Salami

Salami are food products based on processed meat, cooked or raw, containing animal fat and spices. There are hundreds of types of Salami throughout Italy and each one is linked to the traditions of the place where it was born and enriched by the products of the area in which it is processed. The artisan Salami of excellence, expertly prepared to improve the taste and consistency of the starting ingredients, thus obtaining high quality typical products.

Over the centuries, the artisan production of Salami has refined and production techniques have multiplied, overcoming the need for conservation for periods of food scarcity.

Today the butchers carry on the traditional methods of processing meat with the aim of enhancing the flavors and smells, following processing processes aimed at improving the taste and consistency of the final product, so as to obtain products of gastronomic excellence.

What makes the salami conservation possible are the processing methods.

If the meat is closed in a natural casing (usually the intestine of the animal properly prepared and sterilized) then the final product, the salami, takes its name from the manufacturing process itself, that is, it is called sausage.

The main raw materials for the processing of salami are spices, deriving from agricultural crops or from natural products of the territory, salt and farmed meats or game.

The main farmed meats for the production of salami in Italy are:

• Pigs
• Cattle
• Sheep

The main types of game with which salami are produced are:

• Boar
• Deer

The main animal in the production of salami is certainly the Pork, of which whole pieces are often used, such as shoulder or thigh, to be processed raw, seasoning the whole pieces or transforming them into salami and sausages, or to be cooked, thus obtaining products such as Mortadella and Zampone.

Salami: how is made

In ancient times, when life was dictated by the rhythms of nature, the climate played a fundamental factor in the production and conservation of products.

According to the periods of the year, the climate could favor the Norcino, which exhibited and resold the products, or the salumiere, who produced fresh sausages from the meat.

Traditionally, in families of peasant origins and on farms, the perfect day for the production of Salami is recognized to be January 17th, the day of Sant'Antonio.

The time of year is ideal for natural phenomena that favor the processing of fresh meats and obtaining a good seasoning with a very high final quality.

Cold is necessary to facilitate the first phase of processing fresh meat and ingredients, mixing, but above all to avoid product contamination and the proliferation of bacteria.

In addition to the cold, another ideal ingredient for the production and aging of Salami is a certain degree of humidity.

Humidity is the ideal condition for the production phase but it is then necessary for the seasoning of Salami, especially in the phase of formation of superficial molds.

The molds have the function of dehydrating the salami and then start the partial proteolysis of the meat, allowing, towards spring, to have a ready and fresh product.

Salami: how was born

The art of Italian Artisan Salumeria was born in ancient times, when Salame simply meant salted meat.

In ancient times, the preservation of meat in this way did not concern only pork but was a practice that was also used with fish or other animal meats.

The history of Salami as we know it today states between 1200 and 1300 in the foggy Po valley, then gradually spreading throughout the peninsula.

The Salami that you will find among the Italian regions will be different in shapes, colors, aromas and flavors, a good excuse to make a visit to discover the different places where they are produced (from north to south).

For example, in Tuscany salami stands out because the fatty part is inserted into the dough in the form of strips of lard which then, when cut, allow a glimpse of the characteristic squares of lard, the lard.

While in southern Italy it is enriched with spices and aromatic herbs, such as wild fennel or chilli, especially in Sicily and Calabria.

In Veneto they are particularly soft, see the Sopressata vicentina DOP or the typical Venetian Soppressa, if you go to Mantua, however, the salami is less fat, therefore, harder to cut.

Despite the differences in the processing, in the shapes, in the guisti, all Salami have one thing in common: the passion and dedication with which our skilled Salumieri are able to create these extraordinary products.

Salami: types of cured salami in Italy

Cured Salami in Italy differ in the type of meat, method of processing and aging.

The main cured Salami that you will find throughout Italy are:

• Ham
• Speck
• Shoulder
• Bresaola
• Baked ham
• Mortadella
• Culatello
• Lard
• Bacon
• Salami

Salami represent one of the countless Italian food excellences and are often much more than a simple food that enriches the table of many.

Salami are a way to get to know Italy

In many respects they are caskets in which the traditions, history and flavors of an entire country are jealously preserved and which allow us to maintain direct contact with our origins, allowing us to bring to the table not only a top quality product rich in flavors and perfumes, but also a symbol of Italianness.
Homemade Salami.

Cultivating the traditions of the past even today, many Italian families produce homemade salami following ancient recipes handed down from previous generations.

All the members of a family collaborated in the maintenance of the same by contributing to daily activities, including the production of Salami at home.

Even today, as in the past, the members of a family work together and are committed to being able to complete all the production activities of the Salami at home in a few days.

Often close families and friends collaborate with each other on activities in order to lighten the workload and speed up the process.