Cremona PGI salami

Salami Cremona PGI is a coarse-grained cured meat product obtained from the processing of lean and fatty meat from heavy Italian pigs of the Italian Large White, Italian Landrace and Italian Duroc breeds.

The production area of ​​Salame Cremona PGI includes the regions of Lombardy, Emilia-Romagna, Piedmont and Veneto.

The pork used for mixing is that obtained from the muscles belonging to the carcass and the striated muscle and adipose fractions, carefully cleaned and then minced in a meat grinder with molds equipped with 6 mm holes. Natural aromas such as salt, spices, peppercorns or coarse pieces, crushed garlic are added to the ground meat. The kneading is carried out in vacuum machines or at atmospheric pressure for a prolonged time. The mixture is then placed in natural pig, bovine, equine or sheep casing with an initial diameter of no less than 65 mm. The tying takes place with twine, manually or mechanically. Storage of the product in the cell for a maximum of one day and at a temperature between 2 and 10°C is permitted. Drying takes place under heat at a temperature between 15 and 25°C in order to allow rapid dehydration of the surface fractions in the first days of treatment. The maturation takes place in rooms with sufficient air exchange and with temperatures between 11 and 16°C, for a period of no less than five weeks and varies based on the initial caliber of the casing.

The origins of Salame Cremona PGI date back to Roman times. Numerous documents often refer to the sale of pigs sold by farmers who held livestock limited partnership contracts at half profit with the owners of the animals (soccida). To have certain information on the diffusion of salami and also on its certain notoriety, one must go back to a series of Renaissance documents present in the Litterarum and Fragmentorum of the State Archives of Cremona. From these documents we note the presence, but above all the importance of the salami product. The birth of salami in the Cremonese territory is also ascertained by the notary Ludovico Cavitelli in his "Annales"(Cremona, 1588), as well as by the list of foods consumed every day in the Cremonese convents: if salami was a basic food in the diet of the convents, it can be assumed that it was also a basic one in that of the population.

Features

The slices, when cut, are compact and homogeneous, with an intense red color that gradually fades into the white of the fatty parts. On the nose it has a typical and spicy scent, while the taste is rich, full and complex with aromas and flavours.

Pairings

It goes very well with cheeses and other local cured meats. It can be consumed on its own, as a snack, as a main course or cut into cubes to create delicious aperitifs. An alternative and tasty recipe offers this salami served together with figs or pears; being of soft texture, when chewing there is no difference between the consistency of the cured meat and that of the fruit, resulting in a pleasant sensation for the palate. For the same reason, it should be tried with brioche.

Pork, salt, dextrose, garlic, antioxidant E300, spices, preservatives E252, E250.