Firstly, the answer depends on what you are looking for. As in all things food-related in Italy , there is no one-stop shop. If you want cheese, you go to the cheese maker. If you want good wine, you go direct to the vineyard. You want good cured meat… well, you get the idea.
Specifically, my friend was looking to buy a culatello, the prime pear-shaped ham which many Italians consider the King of cured meats! Now when it comes to buying cured meats, the first rule of thumb is this: territory is everything. If you want to buy a They’re so good, in fact, that this is where Prince Charles and Giorgio Armani and other like-minded celebrities shop for their culatello. At the Antica Corte Pallavicina, on the damp, foggy banks of the river Po in Polesine Parmense, Massimo Spigaroli has dedicated his life to the task of raising pigs and making good salami. However, be aware that not all his culatello were born equal. If you want something that extra special, and your wallet can stretch that far, you have to ask for the same stuff that Prince Charles is getting. Otherwise you get the ‘standard’ culatello. Of course, to use the word ‘standard’ in relation to culatello is something of a misnomer. It’s like going into a showroom and asking for a standard Ferrari – it’s still a Ferrari, right?
The black pig of Parma |
The difference is that when high-ranking VIPs order culatello, they get hams that are aged for at least two years, they’re organic and they are made from the famed, and rare, black pig of Parma. Until recently, the black pig of Parma was nearing extinction. But thanks to a few committed farmers and salami-makers, it’s successfully making a return to the Italian countryside. One of the leading pioneers is Andrea Bertoletti, an organic pig farmer who runs the Tondino agriturismo. Andrea re-introduced the ‘Black Pig of Parma’ to his farm about 15 years ago. At this point they had become all but extinct. Today he has over 50 pigs which are allowed to roam freely in over 4 hectares of land.
Andrea Bertoletti |
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