Salam de Sibiu

Appearance & taste

The salami comes in straight sticks of even thickness, 15 to 100 cm long, 45 to 75 mm in diameter and weighing 300 g to 1 kg. The skin is finely wrinkled and completely covered with a thin white layer of noble mould, which may have a slightly yellowish or greyish tinge. On the outside the stick is semi-hard to hard, inside firm and elastic.

The slices are reddish brown to dark red, glossy and compact, with a mosaic of small white pieces of fat; they do not crumble. The taste and smell are those of a product smoked with hardwood, treated with noble mould and ripened and dried for a long time. The finished salami contains at most 30 % water, at most 46 % fat and less than 6 % salt. It is sold as a whole stick in micro-perforated cellophane film or, without the mould skin, sliced under protective atmosphere or vacuum.

Production

The basis is at least 70 % selected red pork and at most 30 % hard back fat from pigs with a live weight of over 100 kg. Slaughter by-products, mechanically separated meat, flavour enhancers, colourings, added proteins and sea salt are not permitted. The meat and fat are chopped by machine to the size of wheat grains, about 2 to 4 mm, and mixed with salt, pepper, allspice, garlic, curing salt, starter cultures and at most 1 % sugar. For limited batches up to 3 % wine, brandy, sparkling wine or dark beer may be added; this is then stated in the name of the range.

The mixture is filled into collagen casings or horse intestines. After 24 hours of airing, the sticks are cold-smoked for 3 to 10 days at 9 to 24 °C, exclusively with Romanian beech or oak wood. In the ripening store they are sprayed with noble mould spores, which must contain Penicillium nalgiovensis; after 10 to 12 days they are covered with mould. Later each stick is brushed by hand, and the salami dries at falling humidity until it contains at most 30 % water. Ripening and drying last at least 60 days, the whole production at least 70 days.

Origin & history

The area has a temperate continental climate with cold winters and warm summers. Hills predominate, and the mountains are broken up by wide river valleys and plains. In the extensive forests the producers obtain the hardwood for smoking. According to the specification, sausage making has a centuries-old tradition here, first in farm households, later in businesses.

The salami has been documented since the end of the 19th century, originally as “Salam de iarnă” (winter salami). The salami made in places including Sinaia and Mediaş was exported through the customs office in Sibiu and so became known as “salam din vama Sibiu” (salami of the Sibiu customs office) and finally as “Salam de Sibiu”. Since 1890 it has appeared under this name in advertising and on menus. Today, too, some steps require manual work and experience, such as checking the chopped mixture and the firmness of the sticks, and brushing.