Soppressata di Calabria (cured salami)

History and origin

Pork curing in Calabria has deep roots: according to the product sheet, the first forms of charcuterie most likely date back to the Greek colonies on the Ionian coast. Written evidence comes later. In 1691 Father Giovanni Fiore da Cropani, in his work «Della Calabria Illustrata», listed «suppressate» among the salted meats, alongside lard and sausages.

A century later, during the French decade (1806-1815), the Murat-era statistical survey recorded the Calabrian preference for salted pork, seasoned above all with salt and pepper, and noted that in every district it was the only meat preserved in salt.

The name, as the Pollino National Park authority explains, comes from the practice of pressing the sausage, and the salume also has old roots in the Calabrian and Lucanian lands of the Pollino, where the saying «nothing of the pig is wasted» recalls how much the pig mattered to the household economy. Since 1998 Soppressata di Calabria has been a Protected Designation of Origin entered in the European register.

Sources: Qualigeo — Soppressata di Calabria DOP · Parco Nazionale del Pollino — Sapori · eAmbrosia — Soppressata di Calabria (PDO-IT-1569)

Area and method of production

The production area is the whole region of Calabria. The pigs, of large traditional breeds such as the Calabrese, the Large White and the Italian Landrace, must be born in Calabria, Basilicata, Apulia, Sicily or Campania and enter Calabrian farms by the age of four months; slaughter and processing take place in Calabria.

The lean meat comes from the shoulder, leg and fillet; the fat is lard, between 4 and 15% per kilo of meat. Meat and lard are minced to a medium grain and mixed with salt, black pepper and, optionally, wine and natural flavourings. The mixture is stuffed into pork casing, which is then pricked, and each soppressata is tied by hand with natural string.

Curing is natural, in suitable, healthy rooms, for at least 45 days. The specification sets out three types: hot, with hot red pepper or hot pepper paste; sweet, with sweet red pepper or sweet pepper paste; and white, with neither.

Sources: Qualigeo — Soppressata di Calabria DOP

How to recognise it

Soppressata di Calabria is cylindrical and slightly flattened, 10 to 18 centimetres long and 4 to 8 wide. When cut, the slice is compact and fairly soft, natural red or an even bright red depending on the ingredients used.

Its flavour is more or less intense according to type and to whether red pepper is used, with balanced saltiness. The Pollino Park authority also describes Calabrian soppressata as a bright red, compact cured sausage, seasoned with salt, pepper and sweet or hot red pepper.

It is sold loose or packed under vacuum or modified atmosphere, whole, in pieces or sliced, always labelled with its type: hot, sweet or white.

Sources: Qualigeo — Soppressata di Calabria DOP · Parco Nazionale del Pollino — Sapori

In the kitchen

At home soppressata is kept hanging from the ceiling in a cool, dry room, where it stays good for about a year. Alternatively it is put under oil or fat in airtight glass jars, or vacuum-packed.

At the table it is first of all a starter, sliced with local bread. In the kitchen it also adds flavour to pasta and main courses. The product sheet suggests pairing it with full-bodied Calabrian red wines, able to stand up to its bold and slightly spicy taste.

Sources: Qualigeo — Soppressata di Calabria DOP

Where to taste it

As a PDO covering the whole region, soppressata can be found all over Calabria, where it may be made in every province. A good place to start is the historic villages on the Calabrian side of the Pollino National Park: the park authority notes that coming down from the mountains you find mazes of lanes with craft workshops and old taverns, where the flavours of the past are still at home.

Among the park's typical products, alongside ricotta, honey and Moscato di Saracena, the authority names soppressata itself, in its Calabrian version with salt, pepper and red pepper. Visitors to our Pollino destinations can look for it in the shops and taverns of the villages, together with the sausage of prime pork flavoured with wild fennel seeds.

To recognise it, just read the label: the name Soppressata di Calabria DOP is always followed by the type, hot, sweet or white.

Sources: Parco Nazionale del Pollino — Sapori · Qualigeo — Soppressata di Calabria DOP

Protection

• Protected designation of origin (PDO) — PDO-IT-1569 (eAmbrosia — Soppressata di Calabria (PDO-IT-1569))

When

• The sources consulted give no months.

Where

Calabria

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