Salame Milano, "Finimondo" turned the metropolis into a city of meats.

It's hard to think of Milano as a city of charcuteries or artisans of salami; we mostly remember it for its centrality in the world of finance and fashion. Yet once upon a time, in the late 1800s, there were indeed artisans of delicacies in Milan! Pastry chefs, bakers, butchers, apothecaries, and many more.

One in particular, a superb butcher, was called “Finimondo” for his skill with knives and his ability to cut pork and beef so finely that it could be stuffed into a thick casing. The rice grain paste became one of the most appreciated products by the Milanese, who particularly loved its low fat content. That salami had a distinctly bright red color and was the first to differentiate itself from the many cured meats mixed with saffron that colored them yellow.

Today the Salame Milano has emerged from the old “cervellee,” as butchers were called in Milan, and has reached a market that is the most important in Italy. Along with the Hungarian salami, which is much spicier, it is the best-selling Italian cured meat made from fresh ground meat.

In the book “La cucina milanese – La cusina a Milan” by Fabiano Guatteri, it is also suggested to use it in cooking: “It can be served plain or with boiled peas so that the saltiness of the salami and the sweetness of the legumes create a pleasantly harmonious flavor; it should also be tried with braised cabbage. Additionally, the fresher salami can be chopped and added to risotto before stirring it in.”

Many times we look at this salami with detachment because it is easy to find it almost everywhere. We chose Pedrazzoli, which in its fully integrated production facility guarantees both conventional and organic products, but most importantly allows us to learn about all the product information, from slaughtering to packaging, the quality of the pig and the meat; we especially know how the pigs were fed, as all grains and food come from their own properties.

For this cured meat, we recommend a structured white wine among Arneis, Soave, and Verdicchio from the Marche region. It also pairs well with not too demanding and structured red wines such as Bardolino, Dolcetto, or Merlot from the Colli Berici.

Bernardo Pasquali