Learn Hardcore Spanish (Latin America): A ella no le gusta el jamón, así que corta más pepino y tomate. - She doesn’t like ham, so cut more cucumber and tomato.

Literal idea: A ella no le gusta el jamón ≈ To her, ham is not pleasing.
A ella marks the indirect object (the person affected: to her).
le is the indirect object pronoun that also refers to her.

So the basic pattern with gustar is:

A [person] + le gusta + [thing]

You cannot say Ella no gusta el jamón to mean She doesn’t like ham; that sounds wrong or means something else. You can drop a ella if it’s clear who you mean:

No le gusta el jamón. = She/He/You(formal) doesn’t like ham.

Adding A ella gives emphasis: She doesn’t like ham (as opposed to someone else).

Why do we need both A ella and le? Isn’t that redundant?

It’s normal in Spanish to “double” the indirect object:

A ella no le gusta el jamón.

Here:

A ella is the full phrase (stressed form) → clarifies who.
le is the pronoun required by the verb gustar.

You can say:

No le gusta el jamón. (without a ella) – grammatically complete.
A ella no le gusta el jamón. – same grammar, but adds emphasis on ella.

What you can’t do is:

A ella no gusta el jamón. ✗ (missing le)

Why is it gusta and not gustan?

With gustar, the verb agrees with what is liked, not with the person.

In the sentence:

A ella no le gusta el jamón
- el jamón is singular → gusta (3rd person singular)

Compare:

A ella no le gusta el jamón. – She doesn’t like ham.
A ella no le gustan los jamones. – She doesn’t like hams (plural).
A ella no le gustan el jamón y el queso. – She doesn’t like ham and cheese.

So:

Singular thing(s) liked → gusta
Plural thing(s) liked → gustan

Why is it el jamón and not just jamón?

Spanish often uses the definite article (el, la, los, las) with nouns in a general sense, especially with likes and dislikes:

No le gusta el jamón. = She doesn’t like ham (in general).

Other examples:

Me encanta el café. – I love coffee.
Odia la música fuerte. – She hates loud music.

You’ll still see jamón without article in some contexts (e.g., in lists, recipes, or menus), but in this structure with gustar, el jamón is the natural choice.

Who is the subject of corta in así que corta más pepino y tomate? Why is there no pronoun?

The subject pronoun is understood from context, which is very common in Spanish.

corta is 3rd person singular present → it could be ella, él, or usted.
From the previous clause (A ella no le gusta...), we know we’re talking about ella (she).

So corta here means she cuts. Spanish usually drops the subject pronoun when the verb ending already shows who the subject is:

Corta más pepino. = She cuts more cucumber.

Could corta here be a command, like “so cut more cucumber and tomato”?

In isolation, corta could be:

3rd person singular present: (he/she/you formal) cuts
2nd person singular informal command: Cut!

But in this sentence:

A ella no le gusta el jamón, así que corta más pepino y tomate.

The most natural reading is 3rd person: she cuts more cucumber and tomato, because:

The first part talks about ella.
There’s no direct address to you.

If you wanted a clear command to tú, you’d normally say:

No te gusta el jamón, así que corta más pepino y tomate. (talking to you).

What does así que mean here, and how is it different from entonces?

Así que is a conjunction meaning so / therefore, introducing a consequence:

No le gusta el jamón, así que corta más pepino.
= She doesn’t like ham, so she cuts more cucumber.

Difference from entonces:

así que links two clauses as cause → consequence in one sentence.
entonces is more like then / so as an adverb, often starting a new sentence or clause:
- No le gusta el jamón. Entonces corta más pepino y tomate.

In everyday Latin American Spanish, both are very common; así que feels slightly more tightly connected to the previous clause.

Why is it corta más pepino y tomate and not something like corta más de pepino y tomate?

In Spanish, más + noun is the standard way to say more + noun:

corta más pepino – cut more cucumber
tiene más dinero – has more money
compra más pan – buys more bread

You generally don’t add de between más and a simple noun in this use.
más de + noun appears in other structures, like comparisons:

más de cien tomates – more than a hundred tomatoes.

But for more cucumber, the correct, natural form is más pepino.

Why are there no articles before pepino and tomate?

In lists of ingredients or foods you are using/adding in a practical sense, Spanish often omits the article:

corta más pepino y tomate. – cut more cucumber and tomato.

This is similar to English recipes: add onion and garlic (no the).

You could say más pepino y más tomate or más pepino y tomate; both are fine. Adding el or los would usually make it sound like you’re referring to some specific cucumbers or tomatoes already known in the context, which is less typical here.

How do you pronounce jamón, and what’s the purpose of the accent?

Pronunciation (Latin American):

ja- like English ha in hard (but with Spanish j, a harsh /h/ sound from the throat)
-món like mon in money, but with Spanish o (pure vowel) and stress here

So: [ha-MON] (with a strong, throaty h).

The accent mark in jamón tells you that:

The stress falls on the last syllable (-món).

Without the accent, jamon would be pronounced with stress on ja-, which would be incorrect.

Could I say No le gusta a ella el jamón or El jamón no le gusta a ella? Are those correct?

Yes, both are grammatically correct; they just change the emphasis and style.

Possible variants:

A ella no le gusta el jamón. – neutral, with emphasis on ella.
No le gusta el jamón a ella. – more spoken feel, stressing a ella at the end.
El jamón no le gusta a ella. – emphasizes el jamón first, often contrastive:
- As for ham, she doesn’t like it.

All are acceptable. The original A ella no le gusta el jamón is a very standard, clear choice.

If she doesn’t like ham and cheese, how would the sentence change?

You have two common options, both heard in real Spanish:

Make both foods the grammatical subject (plural) → gustan:
- A ella no le gustan el jamón y el queso.
  - Literally: Ham and cheese are not pleasing to her.
Keep a looser, more spoken structure with gusta (you’ll hear this too):
- A ella no le gusta el jamón ni el queso.
  - Literally: Ham or cheese is not pleasing to her.

Option 1 is more strictly grammatical; option 2 is very natural in everyday speech.