Prosciutta castelnovese
Features: Everyone knows ham (prosciutto in Italian), but only a few ones know the so-called "prosciutta", whose creators call the "happy wife" of ham. If the name is the result of imagination, the product is the result of a skillful family of grocers from Castelnuovo Magra: they have been able to combine Ligurian and Tuscan traditions and create an unmistakable cold cut for its delicate smell and taste, ideal to eat together with homemade bread and red wine.
Production Area: Castelnuovo Magra
Curiosities: Castelnuovo Magra lies in the hills. It is an interesting town for its history and urban plan, with the parish church and the castle as its reference points. Another reason to visit Castelnuovo is the presence of the public wine-cellar of Liguria and Lunigiana in the vaulted cellars of the 18th century Town Hall Palace. The cuisine of Castelnovese is simple but, like all the cuisine of Liguria, rich in invective, fruit of ancient intuitions exploiting the particular features of the local products.
Preparation: It is obtained from calibrated pig legs, used to prepare top-quality ham. The leg is deboned, the paw and shin are discarded, and only the thinnest part is maintained. It is pickled in a special steel basin, under pressure, and is turned upside down every day. After a week, the cut can already be used "as salted meat". To obtain Prosciutta, it is necessary to wash the meat, brush it with a mixture of spices, and move it in a first maturation room, warm and in dim light, where it is kept for two months next to the spontaneous herbs of the nearby mountains. Later it is filled with its own fat and massaged with spices. Such operation is repeated for at least 3 times, alternating with as many operations called greasing: both aim at helping spices to better penetrate in the Prosciutta. After at least seven months, the product is ready. The adequate temperature, the skillful use of aromas and tastes, as well as the low light exposure contribute to the quality of the product.
