Prosciutto di Modena

Appearance & taste

Apart from the foot, the ham has the shape of a pear. This is created by trimming off excess fat and removing part of the rind and the outer fat. The upper part is therefore more exposed, so that the salt penetrates more quickly; according to the specification, this gives it its characteristic flavour. A whole ham weighs 8 to 12.5 kg.

The cut surface is bright red. The ham tastes savoury but not salty and has a pleasant, sweetish but intense aroma. It contains 57 to 63.5 % moisture and 4.3 to 6.3 % salt.

Each ham bears the mark of the control body on the rind. The label lists only pork or leg of pork and salt as ingredients. Additions such as “classico”, “autentico”, “extra” or “super” are prohibited; only “disossato” (boneless) is permitted.

Production

The legs come from heavy pigs whose carcasses weigh 110.1 to 180 kg. The animals are offspring of the Large White Italiana, Landrace Italiana and Duroc Italiana breeds or of crosses bred with these breeds for the production of heavy pigs. Boars and sows themselves are excluded, as are animals carrying the stress-sensitivity gene. The pigs are reared and slaughtered in Emilia-Romagna, Veneto, Lombardy, Piedmont, Molise, Umbria, Tuscany, the Marche, Abruzzo and Lazio. At least half of the dry matter they eat in a year comes from this rearing area.

Production and ripening take place in the defined area along the Panaro.

Origin & history

The area covers the hill country around the catchment area of the Panaro and its side valleys up to 900 m above sea level, including municipalities such as Vignola, Castelvetro, Maranello, Pavullo nel Frignano, Sestola, Sasso Marconi, Quattro Castella and Canossa. According to the specification, there is an ideal microclimate for ham there at the foot of the Tuscan-Emilian Apennines: the Panaro and its tributaries act like a drainage system and ensure a predominantly dry climate with little air exchange.

In the rearing area, pig farming developed together with cereal growing and milk processing, which are important for feeding the pigs; this gave rise to the rearing of heavy pigs that are slaughtered only from a certain age. According to the specification, the history of the product in the area of origin has been documented since the Bronze Age, when keeping domestic animals was common and salt was discovered. Salting to preserve meat came with the Celts and was refined in Roman times.