L'Italo-Americano

LA BUONA TAVOLA RECIPES COOKING TIPS SEASONAL DISHES THURSDAY, JULY 23, 2020 www.italoamericano.org 28 L'Italo-Americano that functions much like a union, and their aim is to not only protect and promote the brand but also to educate people about this unique and p r e c i o u s p r o d u c t . Il Consorzio del Prosciutto di San Daniele was founded in 1961 and under their "umbre- lla" fall not only the 31 recog- nized producers, but also all the slaughterers and breeders that are part of the produc- tion chain. S o m e o f t h e p r o s c i u t t o producers are 4th generation families who have continued the tradition of their ances- tors. It definitely isn't a job you could do if you didn't have the dedication and pas- sion required to pour your heart and soul into the care that goes into each leg of Prosciutto di San Daniele. Some bigger companies have machinery to facilitate the p r o d u c t i o n p r o c e s s , b u t smaller businesses still use traditional methods. It is an artisanal job involving manu- a l l a b o u r . W h e t h e r t h e s e companies use modern day m a c h i n e r y o r t r a d i t i o n a l methods, the process of pro- duction must be the same and uniform for all the com- p a n i e s t h a t b e l o n g t o t h e Consorzio. T h e p r o d u c t i o n b e g i n s with the arrival of the pork hind legs, the thigh with the pork trotter attached. (an i d e n t i f y i n g f a c t o r o f Prosciutto di San Daniele). The thighs are inspected and only those passing the initial test will begin their journey to becoming Prosciutto di San Daniele. They are first stored for 24 hours at a temperature between -1°C and 3°C and then they are trimmed with special cuts to facilitate the loss of moisture. After a second 24 hours, the thighs are covered with sea salt and placed at a tem- perature between 0°C and 4°C. Each ham rests in this condition for a number of days: the time of this resting depends on how much each thigh weighs. After salting, Prosciutti di San Daniele are pressed along the muscle mass in order to make the salt penetrate deeply. This p h a s e i s e x c l u s i v e t o S a n Daniele and also gives the h a m s t h e i r c h a r a c t e r i s t i c "guitar" shape. The salted thighs are left to rest in rooms where humidity varies between 70% and 80% and a temperature between 4°C and 6°C is maintained. This phase lasts up to the fourth month from the start of processing and allows the salt to penetrate evenly inside the ham. After the rest, the thighs are washed with warm w a t e r . T h i s p h a s e i s v e r y important because it pro- motes the toning of the meat and, with the change of tem- perature, the aging process begins. This must last at least thirteen months from the b e g i n n i n g o f t h e i n i t i a l process. During this whole period it is essential to main- tain an optimal condition of temperature, humidity and ventilation. The next phase is called the sugnatura in Italian, sugna means suet. A paste is made consisting of pork fat and rice or wheat flour, and it is applied by hand and mas- saged onto the part not cov- ered by the pork rind. This protects and, at the same time, softens that part of the meat, preventing the underly- i n g m e a t f r o m d r y i n g . Interestingly this has tradi- tionally been a job done by women, and you can be sure they have lovely soft hands as a result of this work. Periodic checks are done on every single Prosciutto di San Daniele during the aging p r o c e s s . O n e s u c h c h e c k occurs at the end of curing: it is a fundamental test carried out using the olfactory senses a n d i s a n o t h e r j o b w h e r e women are apparently better than men, because they have a better sense of smell. The process involves piercing the ham with a horse bone nee- d l e , t h e a g o d i o s s o d i cavallo, in three specific points of the muscle to assess how it is aging. The aroma left on the bone needle is t h e n s n i f f e d b y e x p e r t s trained to recognize and eval- uate the aging process. A f t e r t h i r t e e n m o n t h s , only the hams that pass these stringent tests are certified and branded with the San D a n i e l e b r a n d . E a c h Prosciutto di San Daniele ends up having its own "iden- tity card" stamped on it and this includes the identifica- t i o n c o d e o f t h e b r e e d e r , where the animal was slaugh- tered and also the producer. This guarantees the quality of the final product and consti- tutes a prestigious certifica- tion. Eating Prosciutto Crudo is indeed a culinary joy and it is i m p o r t a n t t o k n o w a f e w things before buying it. Look for the brand on the skin, which makes it easily recog- nizable at the delicatessen, and don't forget the charac- teristic guitar shape that the San Daniele Prosciutto has. Prosciutto Crudo should be sliced in front of you at the deli counter and eaten prefer- ably that day. Even the jour- ney from the deli to home will alter the flavor of this delicate cured ham. Hand slicing is preferred to electric machin- ery, as the heated blades will also alter the flavor and quali- ty of the Prosciutto. It should be sliced very thinly with a percentage of t h e f a t o n e v e r y s l i c e . I t should literally melt in your mouth with the experts say- i n g t h a t P r o s c i u t t o S a n Daniele does not need to be chewed. Don't forget the per- centage of fat is what gives the prosciutto the sweetness and softness it is famous for. Without the fat, prosciutto would be a different product and the balance and ratio of f a t t o m e a t i s o n e o f t h e important characteristics of Prosciutto from San Daniele in Friuli. Ideally, San Daniele ham should be sliced by hand (Photo: Alberto Dubini/Dreamstime) Continued from page 26

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