Curious Facts About Prosciutto

2024 Author: Jasmine Walkman | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 08:29

Among the huge culinary variety in Italian cuisine, the inhabitants of the Apennines most appreciate the specialty prosciutto.

The temptation takes place in the Parma Valley in the Emilia-Romagna region, in the heart of Italy. That is where its name comes from - Parma ham or prosciutto di Parma.

The raw dried ham is placed on the highest pedestal. Over the years, the area in which it is produced has established itself as the most fertile among the others in the Italian gastronomic heritage.

The mountainous region and the winds, in combination with the dry climate, help to maintain the natural balance between salt and air in the meat.

The name prosciutto derives from the Latin word "perxuctus", which means drying. One of the earliest information about the delicacy is given by the ancient Greek historian Strabo. He says that in the area south of the river Po, now called Emilia, huge quantities of pork were produced.

It was used to feed the imperial army. However, part of it was dried in a specific way. These dried hams were produced only for the most privileged and high-ranking people in the empire.

The data provided by Strabo are extremely comprehensive. From them we understand that the cattle were raised in the humid, wooded areas of the district. In the winter they were put in pens. Interestingly, even during the decline of the Roman Empire, pig farming in the area remained a popular and lucrative occupation.

In 569, after the invasion of the pawnshops, pig farmers, called magister porcarius (master of pigs), had equal rights and privileges with master craftsmen. In some places, the forest area was assessed as "pig equivalent" - the area that could feed a certain number of pigs.

Other ancient fans of prosciutto were the Gauls. To keep it in the best condition, they slaughtered the pigs during the winter months, no later than February 15. Thus, they used low temperatures for salting, as well as spring breezes for drying.

In the past, drying raw meat was only a way to store meat, not a way to get the most prized taste.

Ham was then used as a culinary ingredient and was rarely consumed directly, as indicated in old recipe books. Interestingly, in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, lard and ham were equally valuable. Far more revered were the salamis, which also had a higher price.

The habit of consuming prosciutto in thin strips was introduced only two centuries ago. And this became possible only because the sanitary conditions in slaughterhouses and meat drying plants significantly increased their quality.

That is why the Prosciutto di Parma consortium had to be set up 30 years ago. It establishes a number of rules for preserving and guaranteeing the quality of prosciutto as a product with a controlled designation of origin - PNC.