{"id":1940,"date":"2009-09-21T07:29:43","date_gmt":"2009-09-21T06:29:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.msadventuresinitaly.com\/blog\/?p=1940"},"modified":"2011-09-01T18:21:59","modified_gmt":"2011-09-01T16:21:59","slug":"making-italian-prosciutto-crudo-cured-ham-in-parma-drying-and-sugna","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.msadventuresinitaly.com\/blog\/2009\/09\/21\/making-italian-prosciutto-crudo-cured-ham-in-parma-drying-and-sugna\/","title":{"rendered":"Making Italian Prosciutto Crudo, Cured Ham in Parma: Drying and Sugna"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Part 2 in a series about how Prosciutto di Parma is made when I visited a prosciuttificio (prosciutto factory) during the Festival del Prosciutto in the province of Parma.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.msadventuresinitaly.com\/blog\/2009\/09\/16\/making-italian-prosciutto-crudo-cured-ham-in-parma-the-salting\/\">Part 1: Making Prosciutto di Parma: the Salting<\/a><\/li>\n<li><strong>Part 2: Making Prosciutto di Parma: the Drying and Sugna<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.msadventuresinitaly.com\/blog\/2009\/10\/08\/making-italian-prosciutto-crudo-cured-ham-in-parma-the-maturing\/\">Part 3: Making Prosciutto di Parma: the Maturing<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>After the salting process, the prosciutto have been washed and now they are hung to dry &#8211; usually in climate-controlled rooms so that the temperature is an average and most importantly, dry temperature. If there is too much moisture in the air, the meat will spoil instead of curing. The air is also changed frequently.  The legs are hung with rope and though many of the racks are now metal, more traditional racks would be made of wood.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a title=\"Prosciutto di Parma drying out by MsAdventuresinItaly, on Flickr\" href=\"http:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/msadventuresinitaly\/3938824360\/\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/farm3.static.flickr.com\/2469\/3938824360_348be19601.jpg?resize=333%2C500\" alt=\"Prosciutto di Parma drying out\" width=\"333\" height=\"500\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>The old style of making prosciutto, as I mentioned in the previous post, dictated that prosciutto could only be made certain time during the year &#8211; late winter to early spring, when the salting process could be done in a cold cellar, and then the drying out would be done in the open air. Several factories would actually put the racks outside on the roof to let the air dry out the prosciutto as it continues to cure.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a title=\"Racks of Prosciutto di Parma drying out by MsAdventuresinItaly, on Flickr\" href=\"http:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/msadventuresinitaly\/3938027509\/\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/farm3.static.flickr.com\/2596\/3938027509_b80014de7f.jpg?resize=333%2C500\" alt=\"Racks of Prosciutto di Parma drying out\" width=\"333\" height=\"500\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>In fact, one of the things I thought was really interesting was comparing the photo of these prosciutto from the 1950s with today&#8217;s &#8211; look how much fat of the prosciutto is exposed here! It&#8217;s something that&#8217;s a bit of a struggle for producers now &#8211; most people don&#8217;t really want to eat the fat and therefore a leg that&#8217;s a little more trim is desirable. But at the same time, the fat is what helps keep the prosciutto meat moist, tender, and adds lots of flavor.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a title=\"Prosciutto from 1950s - look how much fat! by MsAdventuresinItaly, on Flickr\" href=\"http:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/msadventuresinitaly\/3938673022\/\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/farm3.static.flickr.com\/2496\/3938673022_87acf75cda.jpg?resize=500%2C333\" alt=\"Prosciutto from 1950s - look how much fat!\" width=\"500\" height=\"333\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>If you don&#8217;t like to see where your food comes from &#8211; look away now. Here&#8217;s a close-up of the drying meat.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a title=\"Close-up of Prosciutto drying out by MsAdventuresinItaly, on Flickr\" href=\"http:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/msadventuresinitaly\/3938809476\/\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/farm4.static.flickr.com\/3472\/3938809476_ab190fcf40.jpg?resize=500%2C333\" alt=\"Close-up of Prosciutto drying out\" width=\"500\" height=\"333\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>After it&#8217;s dried sufficiently, the prosciutto leg is ready for <em><strong>sugna<\/strong><\/em> (SOON-yah). What&#8217;s sugna? Sugna is rendered pork fat, which is spread over the exposed part of the prosciutto. Usually the fat is mixed with spices like salt and pepper, but each establishment has their own special mix and proportions. The sugna helps protect the exposed part of the prosciutto and keep it from drying out excessively with respect to the interior part of the prosciutto, and therefore ensures you a slice of prosciutto that is tender and moist the entire way through.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a title=\"Sugna, Rendered Pork Fat, used on Prosciutto di Parma by MsAdventuresinItaly, on Flickr\" href=\"http:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/msadventuresinitaly\/3938036879\/\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/farm3.static.flickr.com\/2453\/3938036879_2b9f993ef6.jpg?resize=500%2C333\" alt=\"Sugna, Rendered Pork Fat, used on Prosciutto di Parma\" width=\"500\" height=\"333\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>The sugna is spread onto the prosciutto by hand, as you can see here &#8211; there are finger marks in their sugna!<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><a title=\"Sugna, pork fat, being spread onto Prosciutto di Parma by MsAdventuresinItaly, on Flickr\" href=\"http:\/\/www.flickr.com\/photos\/msadventuresinitaly\/3938041481\/\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/farm4.static.flickr.com\/3525\/3938041481_7a0c354eb2.jpg?resize=500%2C333\" alt=\"Sugna, pork fat, being spread onto Prosciutto di Parma\" width=\"500\" height=\"333\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>At this point the prosciutto is still NOT considered Prosciutto di Parma &#8211; that&#8217;s in the next post!<\/p>\n<p><strong>Continue Reading:\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.msadventuresinitaly.com\/blog\/2009\/10\/08\/making-italian-prosciutto-crudo-cured-ham-in-parma-the-maturing\/\">Part 3: Making Prosciutto di Parma: the Maturing<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>If you\u2019re planning on participating in the <a href=\"..\/2009\/09\/13\/2nd-annual-o-foods-contest-for-ovarian-cancer-awareness-month\/\">O Foods for Ovarian Cancer Awareness Contest<\/a> \u2013 prosciuttO is a great O Food! Help us spread awareness!<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Part 2 in a series about how Prosciutto di Parma is made when I visited a prosciuttificio (prosciutto factory) during the Festival del Prosciutto in the province of Parma. Part 1: Making Prosciutto di Parma: the Salting Part 2: Making Prosciutto di Parma: the Drying and Sugna Part 3: Making Prosciutto di Parma: the Maturing&#8230;<\/p>\n<p><a class=\"more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.msadventuresinitaly.com\/blog\/2009\/09\/21\/making-italian-prosciutto-crudo-cured-ham-in-parma-drying-and-sugna\/\">Read More &raquo;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[102,100,2],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-1940","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-behind-the-scenes","7":"category-discovering-food","8":"category-italy","9":"entry"},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p4uB1-vi","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":1917,"url":"https:\/\/www.msadventuresinitaly.com\/blog\/2009\/09\/16\/making-italian-prosciutto-crudo-cured-ham-in-parma-the-salting\/","url_meta":{"origin":1940,"position":0},"title":"Making Italian Prosciutto Crudo, Cured Ham in Parma: The Salting","author":"Sara, Ms. Adventures in Italy","date":"September 16, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"Prosciutto crudo di Parma, or cured ham, may be one of the most popular Italian foods known - but do you know how it's made? Part 1 in a series about how Prosciutto di Parma is made when I visited a prosciuttificio (prosciutto factory) during the Festival del Prosciutto in\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Behind the Scenes&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Behind the Scenes","link":"https:\/\/www.msadventuresinitaly.com\/blog\/category\/behind-the-scenes\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Close-up of Prosciutto di Parma process: the Salting","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/farm3.static.flickr.com\/2438\/3921710423_5b89940d47.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2031,"url":"https:\/\/www.msadventuresinitaly.com\/blog\/2009\/10\/08\/making-italian-prosciutto-crudo-cured-ham-in-parma-the-maturing\/","url_meta":{"origin":1940,"position":1},"title":"Making Italian Prosciutto Crudo, Cured Ham in Parma: The Maturing","author":"Sara, Ms. Adventures in Italy","date":"October 8, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"The final part in the 3-post series about how prosciutto crudo, cured ham from Parma is made. If you've just stumbled on the series, the first two posts in the series covered the topics below. I'll wait while you go read those posts and catch up. Making Italian Prosciutto Crudo,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Behind the Scenes&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Behind the Scenes","link":"https:\/\/www.msadventuresinitaly.com\/blog\/category\/behind-the-scenes\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Endless hall of Prosciutto di Parma, Italy","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/farm3.static.flickr.com\/2430\/3903927424_7820ba52c8.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1867,"url":"https:\/\/www.msadventuresinitaly.com\/blog\/2009\/09\/09\/a-little-taste-of-prosciutto-di-parma\/","url_meta":{"origin":1940,"position":2},"title":"A little &#8220;taste&#8221; of Prosciutto di Parma","author":"Sara, Ms. Adventures in Italy","date":"September 9, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"I spent Saturday with Jessica from Italy Travel Guide in and around Parma for the annual Prosciutto di Parma festival. Here's a little taste of what we saw: More tomorrow!","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Behind the Scenes&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Behind the Scenes","link":"https:\/\/www.msadventuresinitaly.com\/blog\/category\/behind-the-scenes\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Endless hall of Prosciutto di Parma, Italy","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/farm3.static.flickr.com\/2430\/3903927424_7820ba52c8.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":349,"url":"https:\/\/www.msadventuresinitaly.com\/blog\/2007\/05\/29\/parmigiano-reggiano-stuffed-onions-wrapped-in-prosciutto-di-parma\/","url_meta":{"origin":1940,"position":3},"title":"Parmigiano Reggiano Stuffed Onions Wrapped in Prosciutto di Parma","author":"Sara, Ms. Adventures in Italy","date":"May 29, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"Wow, that's a mouthful, in more ways than one! I've been cooking quite a few sweet dishes recently, so when the Waiter, There's Something in My... theme for this month (hosted by Jeanne from CookSister) was Stuffed Fruit or Vegetables, I wanted to do something a little more healthy and\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Appetizer&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Appetizer","link":"https:\/\/www.msadventuresinitaly.com\/blog\/category\/recipe\/appetizer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Prosciutto di Parma and Onion","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/farm1.static.flickr.com\/190\/519510993_a2e3a1d9b7.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2269,"url":"https:\/\/www.msadventuresinitaly.com\/blog\/2009\/12\/31\/2009-year-in-pictures\/","url_meta":{"origin":1940,"position":4},"title":"2009 Year in Pictures","author":"Sara, Ms. Adventures in Italy","date":"December 31, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"I'm preparing my extensive Year in Review for 2009 when I talk about my highs\/lows\/discoveries\/tools\/tips and geek out with statistics as I usually do, but I wanted to leave you with some images of my 2009. I hope this evening you have a great time with loved ones, friends, and\/or\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Me&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Me","link":"https:\/\/www.msadventuresinitaly.com\/blog\/category\/me\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Turkish Breakfast with Blue Mosque in the Background, Istanbul, Turkey","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/farm4.static.flickr.com\/3106\/3178444907_d53e564c41.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":401,"url":"https:\/\/www.msadventuresinitaly.com\/blog\/2007\/10\/15\/eataly-turins-enogastronomic-marketplace-and-blog-action-day\/","url_meta":{"origin":1940,"position":5},"title":"Eataly, Turin&#8217;s Enogastronomic Marketplace and Blog Action Day","author":"Sara, Ms. Adventures in Italy","date":"October 15, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"I couldn't find a better day to highlight the enogastronomic marketplace Eataly since today is Blog Action day, when (at last count) over 15,000 blogs would be talking about today's topic: The Environment. Eataly, located in Turin was opened just this past February in the old Carpano vermouth factory. I\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Blog Event&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Blog Event","link":"https:\/\/www.msadventuresinitaly.com\/blog\/category\/blog-event\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Eataly - Eat Fruits\/Veggies in Season!","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/farm3.static.flickr.com\/2111\/1575206960_d09715fd54.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.msadventuresinitaly.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1940","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.msadventuresinitaly.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.msadventuresinitaly.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.msadventuresinitaly.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.msadventuresinitaly.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1940"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/www.msadventuresinitaly.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1940\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1954,"href":"https:\/\/www.msadventuresinitaly.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1940\/revisions\/1954"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.msadventuresinitaly.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1940"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.msadventuresinitaly.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1940"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.msadventuresinitaly.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1940"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}