Prosciutto

The word prosciutto derives from Italian asciutto (lit. 'dry'), with prefix substitution,^[15] or from Vulgar Latin pro (before) + exsuctus (past participle of exsugere, 'to suck out [the moisture]');^[16] the Portuguese presunto has the same etymology. It is similar to the modern Italian verb prosciugare ('to dry thoroughly'; from Latin pro + exsucare ('to extract the juices from')).^[17]

The history of prosciutto begins in pre-Roman times in the region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia. Archaeological evidence of pig farming dates back from the 11th and 8th centuries BC. Celts settled the area around 600 BC, changed the land and water use, and bred pigs for meat. The practice became more organised after their first contact with the Roman Empire (221 BC), as pork meat was a favourite in the Roman diet. The ancient Romans recognised that the local factors of low humidity, ventilation, and a hilly piedmont climate allowed for superior meat preservation, marking the origins of the specialized curing method based on the region's microclimate.^[18]

Prosciutto is made from either a pig's or a wild boar's hind leg or thigh, and the word "prosciutto" in its narrow sense means only this specific product. Prosciutto may also be made using the hind leg of other animals, in which case the name of the animal is included in the name of the product, for example prosciutto di agnello (lit. 'lamb ham'). The process of making prosciutto can take from nine months to three years, depending on the size of the ham.^{[19][20][21][22]}

A writer on Italian food, Bill Buford, describes talking to an old Italian butcher who says:

When I was young, there was one kind of prosciutto. It was made in the winter, by hand, and aged for two years. It was sweet when you smelled it. A profound perfume. Unmistakable. To age a prosciutto is a subtle business. If it's too warm, the aging process never begins. The meat spoils. If it's too dry, the meat is ruined. It needs to be damp but cool. The summer is too hot. In the winter—that's when you make salumi. Your prosciutto. Your soppressata. Your sausages.^[23]

According to the Consortium of Prosciutto di Parma, the only ingredients used to make prosciutto di Parma DOP are sea salt, lard, and the hind leg of pigs. First, the legs are covered in sea salt; the narrower part with salt that is damp, the larger more muscular part with dry salt. The leg is then refrigerated for a week at a temperature from 1°C to 4°C and a humidity level of approximately 80%, after which a second layer of salt is added and refrigeration is continued for two more weeks. Ordinary salt is the only preservative used; the DOP does not allow nitrites and nitrates. The ham is then hung for two to three months in refrigerated, humidity-controlled rooms, after which the remaining salt is rinsed off.

The ham is then hung for about 3 months in cellars, during which the exterior dries out. This drying is corrected later with the application of a mix of minced lard and salt.

Finally, the hams are hung in temperature- and humidity-controlled rooms or cellars for at least 14 months, or up to three years. At the end of this aging process, a needle made from horse bone, which rapidly absorbs the product fragrances, is inserted in different parts of the ham to check the quality of the prosciutto. After the quality check, the hams are branded with the ducal crown symbol.

Non-PDO prosciutto is sometimes cured with sodium nitrite or potassium nitrate, which are generally used in other hams to produce the desired rosy colour and unique flavour, but only sea salt is used in protected designation of origin (PDO) hams. The colour of the ham when sodium nitrite and potassium nitrate are used is produced when nitric oxide reacts with myoglobin to form nitrosomyoglobin; this colour appears more intense as the ham loses water. The nitric oxide required for the nitrosomyoglobin reaction is converted by bacteria from the added nitrite or nitrate.^[22]

• List of hams
• List of dried foods
• List of smoked foods
• Jamón serrano – Spanish dry-cured ham
• Jamón ibérico – type of cured pork leg product
• Presunto – Portuguese dry-cured ham