Culatello di Zibello

Appearance & taste

After maturing, the Culatello has a characteristic pear shape with a thin layer of fat on the rounded part. It is wrapped in string so as to form a net with wide meshes, and weighs 3 to 6 kg.

When cut, the meat is uniformly red, with white fat between the muscles. The taste is characteristic, mild and aromatic. When sold it contains 2.8 to 5.4 % salt and 38 to 51 % moisture.

It is sold whole in its casing of pig’s bladder or animal gut, with two-coloured string and an identification seal, halved and vacuum-packed, or sliced under protective atmosphere or vacuum. The seal is a rectangular piece of straw-coloured, moisture-resistant card with reddish-brown lettering.

Production

Only meat from pigs born, reared, slaughtered and cut up in Emilia-Romagna or Lombardy is used. Their feed comes from the rearing area, in difficult years at least half of the dry matter.

From salting to the end of the minimum maturing period, the Culatello stays in the production area; it matures naturally and is only sold afterwards. According to the specification, the requirements correspond to the Italian rules for the designations of origin Prosciutto di Parma and Prosciutto di San Daniele.

Origin & history

Culatello is made in the municipalities of Polesine Zibello, Busseto, Soragna, Roccabianca, San Secondo Parmense, Colorno and in the former municipal area of Sissa (now Sissa Trecasali). They lie in the Bassa Parmense near the Po, where humidity is high. According to the specification, this climate is the reason why Culatello is made precisely here.

The tradition is very old and is linked to the widespread pig farming of the area. This in turn is closely connected with cereal growing and cheesemaking. References to Culatello are found in many historical writings, for example in the “Historia della città di Parma” by the chronicler Bonaventura Angeli and in the historian Angelo Pezzana.