 Promotion and information uniting
three Consorzi
(Italian unions defending agri-food production)
The campaign aims to promote the following Italian gastronomic specialties:
Mortadella Balogna IGP,
Salamini ltaliani alla Cacciatora AOP,
Zampone Modena IGP e Cotechino Modena IGP.
The three Consorzi are non-profit organizations whose role is to ensure the guardianship and the valorization of their respective products, to inform the consumer on these cured meats which have obtained the prestigious European certifications IGP (Protected Geographical Indication) and AOP ( Protected Designation of Origin), each guaranteeing the link with a territory and the respect of traditional recipes while protecting the products against more and more frequent counterfeits.
They intend to contribute to increasing the level of knowledge and recognition of European quality brands, as well as to enhancing the competitiveness of EU agri-food products in Italy and Belgium .
Their areas of jurisdiction, provided by law, are as follows:
- market surveillance, in order to avoid improper or undue use of a certified name, for the protection of consumers as well as for that of producers.
- consumer information on the distinctive characteristics of PDO and PGI products, by disseminating knowledge of the positive values of European certification.
- guarantee of high standards of quality and conformity, through precise production specifications.
PDO & PGI
THE EUROPEAN QUALITY CERTIFICATION SYSTEM
PDO and PGI products represent the excellence of European agri-food production, they are the fruit of a unique combination of human and environmental factors characteristic of a defined territory.
Only productions which demonstrate a solid and codified tradition of production, an inseparable link with the territory of origin and a high level of quality can claim to obtain and maintain this highly sought-after European recognition, materialized by the inclusion in the European register of PDO products and IGP.
For this reason, the European Union issues specific rules for their safeguarding, which provide for the establishment of mandatory quality standards.
 With the acronym AOP (Protected Designation of Origin), we identify a product originating from a place. a region or country whose quality or characteristics are due essentially or exclusively to a particular geographical environment and to its intrinsic natural and human factors and whose production, processing and elaboration phases take place in a defined geographical area , in compliance with rigid production rules established by the specifications of the appellation.
With the abbreviation IGP (Protected Geographical Indication), we mean a product originating from a particular place.region or country, geographical origin to which are essentially attributed a given quality, a reputation or other characteristics, one of the phases of production at least before to be done in the defined geographical area.
Why choose cold cuts that benefit from these signs of quality?
Because they offer consumers the guarantee of buying typical, authentic and quality products, part of the food heritage of the European Union.
Because they value the work of producers through the creation of added value and the protection of these same producers against imitations, counterfeits and unfair competition.
Because they help safeguard and develop territories through the local economy and they promote agricultural and food diversity.
The qualities and traditions of Cotechino Modena & Zampone Modena, Mortadella Bologna and Salamini ltaliani alla Cacciatora are now recognized and protected throughout Europe thanks to their registration in AOP or PGI.
PDO & PGI IN FIGURES (EXCLUDING WINES, ALCOHOLS AND AROMATISED WINES)
The European Union has 1421 PDO or PGI products.
Italy is the country with the most agri-food products with a designation of origin or a geographical indication recognized by the European Union.
If we look more specifically at processed meats, we can see that Italy has 43 European quality signs in this area (21 PDOs and 22 PGIs) and thus occupies a reference position at Community level. Such a profusion of specialties is linked to the peculiarities of the territory and history of Italy. which allowed the creation and the conservation in time of very diverse gastronomic and cultural traditions, and corresponding productions.
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 SALAMINI ITALIANI ALLA CACCIATORA PDO
Consorzio Cacciatore ltaliano - http://www.salamecacciatore.it
This Consorzio, founded in 2003, permanently applies to the protection and promotion of Salamini ltaliani alla Cacciatora PDO (Italian sausages as a hunter).
Consortium members use uniform labeling (an immediately identifiable macaron) to facilitate product recognition by the consumer.
The main characteristics of Salamini ltaliani alla Cacciatora PDO are related to the certification of the protected designation of origin. They are produced from exclusively Italian raw materials and in full respect of the traditional recipe inherited from sausages that hunters carried in their wallets during hunting matches.
Only noble pieces of pork, salt of pepper and traditionally a pinch of garlic are used, but never strong spices.
After a ripening period of 10 days minimum. the product must have well-defined chemical-physical, visual and taste characteristics: small size (usually between 200 and 350 grams) slightly curved shape. compact and inelastic consistency.
When cut, the slice is compact and homogeneous. The color is a uniform ruby red, with well-distributed grains of fat, and its taste is sweet and delicate never acidic.
Salamini ltaliani alla Cacciatora PDO is produced in a geographical area defined by its specifications.
Under the term "Salame Cacciatore" and its variants (for example, Cacciatore italiano, sausage of the Italian hunter). we hear "a small dry sausage, such as a hunter can carry in his bag, as a snack."
An appellation both clear and mysterious.
The origin of the "salami dei cacciatori" goes back to the Etruscans, more than twenty centuries ago, but it would be the Romans, their immediate descendants who would have helped to spread these meats throughout Italy, where they are present today.
The hunters, when they were beaten, carried them in their bags with bread, which was a particularly good food for this activity.
The smaller sized cacciatore salami, which could be put in fillets, were the easiest to eat and most appreciated.
A production process that respects tradition.
The production of Salamini ltaliani alla Cacciatora PDO begins with a careful selection of the meat which is then carefully minced, kneaded and spiced.
Follow drying, ligation (in traditional fillets) and ripening.
This production method guarantees a product of optimal quality, with a delicate fragrance. with a rather sweet taste and the color of an intense ruby.
Salamini ltaliani alla Cacciatora PDO can be enjoyed alone with a glass of sparkling wine, but they are also delicious on bread without salt or cheese not too high.
They can also raise recipes such as salads, such as lettuce with fresh mushrooms and radishes or even with lentils. tomatoes or arugula and olives.
Another agreement as tasty as original: with some fruits, and especially with apples and pomegranate seeds.
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 MORTADELLA BOLOGNA IGP
Consorzio mortadella bologna - http://www.mortadellabologna.com
The Consorzio Mortadella Bologna has four main objectives: guardianship, the promotion and promotion of the Mortadella Bologna as well as the defense of the interests of its producers, and this, through communication actions and food education related to this. product, respecting the identity and know-how of each producer.
This means that the Consorzio guarantees that the Mortadella Balogna IGP is of the highest standard via sanitary controls, that it is of high quality because it is produced according to a traditional recipe, simple and authentic, that it is produced in Italy, and that it presents its characteristic flavor. identifiable and irresistible.
Mortadella Balogna IGP is a cooked sausage made from pork, oval or cylindrical pink in color, with an intense and slightly spicy inimitable scent.
Ingredients: pork only.
The meats used for the production of Mortadella Balogna are carefully selected and processed.
For the lean part (pink) we use meat from muscles striated mainly from the shoulder, among the most noble pieces of pork.
In the case of bacon (white in color), the fat parts that are more consistent and appreciated by pork, namely grasso di gola, are used as stipulated in the production specifications.
The origins of the Mortadella Balogna IGP date back to the ancient Etruscan Felsina and the Bonomia of the Gaulish Boi, a region rich in oak forests providing tasty acorns to the many local pigs, whether wild or domesticated.
It required a territory where pigs abound to create this extraordinary charcuterie, famous around the world.
There are several hypotheses about the origin of the name Mortadella:
1) At the Archaeological Museum of Bologna, the earliest evidence of the production of mortadella is preserved: a stele from the Roman imperial era, on one side, seven little pigs led to pasture, and on the other. a mortar and pestle.
Since the mortar and the pestle were used by the Romans to crush pork meats and mix them with salt and spices, it can be deduced that the name of this tasty specialty charcutière was born from the word "mortarium" or better, from "murtatum", which means a finely minced meat with mortar.
2) Another version derives Mortadella myrtatum, a Latin word for myrtle, an herb used instead of pepper, very expensive at the time and was one of the ingredients of a sausage called myrtatum farcimen.
A charcuterie sufficiently appreciated and widespread so that Varro (116 - 27 BC) and Pliny the Elder (23-79 AD), speak in their writings.
It is the agronomist Vincenzo Tanara who gives us the first real recipe of the mortadella in the first years of the seventeenth century, it precisely indicates the ingredients to be used (but with a much higher proportion of fat than today). 'hui).
In 1661, Cardinal Farnese publishes an edict codifying the production of the mortadella it is one of the first examples of specifications in history, quite similar to those in force today in the appellations d controlled origins and geographical indications of origin.
The manufacture and application of the seals of guarantee provided in this edict were within the competence of the Corporazione dei Salaroli (guild corporation) one of the oldest corporations of Bologna on the crest of which appeared a mortar and a pestle.
Until a few centuries ago Mortadella Bologna was a product reserved for an elite of noble and wealthy bourgeois gourmets who could afford to buy a delicatessen of a high price, higher than that of ham, in particular because of the value of the raw material and production costs, which required the work of highly specialized craftsmen.
It was not until the gradual development of the meat industry in the 19th century, that the Mortadella became a product accessible to all, "democratic" and popular.
With or without pistachios?
The specifications of IGP Mortadella Bologna allow both variants.
Historically in the Bologna region and in northern Italy, it is preferred that without pistachios while in Rome, Central and Southern Italy, the green note of pistachios is a must.
With or without the crunchy touch of pistachios, it develops a unique sweet and aromatic taste that allows it to be enjoyed alone, on bread, or as an ingredient that can enrich countless culinary creations.
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ZAMPONE & COTECHINO MODENA IGP
Consorzio Zampona & Cotechino Modena IGP - https // www.modenaign.it
The Consorzio Zampona & Cotechino Modena IGP is the guardian of a very old Italian gastronomic recipe.
Born in 2001, he has the tutelage of two specialties guaranteed and the mission to promote them to consumers.
Only Cotechini Modena and Zamponi Modena have obtained the prestigious European Protected Geographical Indication (PGI) certification. which guarantees both a link with a territory and the respect of a traditional recipe.
These two gastronomic specialties, which sit on the Italian festive tables (and not only) were born 5 centuries ago in the vicinity of Modena.
We owe their existence to the ingenuity of the population of La Mirandole, who, in order to shield his pigs from the invading enemy, had the idea of stuffing pork legs with ground meat and rind. A trick that allows us today to enjoy these delicacies.
After 5 centuries, these two famous charcuteries are always prepared according to the original recipe, but with some additional guarantees.
The IGP certification guarantees that Zampone Modena and Cotechino Modena are always born from the clever mix of meats and spices of the distant renaissance.
Today they are considered as the ancestors of all Italian sausages and cold meats that contain rind. After them, various similar products appeared in other regions of central and northern Italy which helped to spread very widely the art of preparing pure pork insaccati.
Zampone and Cotechino Modena IGP are traditionally eaten with mashed potatoes and / or lentils.
These two PGIs also form part of many recipes.
They can be used as a stuffing for ravioli in a risotto, with peas, with balsamic vinegar, instead of the meat sauce in spaghetti or as an accompaniment to a green vegetable pancetta.
The precooked product is packaged in hermetically sealed containers and subjected to high temperature heat treatment for a long enough time to ensure its organoleptic stability.
The raw product, on the other hand, is parboiled with hot air. To be able to appreciate the organoleptic characteristics, in this case. it is necessary to boil it preventively for about 2 hours.
It will get all its flavor. its beautiful pinkish red color and consistency to the typical cup of Cotechino Modena.
Zampone Modena IGP
Zampone Modena is the classic dish of the New Year's dinner in Italy.
This link is explained by the peasant tradition of killing the pig from Saint Lucia (December 13).
Among the pork products to consume quickly and which, unlike hams did not require a long maturing, Zampone (or pork foot) has always been one of the most popular.
It was therefore reserved for the holidays. and it was usually accompanied by another product: lentils.
The presence of Zampone Modena on the noble tables is confirmed by the fact that some traditional recipes include accompanying sabayon, a cream whose components (eggs, sugar, sweet wine) show that it was intended for the more favored.
Zampone Modena IGP comes from carefully selected pork meats, added to rind, according to the precepts of the ancient recipe.
The minced meat can be delicately flavored with pepper, cinnamon. nutmeg, cloves and wine.
The stuffing thus obtained is then inserted into a natural envelope. namely, the skin of the paw's anterior paw bound to its upper end as is the tradition.
Cotechino Modena IGP
Cotechino Modena IGP is considered the father of all sausages or insaccati.
His reputation soon surpassed the borders of his home territory - thus, in the Duchy of Milan, he was referred to as the "coteghin" of Modena, in the 19th century, the composer Rossini wrote to Mr. Bellentani, one of the pioneers of the production of this specialty on a large scale, "I would like four Zamponi and four Cotechini, all of the most exquisite quality".
The Cotechino Modena IGP, with its delicate but assertive taste, is the deli that many Italians choose as king for the end of the year festivities.
But many are also those who put it on their menu everyday the rest of the year; its taste and its versatility making it an ingredient of choice to raise simple but original dishes.
It consists of the noble parts of pork and rind, as prescribed by tradition.
The meats are minced and their taste is delicately spiced up with aromatic spices and herbs (clove, cinnamon nutmeg and wine) before stuffing with casings.
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QUINOA SALAD WITH COTECHINO MODENA IGP
Ingredients for 4 persons).
500 g Cotechino Modena IGP - 200 g quinoa - 150 g peas - 150 g small carrots
160 g of radish - 20 g of extra virgin olive oil - Salt (at your convenience)
Black pepper (at your convenience).
PREPARATION
To prepare the quinoa salad, start by putting a pan filled with water on the fire and bring it to a boil.
When the water boils, add the salt and pour in the quinoa.
Meanwhile, cook the Cotechino Modena IGP in a large quantity of water as instructed on the package.
Cook carrots and peas separately.
Wash the radishes, remove the lower and upper extremities and cut them into very thin slices using a mandolin or a knife.
Cut the carrots into cubes.
Once the cooking time has elapsed, drain quinoa in a fine-mesh strainer and rinse quickly in cold water to stop cooking.
Place, then strainer on a bowl to allow excess water to drain.
Once cooked, cut Cotechino Modena IGP into slices.
You can now compose your salad.
In a large bowl, pour the quinoa and peas, then add the carrots, radishes and slices of Cotechino Modena IGP, season with extra virgin olive oil, salt and pepper.
Mix everything well and that's it: you can enjoy your quinoa salad !
Credits Zampone and Cotechino Modena IGP |