January, since ancient times, is the time of pork and salami.

The art of charcuterie dates back to ancient times, since the very name “salami” means meat placed under salt. It was not only about pork, but it was a practice that could be applied to all types of meat, including fish. The history of salami, however, is established between the 1200s and 1300s in the misty lands of the Po Valley, particularly in the duchies of Parma, Mantua, and Ferrara. A technique that later spread throughout northern Italy. In the south, instead, more than salami, lucanica is produced, which is already mentioned in writings by Aristophanes. 

The salami has always been a form of energy preservation for the winter as it was a way to contain all the flavor of the meat and spices, with a percentage of lard that ensured creaminess and aging. 

Salamis are a way to get to know Italy: for example, in Veneto they are particularly large and soft, see the Sopressa vicentina DOP or the typical Soppressa veneta; in Mantova, however, the salami is smaller and less fatty, hence, harder to slice. 

In Tuscany, the salami is distinguished because the fatty part is incorporated into the mixture in the form of strips of lard that, when sliced, reveal the characteristic lard squares, the lardelli. The further south you go, the shorter and narrower the salami becomes, and it also becomes rich in spices and aromatic herbs, such as wild fennel or chili pepper, especially in Sicily and Calabria. 

But when is the right time to make salami? If we go back into the history of the 1800s and beyond, we understand that there is even a Saint to whom the perfect period for its production is entrusted: Saint Anthony. The day of the Saint is indeed the right day to produce salami: January 17. It is the right period because it includes ideal phenomena for obtaining the highest quality. 

Imagine living in a time when there were no refrigerators, electricity, or climate-controlled aging cellars, in short, a completely natural condition. It was only the management of the climate that could favor the skilled butcher or charcutier. The necessity of cold during the mixing of ingredients and during the initial handling of stuffed meats, to prevent bacterial contamination, were fundamental conditions. The ideal condition also included a certain level of humidity. And here one cannot help but think of the beautiful film The Tree of Wooden Clogs by master Ermanno Olmi. Do you remember the festive day in the courtyard of the farmhouse, everyone running after the pig, and then the rite of slaughtering and processing the halves? Yes, it was brutal, hardly sustainable for many, but necessary, essential to survive the long winters. But a constant of that dirt road leading to the farmhouse was the fog. An ideal condition for the production and aging of cured meats, especially during the formation of the surface molds. Molds that function to dehydrate the salami and then begin the partial proteolysis of the meat, thus by spring having a product already ready and fresh. 

The time for salami no longer exists today. We have no concept of the time in which products should be packaged and influenced by aging. We are so used to having them always ready at the butcher's counter…

Yet there was a time when if you ate salami in spring it had one flavor, if you ate it in autumn another because it was more aged, and if you even ate it around Christmas or New Year's Eve it had another still because it had nearly a year of aging. 

The best salamis were the ones that, for shape and size, could best withstand aging until the end of the year and beyond. They were the ones where the blend of meat, fat component, and spices was more balanced and harmonious. A delight sometimes unattainable. January is therefore, by definition, the true time for salami! Artisan charcutiers know it well that even today, for Saint Anthony, they celebrate and do “feast for the pig” as it is said throughout Italy. 

Bernardo Pasquali

S&M