Prosciutto di Parma.......
- Thread starter sausageboy
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charcuterieguy
Newbie
I think a good KY or VA ham is almost as good at 1/10th the price. I'd guess the repeated freezing/thawing/massaging is to break down the cells allowing them to give up more moisture.
charcuterieguy
Newbie
According to the strict rues, freezing of Prosciutto di Parma is not permitted.
[h1]"Apart from refrigeration, legs that are used for the production of Parma Ham must not
undergo any other preservation treatment, including freezing"[/h1]
http://www.parmaham.org/quality/guarantee-specifications.pdf
[h1]"Apart from refrigeration, legs that are used for the production of Parma Ham must not
undergo any other preservation treatment, including freezing"[/h1]
http://www.parmaham.org/quality/guarantee-specifications.pdf
- May 12, 2011
- 22,172
- 7,150
That's Bull$#!T....The FAT is Prized and no self respecting Parma Maker would Pare it Down....The techique described, may be what some manufactuer in the US or Canada is doing but there are STRICKED Italian Laws for Parma Ham Production....Freezing ain't part of it...JJ
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I have spent a lot of time around Italians here
& Italy I have never heard of this being done ever. There is a very famous food identity called Antionio Carluccio who owns restaurants writes great cook books ,I have 2, & has done a really great tv series on Italian food region by region. He did an episode on Parma & pork products not a freezer in sight. Given how much Italians love their traditional methods & start from the proposition that only the people from their home village can cook,let alone people from other regions or heaven forbid a "straneiri"/ stranger(non Italian) how would they make the leap to freezing it?Hardly the way nonno did it!!
That how you do prosciutto
From Wikipedia
Prosciutto is made from either a pig's or a wild boar's ham (hind leg or thigh). The process of making prosciutto can take anywhere from nine months to two years, depending on the size of the ham.
A writer on Italian food, Bill Buford, describes talking to an old Italian butcher who says:
Prosciutto is sometimes cured with nitrites (either sodium or potassium), which are generally used in other hams to produce the desired rosy color and unique flavour. Only sea salt is used in many PDO (Protected Designation of Origin) hams, but not all; some consortia are allowed to use nitrite. Prosciutto's characteristic pigmentation is produced by a direct chemical reaction of nitric oxide with myoglobin to form nitrosomyoglobin, followed by concentration of the pigments due to drying. Bacteria convert the added nitrite or nitrate to nitric oxide.
[h2] [/h2]
From Wikipedia
Prosciutto is made from either a pig's or a wild boar's ham (hind leg or thigh). The process of making prosciutto can take anywhere from nine months to two years, depending on the size of the ham.
A writer on Italian food, Bill Buford, describes talking to an old Italian butcher who says:
Today, the ham is first cleaned, salted, and left for about two months. During this time, the ham is pressed, gradually and carefully, to avoid breaking the bone, and to drain all blood left in the meat. Next, it is washed several times to remove the salt, and is hung in a dark, well-ventilated environment. The surrounding air is important to the final quality of the ham; the best results are obtained in a cold climate. The ham is then left until dry. The amount of time this takes varies, depending on the local climate and size of the ham. When the ham is completely dry, it is hung to air, either at room temperature or in a controlled environment, for up to eighteen months.
Prosciutto is sometimes cured with nitrites (either sodium or potassium), which are generally used in other hams to produce the desired rosy color and unique flavour. Only sea salt is used in many PDO (Protected Designation of Origin) hams, but not all; some consortia are allowed to use nitrite. Prosciutto's characteristic pigmentation is produced by a direct chemical reaction of nitric oxide with myoglobin to form nitrosomyoglobin, followed by concentration of the pigments due to drying. Bacteria convert the added nitrite or nitrate to nitric oxide.
[h2] [/h2]
cycletrash
Meat Mopper
No Freeze , no nitrates... is what i learned from Italian mentor...he comes straight off the boat so we are learning all his old school traditions !
cycletrash
Meat Mopper
No Freeze , no nitrates... is what i learned from Italian mentor...he comes straight off the boat so we are learning all his old school traditions !
charcuterieguy
Newbie
The moderator at the following place won't accept any criticism of the misinformation...he deleted all posts questioning it...he even calls it "an intelligent and interesting statement of facts."
http://www.wedlinydomowe.pl/en/viewtopic.php?t=5326
Unbelievable!!!
http://www.wedlinydomowe.pl/en/viewtopic.php?t=5326
Unbelievable!!!
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No 1st amendment over there I guess. That one guy that said he's going to freeze to avoid trichinosis.The moderator at the following place won't accept any criticism of the misinformation...he deleted all posts questioning it...he even calls it "an intelligent and interesting statement of facts."
http://www.wedlinydomowe.pl/en/viewtopic.php?t=5326
Unbelievable!!!
diggingdogfarm
Master of the Pit
LOL!The moderator at the following place won't accept any criticism of the misinformation...he deleted all posts questioning it...he even calls it "an intelligent and interesting statement of facts."
http://www.wedlinydomowe.pl/en/viewtopic.php?t=5326
Unbelievable!!!
I don't believe a word that guy says!
Phoney as a $3 bill !!!
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Italy has had a few food & wine scandals over the years. Adding sugar to wine,running cheap wine from the south to the better regions & rebottling,fudging the boundaries on Certified Regional products,adulterating olive oil ,the porcini mushroom box is Italian the mushrooms are actually from Rumania,anchovies from Algeria/Tunisia packaged in Sicily. That sort of stuff,wrong but its Italy & they shrug their shoulders & say something unprintable about the EU.Or they make a joke of it & say the anchovies were actually on" vacanza " vacation when they were caught or the pigs parents were from Parma it was just brought up just out of the region etc.
.Part of it is just meeting the market expectations.
BUT freeze the prosciutto,sell out 1000 years of tradition & sell it to Italians they would be denounced from the pulpit,run out of Parma, there would be a corruption enquiry ,(they love those) you name it. Who ever this guy is he knows nothing about food & nothing about Italians.
BUT freeze the prosciutto,sell out 1000 years of tradition & sell it to Italians they would be denounced from the pulpit,run out of Parma, there would be a corruption enquiry ,(they love those) you name it. Who ever this guy is he knows nothing about food & nothing about Italians.
shortend
Meat Mopper
Sounds like a bunch of Hui to me too.
I think I smell another government study grant here. Man, these clowns are really rakin' us taxpayers over the coals for nothing other than sheer nonsence. Trichinosis? The known number of cases of Trichinosis in the US these days is almost nonexistent. Most likely from ferrel hogs or hogs fed with meat scraps. Anyone dumb enough to feed meat to a food animal, probably deserves a good case of Trich, anyway. Certainly wouldn't come from any producer that plans on marketing hogs in this country.
ShortEnd
ShortEnd
owlcreeksmoker4
Smoking Fanatic
cycletrash
Meat Mopper
I agree....Traditionally they didn't have the ability to freeze and refreeze...that's why they cured and butchered in the fall..I am sticking to traditional methods.
Down here
a lot of Italians dont make prosciutto because its too warm even in winter.Calabrians I know who have made salami here since the 50s wont chance it because of the waste if it" turns" . If you have a cool room OK So maybe you are a grape or fruit grower or the like & have a cold store then they may still attempt it. If you havent made salami here by August dont bother its going to get to warm. Ohio,Parma, & all those other places that have that snow stuff are always going to be front runners.
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