The Divine Dish

Conti Parma Ham Factory, Parma

Posted on May 11, 2012 under Archives, Italy | No Comment

The second stop on my personal food tour with my friend Andrea Aiolfi from Food Valley Gourmet Tours was to the Conti Parma Ham factory in Parma.  I got to see the entire process of how the Italians make this gold standard of ham.

I learned that similar to the production of Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, everything about the production of each ham can be traced to its beginnings on some 1,100 farms in north-central Italy. Each pig’s date of birth and the farm where it was raised are known. The details of its diet are specified, including grains and cereals and the whey that is drained off during the production of Parmigiano-Reggiano and given to the pigs to eat.

Each artisanal ham is an all-natural prime product from  the province of Parma in the region of Emilia Romagna. The only ingredients used in production are pork, sea salt, air and time.

The ham arrives at the Conti factory and goes through a machine that massages it so it will be ready to be salted.  Maestro salatores (salt masters) hand-rubs just the right amount of sea salt onto the ham ‘s surface to begin the long curing process.

The hams are moved to the hanging room after salting.  During the first 100 days, temperature and humidity are carefully controlled in refrigerated curing rooms so that the meat absorbs just the right amount of salt.

After that, the hams are rinsed, then spend the next four months hanging on floor-to-ceiling racks in large, airy rooms on the upper floors of the prosciuttificio. Windows are opened and closed during the right weather conditions so the Parma breezes will dry and cure the hams as well as impart their special flavor to them.

After four months, the exposed surfaces of the hams are hand-coated with a mixture of lard, salt and pepper to soften them and help control the rate of moisture loss. Then they’re transferred to cellars for the final phase of curing, which lasts at least five months.

Before they can be sold, however, inspectors from the Consorzio del prosciutto di Parma will perform la punctura (the puncturing).

Using specially fashioned bone needles, inspectors pierce each ham in five strategic places and then sniff the needles to be sure the scent or aroma of the ham is as it should be. If the ham measures up, it will be fire-branded with the distinctive stamp of a true Parma ham — a five-pointed ducal crown with ” Parma ” printed in its center.

The ham is then packaged and is ready to ship all over the world.  Andrea and I left the Conti factory and headed to a local winery where we got to sample some of this tasty ham.

My tour with Andrea also included the Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese factory.  I highly recommend booking a food tour with Food Valley Gourmet Tours if you are traveling to Parma, reservations can be made on their website at www.foodvalleytravel.com.