There is little doubt that prosciutto crudo - Parma ham to the uninitiated - is the best-known and most popular Italian cured meat product. Such is its importance to the local culinary tradition that it was one of the first products to be legally identified as being peculiar to certain parts of Italy. This is processed so that, over time, the muscle and fat tissues change significantly, producing a taste and nutritional properties that have achieved renown the world over. The numerous bones found at 'Forcello' in combination with an almost complete lack of ham bones is a clear indication that pork was being cured long ago. Indeed, it would seem that smoked, salted pork was already bartered and traded locally and abroad. This tradition has been kept alive in the Mantua area, where top quality prosciutto is still made from premium ingredients and matured in the ideal setting of the morainic hills.
Tips
Mantuan ham is sweet and soft, with a darkish colour. It is best eaten as an appetizer or cold cuts.
Ingredients
Pork, only top quality meat from the hind legs (weighing at least 8 kg). Minimum curing time: 12-13 months. In the morainic hills near Lake Garda.