Prosciutto di Parma

Appearance & taste

The ham has a rounded shape. The lower leg (the shank) is removed, as are external flaws that could spoil its appearance. A ham weighs between 8.2 and 12.5 kg.

When cut, the meat is a uniform pink to red, streaked with the pure white of the fat. It tastes mild and savoury and not particularly salty, with a delicate scent and a characteristic aroma. Before marking, a sample from the thigh muscle is tested: it must contain 58 to 63 % moisture and 4.2 to 6 % salt.

Its identifying mark is the “ducal crown”, a brand with a five-pointed crown and the place name “Parma”. It distinguishes it from other raw ham; other equally permanent marks are possible alongside it or in its place. The ham is sold whole with or without the bone, in portions or in slices. It may only be sliced and packed in the production area. Additions such as “classic”, “genuine”, “extra” or “super” are not allowed in the name; only “disossato” (boneless) and “affettato” (sliced) are permitted.

Production

The legs come from heavy pigs whose carcasses weigh 110.1 to 180 kg. The animals are descendants of the Large White Italiana, Landrace Italiana and Duroc Italiana breeds or of crosses bred with these breeds for the production of heavy pigs. They are fed liquid feed, traditionally also with whey and buttermilk, or dry feed; in the early fattening phase the dry matter must contain at least 45 % cereals. At least half of the dry matter the pigs eat in a year must come from the rearing area.

On delivery to the drying plant, the fresh leg weighs 11.8 to 18 kg. Its outer layer of fat is at least 22 mm thick, and the fat must be firm. From salting to the end of drying the ham stays in the production area. The only ingredients on the label are leg of pork and sea salt.

Origin & history

The production area lies in the province of Parma. It begins at least 5 km south of the Via Emilia and extends south up to an altitude of 900 m; in the east the Enza forms the border, in the west the Stirone. The pigs may come from a much larger area: Emilia-Romagna, Veneto, Friuli Venezia Giulia, Lombardy, Piedmont, Molise, Umbria, Tuscany, Marche, Abruzzo and Lazio.

According to the specification, there is a special microclimate there: sea winds from Versilia on the Tuscan coast pass over the olive groves and pine forests of the Val di Magra, dry out as they cross the Apennines, take on the scent of the chestnut forests and finally dry the ham.

Parma lay at the heart of the Roman province of Gallia Cisalpina, whose inhabitants kept large herds of pigs and made salted ham. The feeding of the heavy pigs is based on the region’s cereal growing and dairy processing. Today’s production area is already named in lists of the chamber of commerce from 1913. Many family businesses still make ham today; what was once a purely craft activity has since become an industrial process.