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Italian Salami
Tuscany - Toscana
 


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Tuscan Salami

Tuscan salami is made from lean cuts of well-mature pork that is finely minced, adding small cubes of fat which give the salami its softness and flavor. The meat is cured only with salt and peppercorns. The salami is ideal for picnics and one-day trips to nature. Suitable for a snack or for a tasty appetizer with a glass of full-bodied red wine.

Cacciatorini DOP - Small Seasoned Sausages

Cacciatorini sausages are popular for their characteristic taste and small size, which is quickly seasoned and can always be consumed fresh, since eaten quickly one at a time. Moreover, the name of this sausage derives exactly from a widespread rural use of hunters who used to bring short sausages with them in their excursions because, considering their reduced size, they could place them easily in their sacks 

Today, Italian salami "alla cacciatora" is produced in ten regions: Friuli Venezia Giulia, Veneto, Lombardy, Piedmont, and Emilia-Romagna in northern Italy and Umbria, Marches, Tuscany, Abruzzi, Latium, and Molise in central Italy. Historically, this particular type of salami was first produced at the time of the Longobard invasions in the hilly regions of Lombardy, when cured meat, mostly pork, was the staple diet of the invading barbarians, because it preserved well during their long migrations.

This type of salami is called "alla cacciatora" because it became a favorite food among hunters. Its small size made it ideal for carrying in knapsacks and for easy consumption whenever hunger kicked in.

The law regulating the production of salami "alla cacciatore" sets the rules not only for the quality of its ingredients but also for its dimensions. Each "salamino" should not be more than 2.4 inches in diameter and 8 inches in length, with a maximum weight of 11.6 oz.

The Tuscany salami above are for sale at: www.yndella.com (due to FDA regulations they do NOT ship to the USA).

Biroldo (or Buristo or Sanguinaccio): Sweet blood pudding with pine nuts, spices, and, sometimes, raisins.

Coppiette: Dried salami-like bars of cured boar or beef.

Finocchiona

Where does finocchiona come from? Tuscany...specifically the town of Prato!. Legend has it that finocchiona owes its origins to a thief at a fair near the town of Prato, who stole a fresh salami and hid it in a stand of wild fennel. When he returned for it, he found it had absorbed the aromas of its hiding place. There are two varieties of finocchiona, sbriciolona, which is very fresh, and something of an acquired taste, akin to fresh sausage, and finocchiona proper, which is firmer, and is what you're more than likely to find in your local deli.

What comprises finocchiona? Well, fennel we've already mentioned (finocchio means 'fennel'), but it also has been made with peppercorns, garlic, and 4 year-old Chianti (which ensures that it's a Tuscan Salame).

Finocchiona is a wonderfully full spiced meat. The Chianti within it is apparent, and the fennel gives it that little zing that I like in all of my cured meats. It would make a great antipasti and it's best sliced not too thinly, served with saltless Tuscan bread.

Lardo di Colonnata: Lard rubbed with spices, placed in a salt brine in marble tubs, and aged; eaten raw.

Mortadella Nostrale: Pork sausage spiced with black pepper; aged over 1 month.

Pancetta (or Rigatino): Unsmoked bacon; served raw as an antipasto or cooked.

Prosciutto di Bardotto: Made from the thigh of a "hybrid" pig born from the union of a sow and a wild boar.

Prosciutto di Cinghiale: Intensely flavorful wild boar ham; usually sold with the bristle still on.

Prosciutto Toscano: Tuscan ham, smaller and saltier than that from Parma and San Daniele; best cut with a sharp knife.

Salame Toscano (Tuscan salami): Pork salami; sometimes flavored with garlic.

Soppressata (or Testa in Cassetta or Mallegato): Various cuts of pork are ground, spiced, stuffed into casings, and pressed under weights, then aged.


(c) 1997-2008 E. Massetti
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