December 20, 2011

Parma ham

The main production place for the Prosciutto di Parma (Parma ham) is actually Langhirano, a small town close to Parma.

Parma ham factory

You´ll find the factories in the surrounding hills, where the ham gets the salty breeze from Liguria, which provides the special taste.
Like the Parma cheese, which gets hammered to hear by the sound whether it´s worth to be a Parmigiano Reggiano, also the Prociutto has to be proved by the Consortium - they use a long, pointed bone of a horse, poke it into in the Ham three times and judge by the smell, if the Prociutto complies with the guidelines. If not, he will destroy the metal-cap, so it is a good sign if you can see the whole leg with the cap when you buy your Prosciutto! Prosciutto - the hind leg of a pig, salted and dry cured - if all this happens in the area around Parma, it´s  called "Prosciutto di Parma", if the same process happens in the area around Friuli-Venezia, it´s called "San Daniele". Most people say: "So what, it´s ham", but you really have to taste it side by side to admit, that just the kind of breeze, blowing for 18 month through the magazins, makes such a big difference in taste and smell. It has to be freshly sliced, very thin - the already sliced supermarket packages are simply not the same.
Also read: visit to a parma ham factory

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