L'Italo-Americano

THURSDAY, JUNE 1, 2023 www.italoamericano.org 30 L'Italo-Americano I n t h e s o m e t i m e s s n o b b i s h , o f t e n ostentatious world of gourmet food, there are seared foie gras with rhubarb tart, hamachi with sea urchin vinaigrette, and kumamoto oysters with mango sorbet. And then there's Italian salami. Italian salami? How does this processed meat with a gnarly chub, fermented tang, and winelike aroma belong in the élite company of con- noisseur cuisine? Because one bite unleash- es a cascade of pungent fla- vor and palatable pleasure that break down any social o r s t a t u s b a r r i e r s . A n d because its gusto is univer- sally relished by princes, as well as paupers. It ain't ele- gant but it sure is delectable. Genuine salami tastes like it comes from the old coun- try, where it is made the old- fashioned way. In the US it is still made that way in San Francisco, where some of t h e b e s t I t a l i a n s a l a m i i s produced this side of the Atlantic San Francisco emerged as the salami capital of America following a curious "war" from 1967 to 1970 when the US Department of Agricul- ture ordered a consortium of six Bay Area sausagemakers to cease referring to their product as "Italian salami" because it didn't conform to U S D A s t a n d a r d s . T h e sausagemakers responded that, as descendants of sala- mi producers in Italy, they had an inherent right not only to use Italian methods to make sausage but also to brand their product "Italian salami." After presenting a c o n v i n c i n g c a s e t o t h e USDA, the San Francisco group won their argument and earned the right to make salami in the Italian manner a n d m a r k e t i t a s " I t a l i a n salami." These were descendants o f s a l a m i m a k e r s f r o m Parma, Lucca, Modena, and Milan who immigrated here around the turn of the cen- tury. They settled in an area where the climate was con- sidered to be the only one in the US perfectly suited for d r y - c u r i n g s a l a m i . T h e y even used the right strain of penicillin mold to give the meat a classic white bloom. Italian-Americans wanted to keep part of the meat pro- c e s s i n g t o t h e m s e l v e s , t o prevent other producers of cooked meat and fast-cured imitations from using the term. Central to the issue was respect. San Franciscans w e r e i n t e n t o n s a v i n g a revered delicacy from a fate worse than chopped liver. Italian salami, they insisted, i s e v e r y b i t a s n o b l e a s cheese and wine. In a sense, the Bay Area s a l a m i - m a k e r s w e r e t h e Slow Food advocates of their time. They maintained that t r u e s a l a m i c o u l d n o t b e made quickly by cooking the sausages like hot dogs, with a short hanging period, or by spiking the meat with special flavoring. In correspondence with USDA officials, they e m p h a s i z e d t h a t I t a l i a n s have been making salami this way since the 5th centu- ry. T h e y p o i n t e d o u t t h a t bona fide salami consists m a i n l y o f p o r k f r o m t h e shoulder and fat that doesn't melt. The meat is chopped, never puréed like a hot dog wiener, and combined with garlic, pepper, curing salt, mace, and wine. Lactic acid is added to start a slow fer- mentation that dry-cooks the product. D r i e d m i l k s e r v e s a s a binding agent between meat and fat. The meat is then packed into either cellulose or pork gut casing and hung first in dip rooms and finally in aging rooms for weeks or months, depending on the size of the chub. T h e o p t i m u m r a n g e o f curing temperature is exact- ly the same as San Francis- co's. As the salami dried, the l i n k s f e r m e n t e d a n d a change in acidity effectively cooks the meat, producing a complex spectrum of flavors. A penicillin mold forms on the coating, checking expo- sure of air to the meat and thus preventing oxidation and rancid tastes. To bolster their case, the San Franciscans retained an a t t o r n e y a n d o r g a n i z e d the Dry Salami Institute. They prepared family histo- ries, displayed prizes earned at salami competitions in Rome, and blitzed bureau- crats with information about the authority of their salami- making process. They won their case but lost some ground. The stamp "Italian Salami" on a Califor- nia-made chub guarantees that the product is compara- ble to that made in Italy. But they couldn't prevent super- markets from selling generic salami made from processed meats that were pre-sliced and shrink-wrapped, odor- less, bland as baloney, and packaged in plastic. "Instead of a staple, our salami became a gourmet item," recalls Frank Giorgi of t h e P . G . M o l i n a r i S a l a m i Company in San Francisco, founded by his great-grand- father Pasquale Molinari in 1896. The company, whose products are sold in deli- catessens, puts out a calen- dar illustrated with an Ital- i a n - A m e r i c a n c h i l d presenting a Molinari salami to the Pope. According to the Chicago Tribune, the grocery chain Trader Joe's, with 569 stores throughout the US, allocated space in many of its outlets to Columbus salami, a San Francisco producer owned by Hormel Foods. "Although the appearance a n d s c e n t m i g h t b e m o r e pleasing, salami left exposed to air gradually keeps losing moisture," said Columbus c o - o w n e r J o h n P a c c e t t i . "Vacuum packing after air drying protects it from los- i n g t o o m u c h w a t e r a n d becoming hard and greasy." So much for the making of salami. The real treat is in the tasting. An important step is the slicing: preferably large chubs thinly, and thin ones thickly. Cuts from large chubs should be thin enough to roll up easily, while the smaller cuts should be about the thickness of a silver dol- lar. The procedure assures the right amount of meat to t i t i l l a t e t h e t o n g u e a n d exposes less fat to the air, where it can create a putrid flavor. S a l a m i , h o w e v e r , i s n ' t limited to sandwiches, sal- a d s , a n d s n a c k s . I t a l s o makes a tasty impression when teamed with pasta in such simple but satisfying d i s h e s a s " s p a g h e t t i a l salame." Here's the recipe: Spaghetti al salame Ingredients (Serves 2) 9 oz dry spaghetti 3 ½ oz dry salami 1 oz pecorino cheese 2 oz pine nuts Olive oil Salt and pepper Directions Bring a large pan of water t o a b o i l , a d d s a l t , t h e n spaghetti, and cook until tender Put pine nuts in a dry pan and roast on medium heat for 3-4 minutes; when they start to turn brown, remove them from the pan and let them cool down In the same pan, add sala- mi slices, a tablespoon of olive oil and stir until the meat is crisp; season with a pinch of salt and pepper Drain the pasta and add it to the hot pan, along with the roasted pine nuts Toss the spaghetti and s p r i n k l e w i t h p e c o r i n o cheese Serve hot. CHUCK PECORARO San Francisco: salami capital of the US Traditional Italian salame and fresh bread: the best snack! (Photo: Hlphoto/Dreamstime) SAN FRANCISCO ITALIAN COMMUNITY

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