Table of Contents

1. Prosciutto From Tuscany

• The DOP Designation

• The Distinctive Tuscan Prosciutto

• The History of Prosciutto

2. Our Featured Recipe

• Farfalle with Prosciutto and Peas

Prosciutto From Tuscany

The DOP Designation

Perhaps you are familiar with the DOP designation awarded to Italian and other European agricultural products, or you may have seen the DOP mentioned before in our newsletter. The designation DOP simply means that a particular product of Italy has been awarded this label for its uniqueness. The label DOP, translated into English, stands for Protected Designation of Origin .

A consortium of Tuscan prosciutto producers was formed in the early 1990s to insure the integrity of this product, and to seek its official DOP designation. Prosciutto from Tuscany was awarded the DOP in 1996, along with six other Italian regional prosciutti . The award honors a product for its production, its history, heritage and diversity, as well as for the distinctive traditions involved in its production. Thus, products awarded the DOP are different from any others: they have their own tastes and textures, their own traditions, recipes and restrictions. This is what insures that a Tuscan prosciutto bearing the DOP mark will be different than the more widely known Prosciutto di Parma, or the San Daniele prosciutto.

The Distinctive Tuscan Prosciutto

Tuscan prosciutto must, of course, come from Tuscany. But Tuscany is not a large pork producing region, and while some pigs destined to become prosciutto have their origins in Tuscany, many more are brought in from the surrounding regions: Lombardy, Emilia Romano, Marche, Umbria and Lazio. What then makes the prosciutto Tuscan? While these pigs may not all have their origins in Tuscany, they must be brought here in order to become this special type of prosciutto: the specific way in which the meat is slaughtered and the recipes used for curing it are among the factors that make the Tuscan prosciutto unique.

Pigs destined to become Prosciutto di Toscano must weigh at least 145 kilos and be no less than nine months old. Before curing, each fresh prosciutto must weigh in at a minimum of eleven kilos. The Tuscan DOP rules of prosciutto production demand that each prosciutto be aged for more than one year; 14 or 15 months is usually considered the perfect amount of time for curing.

Prosciutto di Parma is also known as prosciutto dolce . Our prosciutto, in contrast, is saporito , tasty and salty. There are food historians who say that the Prosciutto di Toscano is saltier than that made in other regions in order to compensate for the lack of salt in our breads. Centuries ago, when the Papal State dominated Tuscany, these rulers imposed an extremely high tax on salt. As a form of protest, Tuscan bakers began to make their bread without salt.

Gradually, the taste for bread made entirely without salt became widespread, and to this day, Tuscan bread is saltless. Many believe that Tuscan prosciutto became saltier in order to compensate for the lack of salt in our bread. Hence, the Prosciutto di Parma is designated dolce, and the prosciutto of Tuscany is saporito!

Our prosciutto also has a few more distinguishing characteristics. The exposed end of the cut pig's thigh in the DOP prosciutto of Tuscany is always covered by a dense layer of black pepper. One would expect that this is done to influence the flavor, but it is not. The pepper is used only as protection, a sort of natural casing for the exposed or cut end of the pig's thigh, and it has nothing to do with the flavor of the cured meat.

What does influence the flavor is the combination of sea salt, which is always applied dry, and pepper, juniper berries, rosemary, garlic, and sometimes fennel, wine or vinegar that each prosciutto maker uses to cure his meat. There are only 21 members of the Tuscan prosciutto consortium, and their members, on farms spread throughout our region, produce only 132,000 prosciutti a year. (In contrast, Parma and San Daniele turn out 11 million prosciutti per year!)

Each farmer or butcher within the Tuscan consortium uses his own recipe or combination of the above ingredients, making the prosciutto a bit different from Tuscan town to town. For instance, a prosciutto produced near Siena might have a more intense flavor and a drier texture than one made near Pisa, where the prosciutti are known to have a less salty and more refined taste. This is, after all, the land of village rivalries and strong culinary traditions.

The History of Prosciutto

The history of cured meats in Italy goes back to Roman times. The Romans were quite familiar with the preservation of butchered meats. They gave the name perexsuctus to aged pig's thighs that were dried in the sun. In ancient Rome, the shops sold panis and perna , bread and prosciutto!

Records on the production of prosciutto in Tuscany go back for centuries. In 1559, producers were required to keep records on the salting of pork meat. A report from 1776 tells us that the slaughtering rituals for pigs had been in place since the 13th Century, and that pigs were to be killed only between the festivals of Ognissanti and Carnivale. This tradition endured for centuries, and up until the early 1970s, the killing of the rural family pig took place in the weeks before Christmas; it was an occasion for much celebration. Even though the old agricultural ways have disappeared from most homes, the tradition of Tuscan prosciutto lives on.

Our Featured Recipe

Farfalle with Prosciutto and Peas

Our favorite way of enjoying prosciutto, especially during the summer months, is to have it thinly sliced (by knife, as tradition demands) and served with the freshest melons, figs, or rucola. In the case of prosciutto served with fruit, no accompaniment is necessary. When we have prosciutto with rucola, we like to dress the greens with a bit of fine extra virgin olive oil, a little wine vinegar, and just a bit of salt and pepper. We serve the greens with paper thin slices of prosciutto and lots of crusty bread.

We also have developed this special summer recipe that we hope you will enjoy!

Fresh peas, right out of the shell, are best for this dish, and now that summer is here, they should be easy to find. We have also used frozen baby peas with good results.

For the sauce:

• 20 ounces fresh or frozen peas
• 6 ounces best quality prosciutto, cut into thin strips
• 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 1 medium sweet onion, finely chopped
• 2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 2 Tablespoons butter
• 1/4 cup chicken stock or broth
• 16 ounces Farfalle or Bow Tie pasta, cooked al dente.

Saute the onions in the olive oil and butter until translucent. Add the garlic and cook a few minutes until soft, then add the peas and chicken stock. Cook fairly rapidly for about 10 minutes, or until the peas are nearly tender. At this point, add the finely sliced prosciutto and cook for 5 more minutes. Toss with the Farfalle and serve!

As always, we welcome your letters, comments and questions. To send mail to the Tuscan Life Newsletter, please address email to TuscanLifeEdit@Netscape.net

The prosciutti of Tuscany, because they are produced in small numbers, are harder to find than those of Emilia. For the most part, they are sold only in Tuscany, with some few going to France and Germany, while a few others are designated for certain discerning restaurants or shops. If you would like to taste our prosciutto, you will have to journey here in order to enjoy it. For your stay, consider any of our fine properties.