The word “prosciutto” means something that was dried. This word, actually, was mentioned several times in the cooking documents written 200 years BC. On those documents the combination of salting and aging was recommended as a safe method to dry pork legs up. Along the past centuries this method has remained exactly the same. The only three ingredients allowed in the production of these wonderful Italian hams are pork leg, salt and time.
Prosciutto di Parma
Prosciutto di Parma e Prosciutto San Daniele are two great Italian hams that makes hard, even for Italians, the decision to choose one over the other. Both hams are classified as DOP (Denominazione d’Origine Protetta – Protected Designation of Origin), an Italian certification that guarantees that a certain product is produced, processed, and packaged in a specific geographical zone and according to tradition. Parma DOP refers to the Parma production region whereas San Daniele DOP limits the production to a town called San Daniele located in the region of Friuli Venezia Giulia. A few production process differences ensures the individuality of these two hams, starting from salting. San Daniele requires dry salting process. Parma, on the other hand, requires dry salt on the lean part of the pork leg and moisty salt on the fat. The weather in these two regions also contributes to the wonderful tastes and drying time of these hams. San Daniele ham ages for at least 400 days and Parma 455 days.
The visual main differences are the shapes of each ham – San Daniele is compressed during the salting phase and, as a consequence, it looks like a guitar. In addition, the trotter is kept to accelerate the ham drying process. Parma is shorter, has a more natural oval shape and the trotter is cut off.
Distinct elements that identifies each one of these two hams are the brand marked with hot iron. Parma receives a 5 point crown and San Daniele the initials SD.
