Pancetta di Calabria

Appearance & taste

When sold, the pancetta is rectangular and 3 to 5 cm thick. The surface is covered with spices, such as chilli powder. When cut it is pink with thin stripes in which lean and fat layers alternate. It tastes spicy.

The label shows the name in clearly legible lettering, clearly set apart from all other information and directly followed by “Denominazione d’Origine Protetta”, together with the logo of the PDO “Pancetta di Calabria”.

Production

The meat comes from pigs reared in Calabria; boars and breeding sows are excluded. The animals correspond to the heavy Italian pig, bred from breeds such as Apulo-Calabrese, Large White and Landrace Italiana or from Duroc boars. Purebred Landrace Belga, Hampshire, Pietrain and Spot are not permitted. A batch of slaughter pigs weighs at least 140 kg on average.

They are fed compound feed supplemented with barley, field beans, maize, acorns and chickpeas, which make up at least 50 %. Cassava and potatoes are not allowed because they can give the meat and fat an undesirable taste, and nor are dairy by-products in the final fattening phase. In the last two months before slaughter the feed contains at least 12 % protein. Where available, the feed comes from Calabria.

The fresh belly with rind weighs 3 to 6 kg and is cut into a rectangle 3 to 6 cm thick; the rind is trimmed so that a well-stretched shape results. It is then salted for four to 14 days, may be covered with chilli powder and other natural ingredients, and ripens for at least 30 days. Rearing, slaughter, selection and ripening take place in Calabria.

Origin & history

Calabria lies in southern Italy. The climate is warm to temperate, with little rainfall, which falls mainly in winter. The region is mostly hilly to mountainous and, as a peninsula, has 800 km of coastline on the Tyrrhenian and the Ionian Sea. According to the specification, the particular wind conditions and temperature ranges help to maintain good conditions in the ripening rooms.

The specification calls pancetta a typical cured meat product of Calabria. The producers’ experience matters in selecting the cuts and trimming them before salting. The traditional method of production also includes the use of spices such as chilli powder.