Meats and charcuterie
Prosciutto di Parma is made by rubbing and massaging the hind legs of pork with an amount of salt proportionate to the weight of the meat.
Culatello is one of the most prized salumi in Italy: mentions of this delicacy date back to the 15th century.
It should have a sweet and aromatic flavor and can be served with bread, mild fruit, like melon or figs, and slightly aromatic white wines.
Lardo di Arnad was originally made in homes throughout the lower part of the Aosta Valley. The lard came from domestically raised pigs that were fed chestnuts, grains and vegetables.
Made from the top part of the loin from specific pigs that weigh no less than 300 lbs and are at least 8 months old
To serve, mortadella can be sliced by machine or cut into cubes and eaten as an Italian antipasto together with breadsticks and crackers.
Prosciutto di Norcia can be made is two ways: the ancient or modern method. The ancient method was codified at the end of the Roman period.
Lardo di Colonnata is made using two great Tuscan products: the white marble from the Alps, and pork, the main type of livestock in the region.
For a long time, the word speck referred to lard, from the Latin lardum, meaning the fat part of the pig.
Nduja is a Calabrian sausage traditionally made from pork trimmings. Its name most likely comes from the French word andouille.
Ciauscolo is not your typical Italian sausage. It has the texture of a paté and is eaten spread on a piece of bread.
Zampone of Modena is made from the front trotter of a pig. The trotter is stuffed with a mixture of lean meats, belly and back skin and neck fat and boiled before consumption.
Salame Felino is a pure pork salame from Felino, a small town located in the green Baganza valley, full of forests where herds of pigs were raised in an ancient past.
For over five centuries, Salama da sugo (a pork sausage) has been the hallmark of the salumerie (salumi stores) in the city of Ferrara.
Bresaola della Valtellina is salted and slightly aged beef that is can be eaten raw.
Spalla cotta of San Secondo is a type of traditional cured pork product made in precise area of the Bassa Parmese, outside of Parma.
Coppa Piacentina is produced in the Arda Valley near Piacenza. It is made with a big, round cut of pork that runs from where the shoulder meets the neck to the fifth-sixth rib of the carré.
Prosciutto di Cinta Senese owes its sweet, slightly gamey flavor, oily fat and aroma to the heritage Italian breed of pig called “Cinta Senese” used to make the prosciutto.
