To dress up your table with the “Prosciutto di San Daniele PDO” and to avoid bad imitations, you need to know some distinctive signs that belong to this extraordinary product.
Colour
The meat of the real San Daniele ham has a natural pink colour featured by thin streaks of white, candid fat, which gives the unmistakable sweet and delicate taste along the seasoning process.
The trotter
The leg of an authentic San Daniele ham must have the characteristic guitar shape and keep the trotter. A fundamental detail to obtain a good seasoning: the trotter, in fact, helps to drain off any moisture inside the leg.
Branding
Below the trotter, San Daniele hams have a producer identification code, 45 for Sandan products. After thorough checks and Control Institute approval, code is marked over the rind of each ham.
The breeder and slaughterhouse marks
San Daniele hams must have two tattoos: the first relates to the breeder, it identifies the month of birth of the animal and the place where it has grown. The second one regards the slaughterhouse, it is identified by the letters “PP” and the identification code of the slaughterhouse.
The “DOT” mark
The last element that a good San Daniele must have is the DOT, the starting production date. This code is marked on the leg as soon as it arrives in the factory of San Daniele and it is meant to know the duration of the seasoning.
Goodness and health
San Daniele ham is a completely natural product, additive free, easily digestible and extremely nutritious. It is rich in noble proteins, vitamins and minerals. It is perfect for anyone who wants to taste a good and healthy product, even during a low-calorie diet. Pork is no longer as fat as it used to be: the careful formulation of feed and the farming systems improvement made ratio between saturated and unsaturated fats much better and lowered the cholesterol content as of meat such as beef, veal and chicken.
Athletes
San Daniele ham is not only a suitable product, but it is perfect for those who practice sports. In addition to the presence of zinc, iron, potassium and selenium, San Daniele has only monounsaturated fats, which are essential during energy consumption, and many proteins essential for the recovery phase after physical activity and for the maintenance of muscles and tissues.
Children
Animal proteins and vitamin B are essential for children’s neurological development and cell growth. The World Health Organization recommends in fact the intake animal origin food since six months old, in order to avoid hypotonic muscles, apathy, reduced growth of nerve cells. Mom, make healthy ham sandwiches!
Elderly
Once we get older, is it necessary to give up cured meats such as San Daniele? Absolutely not. San Daniele ham, thanks to its rich and tasty taste, helps to fight the lack of appetite and to provide a correct protein intake in order to prevent the loss of muscular mass typical of the elderly. Thanks to its soft texture, its meat is easily chewable.
Slicing and preservation
Slicing the ham manually let you fully appreciate its scents and taste. To do this correctly, however, it is useful to know the correct technique and to have the right tools.
Tools
First, the knife must have a long, flexible and sharp blade, and must be accompanied by a second knife, with a short blade, to engrave the flesh around the bone. It is advisable to slice the ham just before consuming it using the special clamp instead of the cutting board.
Cutting
Once the rind and the superficial putty have been removed, the cut can be made: a light and continuous blade movement, from right to left, which affects the entire length of the blade. A delicate operation that, done according to the art, makes long, regular and thin slices. For those who love practicality, we recommend a vertical slicer, ideally by hand, which will have to start cutting the ham always on its fatter side.
Preservation
After slicing, the cut ham must be kept between 7 and 10°C and consumed within 2-3 days. The boneless leg can be kept for some time: it is advisable to let it rest in the refrigerator, in the lower shelf. Always protect the cut using a slightly damp cotton cloth. In this way the ham can “breathe” but without absorbing the smells of the refrigerator or developing alterations in appearance and taste.
How to taste it
Cured meat and wine, a perfect wedding. The possible combinations go from red wines not too aged, to white, to the freshness of the bubbles. The important thing is to keep the right balance between the cured meat flavour and the wine one, so that the latter never prevails over the delicacy and smell of the ham.
Prosciutto di San Daniele PDO
Still white wine:
Friulano DOC
Pinot Grigio del Collio
Ribolla Gialla
Bubbles:
Trento Brut Rosé
Champagne
Prosciutto di Parma PDO
Still white wine:
Malvasia di Parma
Chardonnay dell’Alto Adige
Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi
Bubbles:
Franciacorta Brut
Smoked Speck
Still white wine:
Gewurztraminer
Red wine:
Lagrein Pinot Nero
D’Ampezzo specialties
Still white wine:
Sauvignon Colli Orientali del Friuli DOC
Friuli Isonzo
Red wine:
Vigneti delle Dolomiti Rosso IGT
Pinot Nero DOC
Montepulciano d’Abruzzo