CURED MEAT& CHEESE

The Maestro always carried with him Salami made from the best pork meat during his trips. He also stocked some of them at his house in Parma in order to share them during dinners with his closest friends.

Salame Felino IGP is usually produced with pure pork meat. The name "Felino" comes from a small town located in the green valley in the province of Parma, full of forests where herds of pigs were raised in an ancient past and where this special aged sausage has been produced for centuries.The mixture called “white minced meat” (usually the part under the shoulder) is made up by 75% lean meat and 25% chosen fat meat.  Grinding takes place with medium extruders, obtaining a medium-coarse-grained paste in which only sea salt, peppercorns, ground pepper, natural flavorings are added.The minced meat is stuffed into a pork casing and aged slowly some months. 

The Maestro always carried in his carriage some Parmigiano Reggiano. He used to grate it to complete his first courses and he would eat some of it in small pieces at the end of the meal.

Parmigiano Reggiano cheese is a true gem of Italian Food Excellence. The result of a comprehensive supply chain from field to finished product: milk from own farms and from loyal suppliers for over 50 years. Milk skimmed as least as possible, little rennet, very little whey, highly controlled brine, manual curd breaking, slow ageing in a moist environment. Parmigiano Reggiano GVERDI is produced in a modern farm located nearby Parma county where there are more than 1,600 animals of three different breeds – Friesian, Alpine Brown, Red Reggiana – fed with fodder harvested directly from our fields. This is all done to assure the animal welfare and as a consequence top quality of the product we offer.

The milk enters in the cheese factory for the production of the cheese wheels and then they pass in the aging rooms for 13,18, 24, 36, 48, 60, 72 months and even more.

The Cure Meats maker we have selected is located at the beginning of Piacenza’s hills. The techniques adopted by the company are based on the methods used by the butcher of old times where gestures, manual skills and experience were the main source for the traditional productions. Productions are controlled and guaranteed throughout the whole process as the company has long been developing a process of controlling and retraceability for its products (certification of pork’s farm origins and internal coding of each piece). The Company uses only fresh meats of “heavy” Italian pork coming from farms and slaughterhouses located in Emilia Romagna and Lombardia. 

The observation of Piacenza’s tradition, the choice of meat and raw materials used and the maintenance of long periods of seasoning allowed to obtain the Certificates of Protected Designation of Origin, PDO.  

- Piacenza’s Pancetta is obtained from the middle part of the belly’s fat covering. It is prepared according to the guidelines specified in PDO And after pre-seasoning, it is placed in an underground basement and allowed to season slowly until the complete maturation. Only after a minimum maturation of 120 days Pancetta will be defined Piacentina and will be eligible for the PDO Protected Designation of Origin.

- Coppa Piacentina is obtained from the cervical muscle of the pork. The life of the product starts with salting, strictly dry - not in salt solution - and by hand, rolling the piece of meat into the salting tanning made of salt and aromas in well-defined proportions, following the traces of the production PDO’s guidelines. Later on it starts the meat filling with pig’s bladder, a natural membrane that is one of the key features of Coppa Piacentina. After the pre-seasoning (20-25 days) during which the meat is dried in airy rooms, it is brought to mature in a fresh and humid basement, until maturation is complete. Coppa that reach six months of seasoning become "Piacentina" PDO.

 Culatello was always served on the table by itself so that the Master could best appreciate his particular scents and flavours. 

The Culatello di Zibello is the masterpiece of the italian salumeria. It is made out of the purest heart of ham and its processing, which requires unique expertise and maestry, follows the traditions born close to the banks of the Po river and passed on through the generations.
The peculiarities of the “big river”, its foggy and humid weather, give the culatello its unparalleled flavour.
The production process is totally handmade and starts with the boning and trimming stages. The salting process is handmade too, like a sort of massage. After weeks in a cold cellar at 4°C the hand-binding is the last production phase.
After the drying step the Culatello starts to mature in natural cellars, without any air conditioning, and develops that peculiar flavour that makes the Culatello a masterpiece amongst the italian salumi: uniform and deep red, lean and soft meat surrounded by a white, thin fat layer. Its fragrance is intense and peculiar.
Its taste is typical, sweet and mellow with aromatic shades.
The Culatello time to market is around 12 months after the approval of the certification authority that guarantees its DOC quality and the required supply chain standards. It is sold whole or in pieces without skin.
Once it has been sliced envelop it in a dishcloth and store in the fridge.