Casella’s Prosciutto, Finocchiona Salami

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Casella’s Prosciutto

Finocchiona Salami

Sliced prosciutto fanned out on a wooden cutting board.

Casella’s Prosciutto

Casella’s relies on traditional Italian methods to craft their artisan prosciutto. They source heritage breed pigs, including Duroc, Old Spot, Tamworth, Berkshire, Large Black. The pigs are all raised on small family farms, on pasture and without antibiotics. The meat is cured for over a year with only salt, no added spices or preservatives. The resulting flavor is pure pork. It’s nutty and salty and a little sweet, with a luscious texture from the fat marbling on each thin slice.

Illustration of a woman happily eating a slice of salami.

Finocchiona Salami

In Italy, finocchiona salamis are a staple. They’re known and named for their signature ingredient: fennel seeds (fennel is finocchio in Italian, pronounced “fee-noh-kee-oh”). The recipe goes back past the Renaissance to a time when pepper—another popular ingredient in salami—was really expensive and hard to get. Fennel, however, grew wild and everywhere. The strong, herbal flavor of fennel gave the otherwise plain meat some punch and character. This version from Red Bear Provisions is an awesome example of the classic. Made with premium cuts of heritage-breed pork and seasoned with fennel seeds, garlic, salt and pepper, this salami is a must for any appetizer tray and a great choice for salume lovers.

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