Culatello di Zibello - La stagionatura in grotta

Source: Wikipedia

P.D.O. cold cut typical of the province of Parma, is listed among the deans of Slow Food Emilia-Romagna.

Cited with certainty for the first time in a document of 1735, is produced from the thigh of pigs born, raised and slaughtered in Emilia Romagna and Lombardy, at least nine months old.

The production area of Culatello includes the towns of Busseto, Colorno, Roccabianca, San Secondo, Sissa, Soragna and Zibello, only in the period between October and February, when the norhtern part of Parma is foggy and cold. It is at that time that the part of the meat harvested from the thigh of adult pigs reared according to traditional methods, is decotennata, defatted, deboned, separated from the bow and trimmed by hand, so as to give the characteristic shape of a pear.

Fette Culatello

These operations will follow then, after about ten days, salting and the so-called investiture, that the bagging of sausage in a pig’s bladder and tying with string that, after seasoning, will be large mesh and irregular. The maturing cellar accompanies the Culatello from winter fog sultry summer, to get on our tables the following winter in the middle of his most original quality of flavor.

The maturation period is from a minimum of 10 months for the sizes lower (at least 3 kg) up to an average of 14 months for all the pieces. The annual production is about 50,000 pieces of Culatello DOP

When cut, the fraction muscle is red uniform, thin, soft; little white fat between the muscle bundles. Sweet and delicate flavor with aromatic vein. Has to be tasted to the natural, in thin slices, accompanied by bread, preferably homemade and butter curls.

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