If you’ve been to gourmet pizza restaurants like Pizzeria Mozza in LosAngeles or Co. in New York, you’ve probably seen the term “salumi.” But sincethe word has come into fashion only recently, you may not know exactly what itmeans.
Salumi is Italian (it’s the plural form of salume), but it’s not amisspelling of salami, although salami is a form of salumi. Confused yet?
Salumi refers to Italian-style cured meats in the same way that“charcuterie,” refers to the French equivalent. And what’s not to like aboutthat?
Most salumi is made from pork. A notable exception is bresaola, which ismade from beef. Salumi is usually cured with salt, which kills bacteria, anddehydrates the meat. As the meat is cured, it become firm and the flavorintensifies.
Authentic Italian salumi
Salumi can be smoked (like speck), or unsmoked (like pancetta). Encased(like salami), or not (like lomo). And cooked (like Italian sausage) or eatenraw (like Prosciutto Crudo). It’s often thinly sliced as served as part of anantipasto.
Because it’s cured, most salumi lasts a long time if stored properly. Butonce it’s sliced, it should be eaten quickly. Otherwise, it dries out. Salami,which is made with ground pork and a variety of seasonings, lasts a littlelonger because of the added fat — usually from 20 – 25%.
Many Italian pizzas feature some kind of salumi. The most popular arepepperoni and Italian sausage. But many other Italian meats make deliciouspizzas too. Coppa, capicola, and sopressata are all great meat pizzatoppings.
Salumi from Molinari in San Francisco
Because of the cost of meeting U.S. Food and Drug Administration standards,few Italian salumi makers can afford to import their products into the UnitedStates. Which is too bad, because they’re really wonderful. What sets themapart is the quality of the pork, which in most cases comes from pigs that werenaturally raised on a farm.
Outside Italy, most Italian butchers sell some salumi. And prosciutto andpancetta are available in most groceries. There are several American producerswho are making salumi the way they do in Italy. The best known is SalumiArtisan Cured Meats in Seattle, which is owned by Mario Batali’s father,Armandino. You can order their products at www.salumicuredmeats.com
The next time you’re craving a real Italian pizza, try using some of thesedelicious salumi cured meats as pizza toppings.
Read more about Italian pizza meats here.
Authentic Italian salumi Image Flickr: rfarmerSalumifrom Molinari in San Francisco Image Flickr: biskuit