Crudo di Cuneo

Appearance & taste

After ripening, the ham weighs 8.5 to 12 kg. The rind and bone are undamaged, without hardened or overly soft spots. When cut, it is uniformly red, without spots or streaks, and soft but compact inside and out. The outer fat is also compact, white to yellowish and not greasy; inside, only a little white fat is embedded between the largest muscle fibres. The aroma and flavour are delicate and mild.

The lean meat of the thigh muscle contains 57 to 63 % moisture; the proteolysis index is between 22 and 31 %. The ham is sold whole on the bone, boned and vacuum-packed, in pieces or sliced. Each piece must bear the producer’s mark on the rind. The logo shows a stylised ham and the tip of a wedge (Italian “il cuneo”), which alludes to the town of Cuneo and the original triangular shape of its province.

Production

The pigs come from the Large White Italiana, Landrace Italiana and Duroc Italiana breeds or from other boars whose breeding is compatible with the Italian herd book for the heavy pig. They are born, reared and slaughtered in the production area; according to the specification, this spares them stress and long journeys, which would lead to bruising and haematomas on the legs. They are fed in three phases up to a live weight of 165 kg, mainly with maize, soya, wheat, barley and wheat bran. The feed comes mainly from the area, and much of the grain from the farms themselves.

Only fresh legs are processed, not deep-frozen and from animals slaughtered 24 to 120 hours before; meat from boars and sows is excluded. The legs are lightly salted. Residual moisture rises to the surface, where moulds and yeasts form. They can break down the protein of the lean meat and release short peptides which, according to the specification, shape the flavour and aroma of the ham. From the start of production to sale, the ham ripens for at least ten months.

Origin & history

The area lies within a large U formed by the Ligurian Alps, the Maritime Alps and the Cottian Alps, with the passes Colle di Cadibona, Colle di Nava and Colle di Tenda. Within it opens a plateau crossed by the Tanaro and the Po and their tributaries. It covers the provinces of Cuneo and Asti and municipalities in the province of Turin such as Pinerolo, Chieri, Carmagnola and Carignano. The pigs are kept at about 350 m, where there is no fog in winter and no oppressive sultriness in summer.

Winds that blow from the mountains from changing directions over the course of the day keep the humidity at a relatively constant 50 to 70 %, and temperatures are moderate, without extremes in summer and winter. According to the specification, this ensures the even ripening and low moisture content of the ham. The craft of the Piedmontese pork butchers was described in detail as early as 1618 by the apothecary Guglielmino Prato in his treatise “Clypeo del gentilhuomo”. Noble houses, monasteries and abbeys of the region often asked for the ham, and the growing demand led to the founding of numerous processing businesses.