The museum and the ham factories
In the hills south of Parma, along the Parma river valley, between the plain and the Apennines, lies the production area of one of the most famous Italian cured meats: the Prosciutto di Parma DOP. Its capital is Langhirano, a small town whose landscape is characterised by the long, narrow buildings of the prosciuttifici, the ham factories, with their tall, narrow windows, which were once opened and closed to let in the dry, gentle breeze that descends from the Apennines, mixed with the sea air of Liguria and the scent of chestnut woods, which is said to be the secret of the ham's sweetness.
The prosciutto is made with only two ingredients: legs of heavy Italian pigs, raised in a few regions of northern and central Italy, and sea salt, without any preservatives. The "maestro salatore", the salt master, massages the salt into the meat by hand; then follow weeks of rest in cold rooms, washing, drying, and the "sugnatura", when the uncovered part of the meat is covered with a paste of lard, salt and pepper to keep it soft. The hams then age in airy rooms for over a year, and at the end an expert tests each one by inserting a horse bone needle in several points and smelling it, before branding it with the five-pointed ducal crown. In Langhirano, the Museo del Prosciutto di Parma, in the former cattle market, tells its history and that of the local cured meats. In September, the Festival del Prosciutto di Parma opens the doors of the factories to visitors.
Tip: taste the prosciutto sliced very thin with torta fritta, fried dough, in the trattorias of the valley; many factories offer tours by appointment.
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