by Marla Gulley Roncaglia, Italian Cuisine Expert for the Menuism Italian Food Blog
Photos by Marla Gulley Roncaglia
Necessity is the mother of invention, and so the tradition of salting, smoking and air drying was born from the necessity of conserving meat for long periods of time after the slaughter of animals raised for food. Cured meats, or salumi in Italian, is the general name for this type of meat preservation and has been a staple of the Italian diet for well over two thousand years. Most people are familiar with the spicy salami of southern Italy that Americans know as pepperoni, and the prosciutto crudo of Parma, fondly called Parma ham in the States, but those are merely an introduction. There are countless variations developed and perfected through the ages; the vast amount beyond these two most familiar cured meat specialties are well worth searching out and exploring what the salumeria, or Italian delicatessen, has on offer.
Italian salumi is the ancient general term for all preserved meats and the equivalent of the French term charcuterie. Salumi fall under two categories: 1) one that is produced from a whole cut of meat, usually a shoulder or thigh, and 2) a casing filled with ground or chopped meat, fat, herbs and spices.
The filled variety of casings are named salame in general and are divided into uncooked and cooked varieties. These are generally referred to as salame, salami and salsiccia. All salumi varieties range from the mildly delicate flavors of northern Italy to the fiery, pepper-laced southern specialties. Some are spreadable, others firm and perfect for slicing thin, or paper thin, which is the preferred way of eating prosciutto crudo, as it is believed to bring out the full range of flavors to the forefront of your palate. Most are eaten without further preparation other than slicing, while others require some cooking. Pork is by far the meat of choice for this type of preservation, but you will find beef and wild game, such as wild boar, deer, mountain goat and occasionally donkey, horse, goat, and sheep. The pork of Umbria was highly prized during the Roman times for its flavor and the skill of its butchers -- in particular, the butchers of the small town of Norcia, Umbria. Butchers that specialize in producing pork salumi are referred to as Norcini.
Below you will find a sampling of the various styles of salumi from all over Italy that are worth discovering, although this is just a small sampling of the possibilities of Italian cured meats on offer. Sadly, many of these specialties are no longer able to be imported into the U.S., but you can be sure that ferreting out some of these unusual and difficult-to-find cured meat specialties is worth the effort. When you do find them, whether in the States or in their native Italian homeland, do make sure to savor them. This is not a definitive list, but does cover a wide range of variety to give you an idea of what to be on the lookout for.
Salame/Salami
Air dried, smoked or salted salami, predominately pork
Salsiccia
Some raw, but most are cooked before serving
Related Links from the Menuism Italian Food Blog:
• Anatomy of an Italian Meal
• Slow Food: An Introduction
• Italian Food Culture 101
• Guide to Italian Regional Cuisine: North, Central, and Southern Italy
Guide to Salumi: Cured Meats of Italy originally published on the Menuism Italian Food Blog.
Marla Gulley Roncaglia is an American expat living in the Italian Alps. Marla is an accomplished pastry chef, and a master at high-altitude baking. She and her husband Fabrizio (who has also worked as a chef) teach Italian cooking classes and run a bed and breakfast named Bella Baita ("beautiful mountain house"), where they are active supporters of the slow food movement.