2024 Author: Jasmine Walkman | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 08:29
Mortadella is a popular salami that is made according to a proven recipe. Mortadella is widespread in the northern and central parts of Italy and in particular in the city of Bologna. Only selected pork is used to make the product, which is processed carefully. It is mixed with olives and peppers, seasoned with black pepper, white pepper, paprika, coriander, myrtle, nutmeg and other spices.
Varieties of salami are also known, which use turkey and beef. Of course, countless imitations of this meat product can already be found in retail chains, so their composition will certainly be present and not so high-quality components.
Over the years, Italian salami has become popular beyond its homeland and today is found in the United States, Russia, Spain, Portugal, Argentina, Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, Chile, Colombia, Venezuela, Uruguay, Puerto Rico. The food product is also widespread in Europe. Apart from Bulgaria, it is also produced in Romania, Hungary, Serbia, Slovenia, Poland, Macedonia. It turns out that mortadella residents of the United Arab Emirates, Israel, Jordan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and others also eat.
Composition of mortadella
Mortadella is a source of monounsaturated fatty acids. The same component is contained in olive oil. In addition, salami is a source of sodium, potassium, copper, zinc, calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, selenium, water, protein and carbohydrates. The composition of the meat product also contains vitamin B1, vitamin B2, vitamin B3, vitamin B4, vitamin B6, vitamin B12, vitamin D12, vitamin E, vitamin K and others.
History of mortadella
This appetizing sausage, which is an indispensable part of the breakfast of many peoples, has an old history dating back seven centuries. At that time, butchers in Bologna celebrated the founding of their own association. To properly mark the event, they decided to use a new way of processing pork. That's how the mortadella appeared. Salami was named after something like a mortar, which was used in the Middle Ages to grind meat. This device was called the Mortarium.
He also attended the logo of the Butchers' Association in Bologna. Mortadella caused the organization to become even more popular, and the sausage itself to begin to be popularized not only throughout Italy but also abroad. It is believed that the variegated Italian salami became especially famous in the second half of the seventeenth century, when a decree was issued by an Italian nobleman.
It clearly states how the product should be prepared, what meat should be used in it and other details related to the technology of sausage production. The document in question can be considered as the oldest quality certificate for salami.
And although most people believe that mortadella began to be produced in the fourteenth century, there is a legend that tells how the first prototype of modern Italian salami was prepared in Roman times. According to the same legend, an aromatic shrub called myrtatum was used in it. This shrub was also called the meat product.
Production of mortadella
As already mentioned, the original mortadella is produced by technology that has been preserved for centuries. For this reason, the preparation of sausage requires time, effort and, of course, a lot of patience.
The production process starts with the selection of quality pork. In addition to meat, bacon is also present in salami. First, however, the pieces of meat are processed, and the grinding is carried out at a temperature of 8 to 10 degrees. If the temperature values rise, there is a real danger that the quality of the resulting sausage will decrease.
The meat is minced in three stages. In the first we have a coarser mixture, and then a very smooth substance is obtained, with a pinkish color. Then it's time to process the bacon. The small detail here is that it is selected only from the back and neck of the pig. It is processed at a temperature of 0 degrees and turns into cubes. They are washed at a higher temperature of about 45 degrees. Then another wash of the material is made, but this time at a lower temperature.
Then the meat and bacon are mixed and all the spices for flavoring and other plant components are added. All this is stuffed into pork (or other) intestines and subjected to heat treatment. Cooking is carried out on stoves with dry air, the temperature does not exceed 100 degrees. Cooking itself can take up to 24 hours, so it is not an easy task. Once the sausage is ready, it is washed with cold water and finally placed in a freezer or chamber.
Cooking mortadella
The irresistible balanced taste of mortadella, as well as its tempting aroma, make sausage a must-have item on the table for many. Of course, among the different peoples there are various ways to use Italian salami. It is most often used in sandwiches with chabata, where it is combined with tomatoes, cucumbers, lettuce, cheese, yellow cheese, peppers, boiled egg.
It is flavored in any way, but most often with mayonnaise, ketchup and mustard. In addition to sandwiches, this salami is used, cut into small pieces, in pizzas, lasagna, spaghetti, pasta and more. A quality one mortadella it can also be used as an additive to white or red wine / chenin blanc, pinot munier, cabernet franc, nebiolo, etc./. It is enough to simply cut it into thin slices and serve in a suitable plate.
