Deli meats

Considered the "prince" of Italian deli meats. The Prosciutto Crudo (raw ham) is a seasoned product obtained from selected pork thighs, coming from animals weighing between 160 and 180 kg.

The salami has ancient roots: over the centuries it has evolved into different varieties, to the point of constituting a real “family”, with specialties for each region.

Speck is a typical product from the northeast of Italy obtained by the raw thigh of the hog, smoked and seasoned. The Speck of Alto Adige has received the European PGI mark recognition.

Bresaola is obtained from cuts of beef thigh, dry tanned with salt, pepper, garlic, cinnamon, bay leaves and cloves. It is a typical production of Northern Italy and only the one produced in the province of Sondrio (Lombardy) has the European recognition of Bresaola della Valtellina PGI.

Culatello is considered one of the most prestigious deli meats in the Italian production tradition. It is obtained from the hind limbs of the pig, defatted and deprived of the rind, in which the muscle mass around the femur is isolated.

The coppa is a typical product of the Parma and Piacenza area but it is also prepared in other parts of Italy and marketed under different names: in the south it is often called capocollo and is obtained with slightly different procedures, but it is still the same product.

The pancetta is obtained from the belly of the pig and its shape, once finished its processing, changes according to the variety. For instance, it is square in the case of the pancetta “tesa” (tense), which can be with or without rind, spicy, classic or smoked.

The lard is obtained from the back of the hog, exactly from the part of fat that is found under the rind. For a quality product heavy pigs are used, ie animals with well developed musculature and a ratio between fat and lean cuts favourable to the latter.

The prosciutto cotto (cooked ham) is obtained from hog thighs, boned, salted and then cooked: the thighs are the same for the production of the prosciutto crudo (raw ham).

Typical of Emilia Romagna, they can be found throughout Italy. The ciccioli (cracklings) are produced using the leftovers of lean and fat parts of the hog which are melted to obtain lard.

Mortadella has a typical cylindrical shape. Typical are the appearance and the colour of the slice as well, a uniform pink due to finely minced meat studded with well-defined white cubes, the so-called “lardelli” (first quality fat).

The würstel (aka frankfurter) is a cured meat arrived in Italy from central Europe but nowadays fully widespread and appreciated in Italy, too.

Like the zampone, the cotechino is produced  with a mixture of lean pork meat ground and seasoned with salt, pepper, spices and natural flavours and stuffed into a gut.

Zampone is a product of the Italian tradition made with a mixture of pork meat, rind, fat, salt and spices, stuffed into the skin of the front leg of the pig.