Culatello di Zibello PDO - Whole "4,5 kg

Culatello di Zibello PDO is an uncooked and seasoned cured meat product, wrapped in a wide-mesh net of string, obtained from the legs of pigs belonging to the Large White, Italian Landrace and Duroc breeds, either pure or derived.

Culatello di Zibello PDO is part of the gastronomic and cultural heritage of the production area, a territory lying along the Po river, whose climatic characteristics have a decisive influence on the maturing of the product, defining its unmistakable organoleptic properties.

The production area of Culatello di Zibello PDO covers the municipalities of Polesine Zibello, Busseto, Zibello, Soragna, Roccabianca, San Secondo Parmense, Colorno and part of the municipality of Sissa Trecasali in the province of Parma, in the region Emilia-Romagna. The pigs used to produce Culatello must come strictly from farms located in the regions of Lombardy and Emilia-Romagna.

Culatello di Zibello PDO is made from the finest muscle bundles of the boneless pig's leg. The muscle mass is manually dry salted. The salting operation lasts from one to six days. Pig urine bladders or natural pig intestines are used for stuffing. It is then hand-tied with several turns of string. Before maturing, the sausage is drained for about a week and then dried for 30 to 60 days. The maturing phase of the product must be carried out in rooms where sufficient air exchange and a temperature of between 13 and 17 °C are ensured, for a duration of more than 10 months.

Culatello di Zibello PDO has its historical roots in the memory of peasant culture. It is said that as far back as 1332, at the wedding banquet of Andrea dei Conti Rossi and Giovanna dei Conti Sanvitale, the bride and groom were given a gift of 'appreciated culatello'. The first official mention of culatello dates back to 1735, in a document of the Municipality of Parma. In that century, culatello was probably a royal gift: the pledge that loyal subjects made to their lords. Moreover, this gift could also be loaded with symbolic meaning: an exchange of 'investiture'. The culatello is in fact 'invested', covered and tightly bound in its bladder or pig gut. The first literary references date back to the 19th century, by Parma dialect poet Giuseppe Callegari, who in one of his short stories mentions two Parmesan specialities among those 'admirable in Paradise: the rice bomb and culatello'; as well as the sculptor Renato Brozzi, who exchanged views on culatello with the great poet Gabriele D'Annunzio.

Characteristics

Culatello di Zibello PDO is pear-shaped and weighs 3-5 kg. When cut, the slice has a uniform red colour and the fat between the different muscle bundles is white. The aroma is intense and characteristic, the taste is sweet and delicate.

Pairings

Culatello di Zibello PDO is excellent served with the area's characteristic bread and butter, paired with a dry sparkling wine that is not too aromatic.

Pork, salt, pepper, natural flavouring.