Salinate de Turda

Appearance & taste

Salinate de Turda comes in four variants, depending on the cut of pork. The leg is dark red and uniform on the outside, the belly less uniform and mainly light red. The neck is reddish and slightly marbled, the loin chop evenly dark red and without fat. The surface is not sticky and is free of mould.

When cut, the meat is dark to light red, firm and slightly springy; it does not fall apart when sliced. It tastes and smells salty and has the typical aroma of meat smoked over hardwood. According to the specification, it differs from comparable products in its tender, juicy meat. It contains at most 9 % salt, at most 55 % moisture, at least 15 % protein and at most 48 % fat. It is sold whole or sliced.

Production

The pork is cut up, boned and selected. It is wet-cured with natural spring brine from the area, mixed with a spice blend (salt, mustard, juniper, pepper, bay leaves, garlic, allspice, cinnamon), sugar and lactic acid bacteria as starter cultures. On delivery the brine contains 20 to 35 % salt, depending on the season; it is used at a concentration of 18 to 22 %. The meat is seasoned in a tumbler.

It then matures for 5 to 7 days at 2 to 8 °C. This is followed by brief smoking of at most 60 minutes with beech sawdust at 45 to 50 °C. Finally the meat dries for 20 to 28 days at 14 °C and 80 % relative humidity. All these steps take place in the defined area.

Origin & history

The area covers the municipality of Turda and the communes of Mihai Viteazu, Tureni and Ploscoș in Cluj county. The ground is shaped by salt: near Turda lies a salt deposit that comes to the surface at Sărata and Băile. Where rainwater penetrates the salt massif, brine springs form. For Salinate the brine comes from the springs in Micești (Tureni commune), Valea Florilor (Ploscoș commune) and Valea Sărată (Turda). According to the specification, it contains considerably more calcium and magnesium than a brine made from salt and water.

Thanks to the springs, the people of Turda and the neighbouring communes have always had easy access to salt. They use the brine, locally called mărătoare or murătoare, in cooking, for their animals and to preserve food, above all pork from the winter slaughter. According to the specification, pork cured in salt and smoked for the winter months is a tradition of the area dating back to antiquity. Until almost the Second World War the villagers had free access to the spring in Micești; anyone from another village paid a fee. The method has been passed down from generation to generation.