Local Traditional Cold Cuts
Salami, cotechino, calf's head, ham, coppa, Montisola salami, mutton sausage
Historical or traditional information: Pig butchering has maintained its ritual meaning: as a matter of fact, it represents a moment celebrating abundance and the year-long work combined with the desire to eat "your own products", homemade from preparation to consumption.
After years of disregard, today domestic pig breeding and butchering, as well as traditional and local processing methods, are increasingly recovering importance. People prefer eating something whose preparation cycle they have directly followed.
Domestic pig breeding means more care and, as a consequence, less pharmacological treatments: as a result, a higher quality of the cold cuts.
The so-called norcino is the person butchering pigs and processing their meat. Norcineria means passion and art handed down from father to son.
Production area: Municipalities of Fonteno, Solto Collina, Riva di Solto, Bossico, Sovere, Pianico, Lovere, Castro, Costa Volpino, and Rogno (BG)
Product features: Cold cuts rich in spices, both if they are fresh or mature, with various shape and mixture, varying according to the production area.
Processing, conservation, and maturation methods: Pig processing was carried out exclusively with the knife in order to obtain a mixture formed by big pieces of pork mixed with the cure strictly prepared a few moments before its use, so that its ingredients could maintain perfume and fragrance unchanged.
Description of the processing, conservation, and maturation premises: Hung up to the ceiling during the drying process. Thanks to wood-burning braziers, the smoke spreads and, besides maintaining a constant temperature in the premise, it gives the cold cut a pleasant and particular taste. The final stage, that is maturation, takes place in the cellars where, day after day, the slow and careful maturation process gives off the classical cold cut perfume.
Cooking use: Classical
