Venticano ham is a seasoned raw ham recognized as a traditional agri-food product of the Campania region by the fifteenth revision of the national list of the D.M. 350/99 published in the ordinary supplement n°43 of the Official Gazette n°168 of 22/07/2015. Its characteristics are due to the particular microclimate of the Calore valley, in Irpinia. Production is entrusted to a ham factory and a salami factory, both located in Venticano
The origins of the production of this product are located read more
Venticano ham is a seasoned raw ham recognized as a traditional agri-food product of the Campania region by the fifteenth revision of the national list of the D.M. 350/99 published in the ordinary supplement n°43 of the Official Gazette n°168 of 22/07/2015. Its characteristics are due to the particular microclimate of the Calore valley, in Irpinia. Production is entrusted to a ham factory and a salami factory, both located in Venticano
The origins of the production of this product are located in the Media Valle del Calore, where the breeding of farmyard animals and in particular of pigs took place. To this we must add the ease of finding salt. Halfway between the Adriatic, where the salt pans of Margherita di Savoia are located, and the Tyrrhenian, Venticano was, for centuries, thanks to the ancient Via Appia, an obligatory passage of the so-called "Via del Sale". Furthermore, the climate of these lands proved to be suitable for the maturing of the product using natural air.
The combination of these three factors meant that in these areas, already at the beginning of the 19th century, refined salting and maturing techniques were developed precisely for the hams and cured meats which, from these lands, left for Campania and Puglia .
Towards the end of the 19th century, the area already included several families employed in the processing and trade of cured meats.
In 2011, Prosciutto di Venticano is a P.A.T. "Traditional Agri-Food Product".
The processing phases are carried out by hand. The procedure begins with the selection of the raw material, i.e. pork legs. The thighs come only from heavy pigs belonging to the traditional Italian genotypes of the Large White, Landrace breeds, crosses with the Duroc breed, and the Antica Razza Casertana.
The processing is characterized by the use of salt as the only preservative. The thighs are then placed to rest in special rooms. When fully cured, for a minimum of 18 months, the ham weighs between 9 and 11 kg with the bone, and between 7.5 and 9 kg without the bone.
Venticano ham is dried and aged in the municipal territory of Venticano (province of Avellino) while the processing of the hind quarters of the pig takes place in the territories of the municipalities in the middle Calore valley.
The hamlets of Campanariello and Dentecano[1] also appear in history in the mid-1800s. Meat could be purchased from the butchers Carmine, Sabato and Arcangelo Addonizio, Carminantono Jorio, Michele Sordillo and Francesco d'Alessandro; the production of hams belonged to the De Nunzio family, the Ciarcia family and other less well-known ...[2]
Above all, the industry for the processing of highly sought-after hams functioned, managed by names of the ancient generation such as Nicola Colarusso, Stefano La Verde, Michelangelo Ciarcia, Saverio Ciarcia, Fiore Nardone, Antonio De Roma, Francesco Addonizio, Carmine Addonizio, Federico Nardone.[3]
Venticano is known for hams and cured meats of all kinds. Among the various producers in the sector, ham and salami factories assume particular importance, where exclusively national meats from selected farms are used, flavored only with natural ingredients, such as peppercorns and powder, and seasoned in natural air.[4] read less
