Coppa Piacentina PDO - Slice "0,950 kg"

The production area of the Coppa Piacentina PDO covers the territories up to 900 meters s.l.m. within the province of Piacenza, in the Emilia-Romagna region. The pigs used for production must be born, reared and slaughtered in the regions of Lombardy and Emilia-Romagna.

Isolation of cervical muscle must be carried out immediately after slaughter. Transport to the processing plant must take place within the next 72 hours by refrigerated means, followed by trimming and pressing of the blood vessels. The raw material is massaged with a mixture of salt and spices during the dry salting phase and stored in a cold environment for at least seven days. The product is then wrapped with pork parietal diaphragm, tied with string, perforated and dried in special drying rooms at a temperature of between 15 and 25°C. Finally, we proceed to the maturing phase, which takes place in rooms with a temperature between 10 and 20°C and a relative humidity between 70 and 90%. Maturation lasts for a minimum of six months from salting and must also include certain periods in basement rooms, cellars or premises capable of reproducing the optimal conditions of maturation associated with an adequate change of air.

The first traces of pig farms in the production area of the Coppa Piacentina PDO can be traced back to a millennium before the Christian era. Later, we find evidence in the Roman civilization, through archaeological finds such as a pendant-amulet bronze depicting a small pig. This animal is also present inside the Abbey of San Colombano in Bobbio, in Val Trebbia (Piacenza), where a mosaic of the twelfth century represents the "sacred" rite of the slaughter of the pig. At the beginning of the XV-th century, the shopkeepers of Milan and Lombardy already distinguished the Piacenza salami from those coming from other localities of the Po plain, qualifying them as "roba de Piaseinsa". Later, in the first decades of the eighteenth century, Piacenza meats were also appreciated in the elite circles of France and Spain, thanks to the skilled diplomat Cardinal Giulio Alberoni Piacenza. Since the last century, the local processing of meat begins to take on a semi-industrial connotation, but despite the passage of time and advances in technology, companies continue to produce with traditional methods, related to customs handed down from generation to generation.

Characteristics

Coppa Piacentina PDO has a cylindrical shape with slightly thinner ends and a compact, non-elastic consistency. When cut, slices are homogeneous, bright red in colour alternating with the pinkish white of the fatty parts. The taste, sweet and delicate, refines as it matures. And it is precisely its sweeter taste that differentiates it from Coppa di Parma PGI.

Pairings

It is a good idea to cut it while it is still cold, in order to obtain a compact slice, but it is preferable to eat it at a temperature of at least 10°C in order to fully appreciate its aromas. Excellent as an appetiser in combination with other cured meats and cheeses, or served with butter and melon, it can also be the protagonist of tasty first and second courses. Risotto with Coppa Piacentina PDO, crespelle gratin or timbale are examples.

Pork, salt and natural flavourings.

Allergen- and gluten-free.