This king of the Italian cold cuts is known everywhere in the world. It was initially popular because the pork’s leg it comes from could be salted and aged, and was easy to transport without risk of spoiling. There are two types of prosciutto crudo: one without the shank (prosciutto di Parma), and the one with it (prosciutto San Daniele).
The name of a street in Rome
The art of producing this delicacy dates back to the times of the Etruscans, when breeding pigs was already common practice and was continued by the Romans. This food became so popular in ancient Rome that the name of the central street of Via Panisperna comes from the Latin words “panis” and “perna” (respectively “bread” and the “pork’s leg”).
The Italian word “prosciutto” comes from the Latin “perexsuctum”, which means “dried”. The practice of adding sea salt to the pork meat and the aging process that followed, in fact dried out the meat, forcing a significant loss of its natural liquids.
There are several types of prosciutto crudo, made using the same techniques but in different geographical places and with different intensity of flavors, according to various aging times.
One of the first experts who described the preparation of the prosciutto crudo was Cato the Elder in 160 B.C. The Roman historian dedicated to this delicious food one of the 162 chapters of his De Agri Cultura (“On Agriculture”).
The right wine
Rosé sparkling wines can be a good match, but also intense white wines from the region of Friuli like Ribolla Gialla, or a rosé from Apulia, Abruzzi or Sicily.
