Piacenza cold meats: PDO Coppa, Salami and Bacon

HISTORY
Traces of the presence of pigs in Emilia go back to a millennium before the Christian era. A bronze pendant-amulet of the Roman times, representing a small pig, is kept in the Civic Museum of Piacenza. In the early decades of the XVIII century, Piacenza cold meats made breakthrough in France and Spain thanks to the clever diplomat Cardinal Giulio Alberoni. In fact, the cold meats of Piacenza, his birthplace, helped him gain the sympathies of influential people. And, perhaps, they gave an important contribution to carry out important plans of international politics, as when, in 1711, the Cardinal was able to persuade the French General Duke of Vendòme to work at the service of King Philip V of Spain, raising again the military state of the Iberian kingdom.

CHARACTERISTICS
Coppa (Cured Pork Neck)
It has a cylindrical shape, a bit thinner at the ends. When it has become ripe, it is compact, red with white-pink eyes, sweet and its taste gradually improves during the maturity process. It is produced from the flesh of the neck and of the lower part of the head. From one animal, they can get one or two; it is made into sausages.
Salami
In Piacenza, salami is made with lean pork meat and a smaller proportion of fat (15-30%). It is cylindrical in shape and tapered, and has the peculiarity of being not too finely ground, so that, when cut, the lenses of fat are more noticeable than those of factory-salami. The weight can reach up to one kilogram. The excellence of Piacenza salami is undoubtedly due to the fact that meat from the pig’s leg is used for the lean part, elsewhere used to produce raw ham or to make culatello and fiocchetto into sausages.
Bacon
It has a cylindrical shape because it is rolled and tied, it can reach a weight of eight kilos (even though people tend not to buy it whole, but already chopped or sliced). When cut, it has a pinkish-red colour with white fat parts. There are two types of bacon: the normal one and the “coppata”. The "normal" is whiter and therefore fatter, since it is made from the pork outer belly, including rind. The "coppata" is pink and made from an inner cut of meat, excluding in this way the rind and the first layer of fat.
PRODUCTION AREA
Province of Piacenza. Humid climate without sharp changes in temperature and large forests crossed by rivers: all this has created, in Piacenza, an ideal environment for farming in general and in particular for pigs. The air, another key ingredient, is also perfect for a good seasoning.
FOLLOW THE TASTE!
Come to taste them at Un Po di Gusto, culinary event of the Strada del Po e dei Sapori della Bassa Piacentina, from November 1 to 30 in various locations of Piacenza lowland.