The most recognizable Italian product is probably prosciutto.
Produced by 140 producers in a quantity of 8,8 million per year it makes one of the most exported food products of Italy. Around 35% of Italian prosciutto is found world widely, the rest stays at home.
The history of prosciutto dates way back to the ancient Romans and there’s even a document from 3rd Century BC where Cato the Censor wrote of a particular pork’s legs conservation, obtained by salting and drying. Something similar to the today’s production of the prosciutto.
Btw speaking of that, the only thing you need for making the prosciutto is pork back thigh and salt. And a bit of time, of course 🙂
The Landrace and Duroc pig breeds, found in the Po valley are used for making the prosciutto. When they reach the time to be processed, they are nine months old and they weight around 160 kilograms. During their life time they are fed with cereals, corn, whey that is left after making Parmigiano reggiano and leftovers of Grana padano. The ‘’bad’’ cheese that would not be able to pass the DOP control is fed to the pigs. It’s a perfect life cycle.
The fresh pieces of pork legs stays in a fridge until they reach 0°C and within two days they are salted. The salt takes the unnecessary humidity, gives flavour but also kills all the bacteria. After three weeks, the salt is taken off and the pork legs are situated in a cellar, for the cold drying, where they stay for the next two months at least. The temperature in the cellars is two-Celsius degrees so in this cold the legs lose around 25% of the original weight and the final products weight is around 7 kilograms.
The hams are then washed with warm water and brushed to remove excess salt and impurities, and hung in drying rooms for a few days. The hams are hung on frames in the well ventilated rooms with large windows that are opened when the outside temperature and humidity are favourable. This allows for a constant and gradual drying of the hams. Back in the days, the hams would be dried on a balcony during the winter, but not much would remain after some time. Thieves and so 🙂
After three months of drying, the exposed surface of the meat has dried and hardened so to make it softer a thick layer of mixture of lard, salt and pepper is added to prevent the external layers from drying too quickly.
In the seventh month, the prosciutto is transferred to the rooms with less air and light, where they hang on the racks until the curing is completed. By law Prosciutto di Parma is cured at least 400 days (starting from date of the first salting), and some may be cured for as long as 3 years.
The salumificio that we have visited on our tour with Davide from Parma Golosa*, is some 60 kilometres west from Modena.
The Po valley, south of Parma, is well known for the production of the prosciutto because of its winds, temperatures and humid air. The salumificio makes 18 and 24 months aged prosciuttos with the yearly production of 26 000 pieces.
After a year of maturation, an independent prosciutto inspector pierces the ham in several locations with a thin horse bone needle, sniffing it after each puncture to check for the smell that may indicate some flaws or damage of the meat.
A horse bone is used to test the hams because it absorbs and releases scents quickly, which helps the inspector tell if there’s any spoilage, but lets him use it again for the next ham.
If the prosciutto passes the test, the independent inspector brands the five-point Ducal Crown on the leg, which acts as the final guarantee of the quality of the ham.
So, if you ever find yourself in a presence of a crowned prosciutto, wait no more. That is your choice of prosciutto!
* https://www.parmagolosa.com/
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PRŠUTIĆ
Iako se Dalmoši uzdaju u svoj, talijanski pršut je vjerojatno daleko poznatiji.
Oko 140 proizvođača u Italiji proizvede gotovo 9 milijuna pršuta godišnje, od čega se 35% izvozi, dok ostalo ostaje doma. S razlogom. 🙂
Povijest izrade pršuta datira još u doba starih Rimljana, kad je stari Kato Cenzor opisao postupak konzervacije svinjskog mesa iz kojeg se vidi da se stvari nisu puno promijenile. I tada i sada za dobar pršut trebaju vam svinjski but, sol i vrijeme.
Pršutići se rade od landras i durok vrste svinja koje se u velikom broju uzgajaju u dolini rijeke Po. U dobi od devet mjeseci i težini od oko 160 kilograma svinje se pretvaraju u pršut, ali još za života obilato su hranjene kukuruzom, žitaricama, sirutkom i otpacima od parmigiana reggiana i grana padano sira. Oni sirevi koji ne prođu DOP kontrolu hrane se svinjama. Savršen životni ciklus i kooperacija prirode.
Svježi komadi mesa ostave se u frižideru dok ne dođu do 0°C, a potom se u roku dva dana sole morskom solju koja izvlači vlagu iz mesa, ali i uništava sve bakterije. Nakon tri tjedna, sol se skida te se šunke vješaju u podrum na hladno sušenje gdje ostaju barem dva naredna mjeseca. Temperatura u podrumu je oko dva stupnja tako da šunkice izgube i oko 25% originalne težine te na kraju teže oko 7 kilograma svaka.
Šunke se u međuvremenu peru toplom vodom da bi se skinula sva preostala sol te se drže u dobro provjetrenim prostorijama koje omogućavanju postepeno sušenje mesa. Nekad davno, šunke bi se iznosile na balkone i dvorišta tijekom zime, ali nakon učestalih krađa proizvođači su shvatili da je prostorija s ključem bolje rješenje.
Nakon naredna tri mjeseca sušenja na drvenim vješalima, butić je dovoljno osušen, pa da se malo opusti namaže se debelim slojem masti, soli i papra.
U sedmom mjesecu sušenja, butovi se prenose u sobe s manje svjetla i zraka gdje se suše narednih mjeseci. Prema zakonu parmski pršut suši se barem 400 dana (računajući od prvog dana soljenja), dok se neki mogu sušiti i tri godine.
Pršutarna koju smo mi posjetili na nedjeljnoj turi s Davidom iz Parme Golose* udaljena je nekih 60ak kilometara zapadno od Modene.
Dolina rijeke Po, južno od Parme, nadaleko je poznata po proizvodnji pršuta, zbog svoje pogodne klime, vjetrova i vlažnog zraka. Pršutarna godišnje proizvode oko 26 000 pršuta od 18 i 24 mjeseca starosti.
Nakon godinu dana dozrijevanja nezavisni inspektor pregledava pršute koristeći tanku iglu od konjske bedrene kosti. Igla se ubode u nekoliko dijelova buta da bi se uočile moguće nepravilnosti, kao ostaci zgrušane neosušene krvi ili loš miris.
Ako pršut prođe test, inspektor ga brendira s petokrakom krunom koja je konačan dokaz vrhunske kvalitete.
Tako ako se ikad nađete u prisutnosti okrunjenog pršuta, ne dvojite ni časka, nosite ga doma bez pitanja 🙂
