Finocchiona

Appearance & taste

Finocchiona is a cylindrical sausage. On its surface, the moulds that develop during ripening form a typical coating. It comes in many sizes, from small sausages of 0.5 kg when filled to pieces of 25 kg.

When cut, the colour ranges from the meat red of the lean parts to the white or pinkish white of the fat parts. Both are of medium-coarse grain, well mixed and not clearly separated from each other; the fat envelops the muscle meat, so that the sausage stays soft even after long ripening. Fennel seeds or flowers are occasionally visible. The slices are soft and sometimes crumble. The aroma is marked by fennel and a light note of garlic, the taste is fresh and appetising, but not sour. According to the specification, the fennel aroma and soft slices distinguish Finocchiona from all other kinds of salami.

The sausage contains at least 20 % protein, at most 35 % fat and at most 6 % salt. It is sold whole, in pieces or sliced, unpackaged, vacuum-packed or in a protective atmosphere. It is sliced and packaged only in the production area, because the slices easily oxidise, discolour and dry out in the air.

Production

Fresh meat is used, never frozen. It comes from heavy pigs of the Large White Italiana, Landrace Italiana and Duroc Italiana breeds or corresponding crosses, which reach at least nine months of age and whose carcass weighs 110.1 to 180 kg. They are fed mainly on cereals and by-products of cheesemaking, liquid, including the traditional whey and buttermilk, or dry; cereals make up at least 45 % of the dry matter in the first fattening phase and at least 55 % in the fattening phase. Meat from pigs of the Cinta Senese breed, which live free-range or semi-free-range on woodland and field pastures in Tuscany, is also allowed.

Skilled workers select the cuts of meat, remove the fatty tissue and set the mix of lean and fat meat. The finely chopped sausage meat is seasoned with fennel, and wine is added too. Preparing the meat, making and filling the sausage mixture, and drying and ripening take place in Tuscany.

Origin & history

The area comprises a mountainous strip in the north and east and a wide hill country with vineyards, woods and pastures that slopes down to the coastal plains in the west; pigs are also kept free-range there. Wild fennel is widespread and characterises many dishes of the regional cuisine.

Sharecropping (“Mezzadria”), largely replaced by independent farmers since the 1970s, preserved the keeping of the Cinta Senese, which was at times threatened with extinction, and of white pig breeds, and with it the skills for making Finocchiona were passed down from generation to generation. The name is documented, among other places, in the “Vocabolario della lingua parlata” by Rigutini and Fanfani (1875) and in the dictionary of the Accademia della Crusca (1889 edition), which highlights the link with Tuscany; in 1977 Professor Italo Ghinelli confirmed its Tuscan origin. According to the specification, Finocchiona is a must on any typical Tuscan platter of cured meats and can today be found in many countries of central Europe and beyond.