Of all the Italian cured meats, prosciutto may be the most beloved. With its mildly sweet flavor, the silky dry-cured ham elevates pizzas, salads, sandwiches and charcuterie boards, among many other Italian dishes.
There are many varieties of this Italian ham, depending on where it’s made, but the most famous one is p rosciutto di Parma. No trip to Parma—a beautifully hilly city in the Emilia-Romagna region of Northern Italy—is complete without sticking to a diet of mostly ham, which is often served wrapped around sweet cantaloupe, stuffed into melty panini or layered on a plate all by itself.
Beyond cured meats, the art-filled region has an incredibly rich food culture: Don’t miss traditional stuffed pastas like tortelli (think big tortellini). But there’s a reason that Parma’s carefully cured ham—made simply with sea salt, air and good old-fashioned time—is famous the world over. Here’s everything you need to know about the delicious Italian meat and how to enjoy it.
What is prosciutto?
When people use the term “prosciutto,” they’re typically referring to Italian dry-cured ham made from the hind legs of pigs. But the word is actually just Italian for “ham.” So, in Italy, you’ll find two types of prosciutto: cured ham (prosciutto crudo) and cooked ham (prosciutto cotto). Thinly sliced cured prosciutto is a prized ingredient enjoyed around the world, and the luscious ham is made throughout Italy, from Venice in the north to Sicily in the south. However, p rosciutto di Parma (from the province of Parma) is the best known version.
How is prosciutto made?
Prosciutto is made slightly differently across Italy, but the general process is similar everywhere. First, the pig’s hind legs are salted (in Parma, prosciutto makers use high-quality Italian sea salt). Then, the ham is refrigerated in high humidity for a week before getting another coating of salt. A couple weeks later, the hind legs are hung in refrigerated rooms, where they’ll remain for two to three months. Artisans then wash the salt off, before moving the legs to well-ventilated dry rooms for three months.
But they’re not done yet! Any exposed surfaces on the hams are covered with a lard and salt mixture to ensure that the meat doesn’t dry out. And finally, after nearly seven months, the ham travels to the final curing room.
Prosciutto di Parma
Prosciutto di Parma is the most famous Italian-made prosciutto, but other regions across the country have their own centuries-old traditions of curing hams, too. The ham-making process is strictly regulated by the government, with the precise ingredients, temperatures and aging times dictated by the specific location’s Denominazione di Origine Protetta (Protected Designation of Origin, or PDO)—similar to how products like champagne and tequila must adhere to certain guidelines.
For example, by law, p rosciutto di Parma must be cured for at least 400 days to three years, and if you don’t follow the rules enforced by the Consorzio del Prosciutto di Parma, you can’t officially call your ham p rosciutto di Parma. Other beloved Italian hams include prosciutto di San Daniele, prosciutto toscano and prosciutto amatriciano. (Fun fact: Parma is also one of the provinces where another iconic food item is made: Parmigiano-Reggiano.)
Culatello
Culatello, or culatello di Zibello, is another cured meat produced not far from the city of Parma, Italy. The meat comes from the rear muscle of the haunch, and it’s cured inside a pig’s bladder. Culatello gets its distinctive, slightly funky flavor from aging in the cold, wet climate along the Po River.
Jamón
Jamón is Spain’s renowned dry-cured ham that’s not too different from Italy’s prosciutto crudo. The salty ham is slightly drier than prosciutto, and it has more concentrated pork flavor, due to a longer aging process. Beautifully marbled jamón ibérico is perhaps the best-known version, made in the Iberian peninsula in both Spain and Portugal.
American prosciutto
While America is relatively new to the prosciutto game, producers across the country are making dry-cured hams in the style of prosciutto and jamón, using American pigs and updated methods. Because America doesn’t have specific laws regulating the term “prosciutto,” you’ll find a wider range of styles, from sweet and silky to rich and smoky.
What does prosciutto taste like?
When sliced thin into silky sheets, prosciutto is prized for its sweet, mild, delicately rich flavor and thin strip of savory lard. When cooked, the ham becomes crispy and slightly chewy, with an even saltier, stronger pork flavor. Just like wine, prosciutto varies in taste depending on the terroir of where it’s made.
How do you eat prosciutto?
There are so many delicious ways to use prosciutto. The cured meat is commonly served on salads, pizzas and sandwiches, and it beautifully complements nutty Parmigiano-Reggiano on a snack board or cheese board.
Prosciutto can also be used as a lower-fat bacon substitute in many dishes, especially soups and pastas. When chopped up and sauteed, the ham gets nice and crispy like bacon, with a concentrated pork flavor. In fact, you can always use diced prosciutto whenever a recipe calls for with diced bacon or pancetta.
Where do you buy prosciutto?
Packaged prosciutto is easy to find in the supermarket near the other deli meats. For fresh-cut p rosciutto di Parma with the most delicate flavor and silky texture, however, you’ll want to head to a specialty cheese shop or Italian grocery where it can be sliced fresh from the leg.