METHOD

Artisanal production methods

Dry-cured ham has an ancient history connected with particular procedures for curing meat to ensure its preservation.

Selection

The pigs that made the Galloni prosciutto famous are not just ordinary pigs.

They are mature pigs, of 100% Italian origin, the largest ones, those with the most compact and flavoursome meat, selected by the best breeders through longs years of careful crossing.
Selected animals, very selected pig farms.

The rules of the Prosciutto di Parma Consortium are rigid and precise, but the rules applied by F.lli Galloni are even more restrictive.

The raw material comes from pig farms that guarantee precise genetic specifications, higher weight limits, a rigorously natural diet and thorough, frequent health checks. A longer animal maturation period, by at least 2-3 months, allows a better internal distribution of fat and ensures the best muscular structure, ideal characteristics for a slow and very long ageing process that uses very low amounts of salt.

Salting

The Galloni prosciutti are salted by hand, one by one, just as in the old days.

Scientific instrumental analysis, carried out by expert operators when the fresh pig legs are collected, makes it possible to determine the least amount of salt to be used. A machine can calculate the percentage of salt with absolute precision, but it cannot adapt to the differences of each piece nor notice if a pig leg “yields” more or less salt than another one.

After the application of the “first salt” and the “first period of rest”, the master salters can read and interpret the reactions of the meat, and therefore assess its salt absorption capacity and calibrate the dosage for each single pig leg in the next “second salt” phase.

Smearing

Smearing is a manual operation that consists in covering the lean part of the dry-cured ham with a thin layer of sugna.

Sugna is a paste of pure pig fat, salt, pepper and flour that performs two important tasks: it provides a sort of barrier against all external agents, particularly insects, and it prevents the meat from drying out too quickly, keeping it soft. The first greasing takes place at sixth months of the ageing period and its application can be later doubled or tripled depending on individual requirements. .

Seasoning

The Galloni hams are aged in natural environments

During ageing, the proteolysis process takes place, that is, the breakdown of the protein chains in the meat and the release of specific amino acids responsible for the formation of the taste of dry-cured ham. As the ageing process and proteolysis progress, the ham loses the characteristics of fresh meat and acquires consistency, fragrances, taste and aroma, becoming also more easily digestible.

The delicate balance between temperature, humidity and speed of the air enables the development of very sensitive moulds and yeasts, responsible for the “character” of quality dry-cured ham. All the production plants mirror the traditional architectural typology, with great windows that are still today opened and closed by hand to regulate sun exposure, wind and humidity.

The windows are positioned perpendicularly to the valley, so that the sweet breeze of the Parma valley, the indispensable “ingredient” for a high quality Prosciutto di Parma, can blow through the vast cellars.

Spiking and fire branding

Spiking is the traditional method of testing the degree and quality of the maturation of a dry-cured ham

Graders spike the meat with a horse shin bone which, thanks to its particular porosity, retains the scent of the meat. Spiking of the dry-cured ham is used to evaluate its internal characteristics. The bone must not penetrate deeply: it is pushed in only slightly and then smelled immediately. At the twelfth month of maturation the Consortium inspectors carry out the spiking to select the hams that will be fire branded with the five-point crown and become Prosciutto di Parma.

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