Salame Cremona

Salame Cremona has a compact slice in which lean meat and fat cling closely together. The specification calls this blended appearance smelmato: the boundaries between the two are not sharply outlined. Pepper and crushed garlic are among its required ingredients, giving the slice a spiced aroma.

Its story belongs to the Po Valley’s linked farming traditions. The specification connects pig raising with dairies and cereal cultivation, beginning around Cremona and extending across the plain. The skill of preparing and maturing the salame is part of that relationship, alongside the area’s humid climate.

Pork is ground through a 6 mm plate and mixed at length with salt, spices, pepper and crushed garlic, giving the lean meat and fat their close-knit appearance. Still white or red wine is optional. Natural casing is required. Minimum curing ranges from 35 to 110 days according to the initial casing diameter; the production area covers Lombardy, Emilia-Romagna, Piedmont and Veneto.

Regione Lombardia’s recipe serves sliced Salame Cremona IGP with a sweet-and-sour red-onion compote. The onions cool in red wine and red-wine vinegar before they are served alongside the salame. Let the tangy onions act as a bright side to the salame’s aromatic slices.