Gentle hills lost in a still very rural landscape and the breeze coming from the Apennines: this is the context where one of the Italian excellence known throughout the world is produced, the Prosciutto di Parma Dop. A Felino the Citterio for over 140 years it has been working the thighs of heavy pigs to make them slices with a delicate aroma and sweet taste, which only here, in the province of Parma between the Enza river in the east and Stirone in the west, find the ideal climatic conditions that give them that characteristic taste.

The search for quality above all

Parma PDO hams are produced only with a particular type of pork, called heavy precisely because of the size and weight it reaches. Pigs are slaughtered not before nine months of age, when they have reached 170 kg. The back thighs are worked so that they acquire the characteristic shape of the ham and then salted twice, so that the salt can penetrate well between the fibers and the muscles (there are eight!) Of the thigh. These are then seasoned for a period of time ranging from 18 to 36 months, to become the unique product that we all know.

A natural process

All the process that leads a heavy pork thigh to become a Parma Ham Dop it's completely natural. Controlled salt and temperature are the protagonists of the first phase of transformation, to which are then added the drying and maturing in a continuously aerated environment, naturally and conditionally, so that the meats acquire the aromas and the perfumes that make them so special.

Checks and tests to get a product of excellence

Each leg of pork is checked throughout its production phase. The quality of the PDO product is guaranteed by the "signature" left by each member of the supply chain: at any time it is possible to trace all the steps in the production chain and verify the Consortium's quality control program. After 12 months, a specialized technician checks that no errors were made in the processing and, if everything has been done in a workmanlike manner, he affixes the branding consisting of a 5-point crown with an oval base in which the word PARMA is inserted and the code that identifies the company where the work was carried out. This stamp identifies and distinguishes the product among all the other hams, ensuring its authenticity and making the real Parma Ham recognizable to the consumer.

The Citterio world

The leader of ham preserved in tubs, Citterio has been a family business since 1878, when Signor Giuseppe opened a salami shop in Rho, in the province of Milan. There he invented the recipe for preserving pork. Thus the first Salame Milano was born, a product designed for export, for all those Italians who emigrated to the USA. With the industrial revolution, Mr. Citterio developed a system to make the production of cured meats continuous, exploiting the forced refrigeration. Success came after 1955, when Citterio products ceased to be destined only abroad, but were sold in Italy. In the Rho plant the first Laboratory of Chemical and Bacteriological Analysis was inaugurated, to study, analyze and control all production. Since 1980, the idea of ​​preserving the cured meats in vacuum-packed plastic trays, to ensure the aroma and freshness of a freshly sliced ​​product, made the company take off, which today is the symbol of the Italian quality and passion for doing well.

From a small shop to a large company

The strategy of all Citterio heirs has always been to acquire small realities in every region where salamis were made to obtain, in addition to the raw material, the necessary experience to make products of the highest quality. Together with that of Felino, today the Citterio has six other production districts, in Lombardy, Veneto, Emilia and Trentino, where bresaola, cooked ham, mortadella, speck, San Daniele prosciutto and Milan salami are made, as well as one in America , in Pennsylvania. In the coming months, a plant in Tuscany will also be set up. And the mosaic of Italian cured meats will be complete.