Cotechino Modena

Appearance & taste

Cotechino Modena has a cylindrical shape. The sausage is easy to slice, and the slices do not fall apart. They are firm and evenly grained, pink to red and unevenly coloured. The specification describes the taste only as typical. The meat contains at least 17 % protein.

Cotechino Modena is sold only whole: fresh, loose or packed, and cooked in airtight packaging. On the label, the name is followed by the words “protected geographical indication” or “PGI”; references to other characteristics not provided for are not allowed.

Production

The mixture consists of striated pork muscle, pork fat, rind, salt and crushed pepper or peppercorns. Wine, water, natural flavourings, spices and herbs, sugar, dextrose or fructose, sodium or potassium nitrite up to 140 ppm, and ascorbic acid and its sodium salt are also permitted. Smoke flavourings are prohibited. The mixture is filled into casings made of natural or artificial material.

The raw materials are prepared, minced, mixed, filled and tied. Fresh sausages are then dried; those sold cooked are pre-cooked and heated. Production and packaging take place in the defined area. According to the specification, Cotechino Modena is made to much stricter rules than plain cotechino.

Origin & history

The area covers the provinces of Modena, Ferrara, Ravenna, Rimini, Forlì-Cesena, Bologna, Reggio Emilia, Parma, Piacenza, Cremona, Lodi, Pavia, Milan, Monza-Brianza, Varese, Como, Lecco, Bergamo, Brescia, Mantua, Verona and Rovigo.

According to the specification, Cotechino Modena is the “original product” from which all sausages with rind developed. They were first made in Modena and later also in other regions of northern Italy, to which the craft rules spread. Since the days of the Duchy of Milan, the “Codeghin” has enjoyed an excellent reputation throughout the Po Valley. The producers’ skill has been passed down over generations.