Prosciutto#Culatello

Culatello di Zibello is an Italian ham from Zibello near the city of Parma, in the Po Valley.

The preparation is carried by hand from the meat of two black pig breeds, (Nero di Parma or Nera Parmigiana ) and Mora Romagna. The diminutive black, red-stained pigs are carefully selected and maintained in the wild, where they feed on corn, acorns and chestnuts. After the slaughter of pigs after two years of outdoor fattening in corn fields, the 15 to 20 pound ham mature for 14 months in a perforated pig bladder. They are stored with the window open and rubbed the beginning of storage with red wine and garlic. The necessary moist air in the climate influenced by the Po region, the appropriate places limited to a few villages: Busseto, Rocca Bianca, Polesine Parmense, San Secondo, Zibello, Sissa, Soragna and Colorno.

In the tire moved on the ham a noble mold from walls, fix its spores on the pig bladder. Enzymes but come inside and give the ham the typical taste. In winter, the ham is stored in the cellar.

The small numbers and the elaborate handwork lead, as well as the Spanish Jamon Iberico de Bellota, to high prices (about 200 € the Kg 2007). The ham is treated as a delicacy. He has received the designation at the product category Denominazione di origine protetta (DOP).

In Italy, the Culatello belongs to the " sausages " because he does not ripen on the bone.

• Ham
• Italian Food