Have you ever been in Emilia, especially in the Parma area, perhaps at a typical local festival in November or December and see producers displaying signs such as strolghino or gentle salami, and with the possibility of tasting, but you don’t know what the difference?
Let’s try to clarify, with the help of Filippo, who with his company is one of the excellence of the sector in the lower Parma area.
We went to see him during a day of work, and with him we went on a tour of the company and he told us all the stages of the work that we report here.
More or less we talk about the same product, more or less I repeat it, but they have very different characteristics, let’s see which ones:
Strolghino del Mastro
The strolghino is made with the trimmings of Culatello obtained from the pork butcher during the processing. In fact, while the Culatello takes its pear shape, the cutouts that remain absolutely are not thrown away, but the strolghino is created.
It has a cylindrical shape and usually weighs 250/300 gr. more or less.
It is the fresh product par excellence, it is consumed after about 15/20 days from processing: it is very lean, it has a sweet taste and it is just fresh that best expresses its delicacy.
Filippo lets his strolghini breathe in the thin natural casing that wraps them, without forcing them into straw or plastic that would upset their humidity and, ultimately, their taste.
Salame del Mastro
The dough consists of lean pork, using the trimmings of fine cuts (culatello, tassel, cup, shoulder), meat is shredded coarse with salt, black pepper, crushed garlic and a little red wine.
The slice of Salame del Mastro is compact and homogeneous, ruby red in color, with a predominance of the lean part, and has a fair degree of flavor and weight varies from 3 to 8 hectograms and the seasoning takes place in our traditional cellars. Salami is stuffed exclusively in natural casing
Gentle salami
The dough and preparation are identical to that of the Salame del Mastro.
The weight is greater, it varies from 700 gr. at 1 kg and seasoning takes place in traditional cellars for a longer period of time.
Salami is stuffed into the fine gentle casing, which allows you to keep the slice soft and compact even in prolonged seasoning, ready to release all its flavor.
Which one to choose between strolghino or gentle salami?
Simply what you like most: every single product is good and it is right to talk about the differences that Filippo tells us.
Remember that they are products of the Emilian tradition and maybe it happens that you find other information about it and that maybe the same kind salami is made in other places, adding even a single ingredient and here everything changes.
Only from a manufacturer, you have the opportunity to receive the necessary information and understand what it is and therefore help you choose.
