my husband drinks Coca Cola that is what I have on hand. I always cook my roast beef in the crockpot with onion, potatoes, carrots pour Coca Cola over this, add salt and pepper and cook until tender on high. Always turns out great. Different ways for different people all over the US and world I guess.