Vitellone Bianco dell'Appennino Centrale beef

History and origin

The roots of this meat are very old. The Etruscans already raised cattle on the Apennines with traits similar to today's, and the present breeds descend from crosses and selection of the aurochs, Bos taurus primigenius. The Romagnola comes from animals raised by the peoples who arrived in the sixth and seventh centuries; the Marchigiana was born in the nineteenth century, when farmers in the Marche crossed Romagnola and Chianina.

These are the three «white breeds of central Italy», and in the early 1990s they were at risk of disappearing. Today their meat is protected by a European indication: Vitellone Bianco dell'Appennino Centrale was Italy's first PGI for fresh beef.

The indication certifies the meat, not the breeds: that is why speaking of «Chianina PGI» or «Marchigiana PGI» is wrong. A protection consortium works to protect and promote the mark and to inform buyers.

Sources: Qualigeo (Fondazione Qualivita) — Vitellone Bianco dell'Appennino Centrale IGP · Consorzio di tutela del Vitellone Bianco dell'Appennino Centrale — Lo sapevi che · Consorzio di tutela del Vitellone Bianco dell'Appennino Centrale — FAQ

Area and method of production

The meat comes from cattle, male and female, of pure Chianina, Marchigiana and Romagnola breed, registered in the national herd book and slaughtered between 12 and 24 months. The area covers all of Abruzzo, Molise, Umbria and Marche, and parts of Emilia-Romagna, Lazio, Tuscany and Campania, including the provinces of Benevento and Avellino and some areas around Caserta.

Calves are suckled by their mothers until weaning, on pasture, in loose housing or semi-wild. Afterwards they feed on fresh or stored forage from natural meadows and local crops, with simple or compound feed and mineral supplements, keeping protein between 13 and 18 per cent.

After slaughter the meat must hang: the consortium gives 10-14 days as the ideal period, during which the muscles lose their stiffness and gain flavour.

Sources: Qualigeo (Fondazione Qualivita) — Vitellone Bianco dell'Appennino Centrale IGP · Consorzio di tutela del Vitellone Bianco dell'Appennino Centrale — FAQ · Consorzio di tutela del Vitellone Bianco dell'Appennino Centrale — In cucina

How to recognise it

The meat is bright red, fine-grained, firm and elastic at once, with thin veins of white fat running through the muscle. The outer fat cover, over the back and loins, is white or pale yellow. The aroma and flavour carry the herbs of Apennine meadows and pastures.

The mark is easy to spot: a brand with the PGI name and the breed is burned onto each of the 18 cuts of the half carcass, from silverside to rib, from sirloin to chuck, and remains visible through every stage of processing and sale.

In the butcher's shop the certified meat is sold separately from other meat and comes with a certificate of conformity listing the farm of birth and rearing, ear tag number, sex, and dates of birth and slaughter. In trays, a label carries the same traceability data.

Sources: Qualigeo (Fondazione Qualivita) — Vitellone Bianco dell'Appennino Centrale IGP · Consorzio di tutela del Vitellone Bianco dell'Appennino Centrale — FAQ · Consorzio di tutela del Vitellone Bianco dell'Appennino Centrale — In cucina

In the kitchen

It is excellent grilled or pan-fried, spit-roasted or oven-roasted, but also stewed or boiled. Its most famous cut is the bistecca alla fiorentina.

The secret, the consortium reminds us, is not to lose the meat's juices at any stage: dry meat becomes tough and tasteless. That is why the grill and oven should be very hot, so that a crust forms at once, and the meat should not be pierced while cooking. Roasted or grilled meat is more nourishing and digestible than boiled or stewed.

It keeps in the fridge for no more than two days, wrapped in film. If frozen, it should be thawed slowly on the bottom shelf of the fridge, using the released juices in the cooking.

Sources: Qualigeo (Fondazione Qualivita) — Vitellone Bianco dell'Appennino Centrale IGP · Consorzio di tutela del Vitellone Bianco dell'Appennino Centrale — In cucina

Where to taste it

In Abruzzo and Molise the production area covers the whole region, and in Campania it includes the provinces of Benevento and Avellino and part of the Caserta area: anyone travelling through the mountains of the central Apennines crosses the lands where these breeds graze.

Certified meat can only be bought from authorised, inspected butchers, recognisable by the consortium's information material and by the certificate of conformity on display. The consortium publishes on its website a map of the butchers and restaurants that offer it.

To recognise it at the counter, look for the brand burned onto the cut and ask for the certificate: they guarantee that the beef really comes from one of the three white breeds of the Apennines.

Sources: Qualigeo (Fondazione Qualivita) — Vitellone Bianco dell'Appennino Centrale IGP · Consorzio di tutela del Vitellone Bianco dell'Appennino Centrale — FAQ · Consorzio di tutela del Vitellone Bianco dell'Appennino Centrale — Lo sapevi che

Protection

• Protected geographical indication (PGI) — PGI-IT-1552 (eAmbrosia — Vitellone Bianco dell'Appennino Centrale (PGI-IT-1552))

When

• The sources consulted give no months.

Where

Abruzzo, Molise, Campania