With Prosciutto San Daniele we return to Northern Italy, and specifically San Daniele, a town in the province of Udine that's tucked up against the Slovenian border. prosciutto San Daneile is Dolce, and it can be extremely refined. Unlike the prosciutti of Emilia (Parma and Modena), which are rounded and rather stubby, Prosciutti from San Daniele are pressed to give them a characteristic, elongate "Stradivarian" shape (by women, according to the Consorzio -- men lack the necessary touch).
Udine is in Friuli Venezia Giulia, and though the city is culturally Italian, the province borders the Slavic lands to the east, and the area was long an Austrian province. As a result there is a fair amount of cultural crosstalk, and you'll encounter practices and techniques that are rare in other parts of Italy. For example, many Norcini (master cold cut makers) lighly smoke their prosciutti. Not enough to cook them, but enough to add a haunting and very pleasant complexity to the prosciutto.
A general overview of salumi, Italian cold cuts.
Affettati Misti, a mixed cold cut antipasto
Udine is in Friuli Venezia Giulia, and though the city is culturally Italian, the province borders the Slavic lands to the east, and the area was long an Austrian province. As a result there is a fair amount of cultural crosstalk, and you'll encounter practices and techniques that are rare in other parts of Italy. For example, many Norcini (master cold cut makers) lighly smoke their prosciutti. Not enough to cook them, but enough to add a haunting and very pleasant complexity to the prosciutto.
A general overview of salumi, Italian cold cuts.
Affettati Misti, a mixed cold cut antipasto
