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When ham is mentioned people generally refer to Parma or San Daniele ham. Nevertheless, there is a third type: Berico-Euganean ham. The point of departure for this delicacy is the pig, especially the “Padano (or Italian) heavy swine”. For 2500 years, the pig has been one of the primary sources of human nutrition. The Etruscans were accustomed to salting hams with a technique that was perfected over the centuries, making ham a famous food throughout the world. At the time, the most important problem was to conserve meats; this was solved only in areas where there was an abundance of salt. The technique of salting, in fact, was used by the Romans, who referred to the entire haunch of the pig, dried by salt and seasoned at length, with the adjective “perexsuccus” (literally, “dried”), from which the Italian term “prosciutto” descends. In the Medieval period, pigs were raised in almost every home in the city and they were free to wander about the streets, to the point that in 1300 the Podestà authorized guards to seize and kill “porci et porchae” that were found in the public squares, clearly for reasons of hygiene. Ham was highly considered during the Renaissance and was praised by Lorenzo de Medici of Florence in one of his compositions. In the area of Vicenza, the artisan production of ham was documented as early as the medieval period. So it is a product that has a tradition and culture that are lost in the mists of time.
Where it is produced
The typical area of production of Berico-Euganean P.D.O. ham includes 16 municipalities in the provinces of Vicenza, Padua and Verona, in a triangle between Montagnana, Noventa Vicentina and Lonigo. These towns are included in the plains and piedmont area of the Berico and Euganean Hills. In Vicenza the P.D.O. area is limited to the territories of the municipalities of Noventa Vicentina, Pojana Maggiore, Orgiano, Alonte, Sossano, Lonigo, Sarego, Villaga and Barbarano Vicentino.
How it is produced
Following separation of the haunch from the side of pork, the meat must be brought to a temperature lower than freezing in order to firm up the fat and muscles of the future hams. At this point the haunch is trimmed to give the ham its traditional shape. In order to perform this operation, the piece is placed on a table with the flat part of the haunch facing upwards. Excess fat is removed and the ham loses 24% of its weight during trimming. It is then salted, by massaging the muscular front and outside, referred to as the best end, with dry, average grain salt. Once salted, the hams are arranged on the flat side on several horizontal shelves at the back of special thermo-hydro-regulated salting cells. After several days the residual salt is removed from the hams, which have been de-boned to confer elasticity and permeability to the meat; they are then pressed in the direction of the length of the veins and arteries to facilitate drainage of residual blood and are finally subjected to a second light salting.
The shape obtained by pressing is intermediate with respect the convex shape of the Parma ham and the flat shape of the San Daniele ham. The successive laying up of the hams takes place in spacious cells with a well-regulated temperature, called “molighe”. After 70 days, the hams are removed from the initial period of laying up and are scraped, widened and levelled in the area of the best end and then washed with a process of mechanical brushing with rotating brushes or in a washing tunnel. The successive period of drying takes place in optimal climatic conditions, usually in a dry area with controlled ventilation, humidity and temperature.
The length of the seasoning to which Veneto ham is subjected confers to the product particular organoleptic traits. On the 120th day, the ham is removed from the rack, cleaned and sent to the “filling” department which permits the meat to maintain its softness and pink colour until the end of the seasoning period. The last procedure is marking with the characteristic winged St. Mark’s lion, the symbol that indicates a fine balance between sweetness and sapidity.
Product characteristics
The Berico Euganean ham is marketed after the tenth month, when the product has acquired its perfume, sweetness and colour. Approximately half a million hams per year are produced with the mark of the winged St. Mark’s lion. The regulations describe Berico-Euganean P.D.O. as a “pink-coloured ham that tends towards red in the lean parts and pure white in the fat parts which has a delicate, sweet and fragrant aroma”. The weight of a fully seasoned ham ranges from about 7 to 11 kilos. The elegant, lively and full taste is due to the perfect equilibrium between the periods of salting, the weight of the ham, the duration and conditions of seasoning.
The Val Liona Ham
The Val Liona has progressively specialised in the production of a spiced, smoked ham that is absolutely original. The spicing is due in particular to the presence of a special lining of the haunch with natural aromas such as the Val Liona juniper, laurel, coriander and rosemary. The ham is placed in special fireplaces that burn aromatic woods such as beech and for smoking. When the smoking is finished the ham has a semi-pressed shape. The procedure is quite laborious but confers the Val Liona ham with an inviting and well-balanced perfume, a delicate aroma and a pleasant taste. Such care and the tradition behind the product have led producers to request the IGP marking which is currently in the process of being authorized.
TECHNICAL CARD
- The raw material: Italian heavy pork haunches.
- Production Territory: 16 municipalities in the provinces of Verona, Vicenza and Padua.
- Processing Phases: separation of the haunch from the side of the pork; trimming; salting; initial laying up in cells (for two months); washing and drying on the 70th day; second laying up; filling with lard and natural aromas on the 120th day. At the end of the period of seasoning, after ten months, the ham is marked and marketed.
USEFUL ADDRESSES
Consorzio per la tutela del Prosciutto Veneto
(Consortium for the Protection of Veneto Ham)
Piazza Vittorio Emanuele II, 3 - 35044 Montagnana (Padua)
Ph. and Fax +39 0429 82964
E-mail: info@prosciuttoveneto.it
Website: www.prosciuttoveneto.it
TRADE FAIRS AND EVENTS
Ponte di Nanto
(first half of may).
Il Prosciutto dei Berici
(Berici ham)
Ph.: +39 0444 638188
Recipes
Pan-fried raw ham with Grana Padano cheese
4 servings
200 g. red chicory from Asigliano
200 g. green salad
60 g. canned mushrooms
70 g. raw ham
60 g. Grana Padano cheese
extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper
Clean, wash and dry out chicory and salad. Shred them by hand and put them in a bowl. Add drip mushrooms. Dice ham and pan-fry. Dress with ham and ham’s fat. Season with salt, pepper and oil. Add shaved Grana Padano cheese and blend.
Appetizer with raw ham
4 servings
150 g chopped ham,
150 g green tomato,
1 peach skinless and pitless,
100 g. sugar,
red pepper
200 g. fresh salad
extra virgin olive oil
salt
Cut tomato and peach into pieces. Brown with hot oil, add sugar, red pepper, season with salt and add a bit of water. Boil until obtaining a syrup-like compound to be mixed in a blender. Serve the syrup over fresh salad and ham.
Tagliatelle with ham
4 servings
50 g. butter,
75 g. raw ham ,
1 green onion
powdered cinnamon
1 clove
Grana Padano cheese
Black pepper
Cream (optional)
Finely mince a green onion and ham. Brown in a frying pan with butter and some powdered cinammon and one clove. If desired, add a bit of cream.
Dress Tagliatelle (or short size pasta) in the frying pan, add sprinkled Grana Padano cheese and pepper.
Roulades with Ricotta cheese and raw ham
4 servings
8 veal cutlets(30 - 40 g. each),
8 raw ham slices,
200 g. Ricotta cheese,
sage,
1 cup of white wine (less than a cup if you use Marsala),
flour,
oil, butter
Prepare cutlets, cover them with ham slices and a bit of Ricotta cheese. Roll them lenghtwise and fix with toothpicks and add some sage leaves. Flour and brown them in a pan with a little butter and oil. In the meantime add white wine or Marsala. If necessary add a bit of water until done.
Leeks with ham
Boil leeks in salted water. When done, drip them and wrap each one with a ham slice.
Put them into a pan and cover with a traditional besciamella sauce.
(Recipe for besciamella sauce: melt in a small pan 60 g. of
butter and add 60 g. of flour. Dilute with a half litre of milk. Season with salt. Keep blending until boiling.)
Add on top a few bread crumbs and shaved Grana Padano cheese. Bake for 10 minutes
until au gratin.
Asparagus with ham
Boil asparagus (only their stems), drip them and wrap
3 - 4 stems (let their tops out) with a slice of raw ham. Put
bounches in a baking pan with some melted butter on the
bottom. Sprinkle with grated Grana Padano cheese and some butter. Bake until au gratin.
Traditional salad
4 servings
200 g. Berico-Euganeo ham,
200 g. Asigliano chicory,
100 g Fiorito cheese,
black olives
extra virgin olive oil
4 nuts
lemon juice
Finely sliced chicory, ham and Fiorito cheese. Add chopped nuts and olives. Season with salt, pepper, oil and lemon juice. Mix carefully and serve.
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