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A winter of polar cold perfect for refining cured meats.

In the Po Valley, the elderly say that this winter is comparable to many winters of the past, when they were children. Not only for the thick fog of December, but especially for the ice that has hardened the clods of the fields and caused frost to reappear on the plants for long days.

Setting reminiscent of “The Tree of Wooden Clogs” by Ermanno Olmi, do you remember it? A harsh climate that, however, is beneficial and finally brings a bit of order to a nature that is sometimes so chaotic. A godsend that helps plants finally retreat into a dormant vegetative state that aids in the purification of the sap and the elimination of many diseases that could appear in spring.

But this cold weather is also a boon for those producing salumi. The Po Valley is renowned for its humid and cold mists that wrap every living space like a dark, muffled cloak, but this hostile climate also hides a positive aspect that has always been exploited by man. The salami of the mists, as they were called in Mantua, were indeed the first cured meats aged in the damp cellars of winter.

After the slaughtering of pigs, as tradition dictates starting from December 13 of each year (thus this period), if you pass by some cellars in the Veneto or Lombardy regions, you will find hanging salami and soppresse that are “draining,” meaning they are releasing the residual moisture from the tissues still present in the paste. Humidity that is absorbed from the outside with an outbreak of fluffy and thick molds covering the shapes. It is a slow aging process that will last at least until the end of winter and can extend even further, depending on the final quality of the product. Slow maturations that used to be mediated by the cold and the relative humidity that provided suitable habitat for the surface molds.

If we move a bit further south, in the Parma and Emilia regions, the salumi change from ground paste to whole pieces. We enter the noble room of Parma DOP, Culatelli di Zibello DOP, and the culacce with rind typical of the hills of Langhirano. Here too, after a period of curing, the shapes remain hanging for several months for slow maturation, depending on the type of final product. And here as well, it is the time for “good” molds and bacteria that enhance the pleasure and quality of the final products. All this still takes place in the splendid underground cellars of artisanal prosciuttai thanks to the cold and humidity of the plains.

In short, this year seems to be the ideal year for the reconciliation of the world of pork production with nature. This is why even the most artisanal products will benefit from it, where there are no mega climate-controlled aging facilities operating artificially. This winter will perhaps be remembered for its ability to faithfully interpret what are the actual parameters of natural aging of the great Italian cured meats from the plains.

Bernardo Pasquali

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