<<< | the company | the products | the production process | history | zoom	prosciuttificio Boselli
Dry-cured ham is certainly the most important and oldest of Italian charcuterie products. A delicate food product which is obtained from selected legs of pork that come from livestock with a weight between 160 and 180kg. The intermediate product becomes dry-cured ham after a long and expert salting process and maturation.
Perhaps not everyone knows that, apart from being an exquisite food product, capable of satisfying the most demanding of palates, dry-cured ham is also, according to the most recent opinions of nutritionists, thoroughly dietetic and rich in protein, vitamins (B1, B6 and PP), mineral salts (phosphorus, potassium and zinc) and iron.
After careful selection, the leg of pork is partially covered in salt. The ham, undergoing its first salting, is laid down inside a cold room where temperature and humidity are controlled by a fully automatic system. The hams mature in modern, conditioned rooms with characteristic facing windows that allow the influx of natural air and which, therefore, allow a perfect maturation and drying process. This is indispensable for obtaining the inimitable aroma of Italian dry-cured ham. The boning takes place inside the establishment, so as to allow more rational and efficient process management and tighter controls on the produce sent out.
In the trimming process, any excess fat is removed, for which the ham loses 24% of its weight. Having established that the meats are hardening, the muscular part of the surface and the outer edges, known as the "noce" are massaged with medium grain dry salt. Once they have been salted (see photo above), the hams are laid out flat on racks with several horizontal shelves, and put in special thermoregulated salting rooms. After a few days, the hams, removed from the racks and set out on special tables, are cleaned of any residual salt, are untrussed to lend the meat elasticity and permeability, and are finally given another light coating of salt.
The repose phase is very important because it allows the ham a gradual but sufficient process of dehydration. The repose takes place in thermically regulated rooms, well-suited to making sure that moulds and yeasts, commonly called "moliga", don't form. After 70 days, the hams come out of repose and are scraped, spread out and smoothed out around the area known as the "noce". They are then washed. This is done by brushing and was once carried out by hand, but is now done mechanically by rotating brushes or in a washing tunnel.
Drying occurs in ideal climatic conditions, in the open air, or in dryers in which temperature, humidity and ventilation are properly regulated. The long maturing process to which Boselli hams are subjected, along with careful monitoring of the quality of every stage of production, lend the product its own particular organolectic characteristics, a rosy colour and a delicate flavour suitable for any type of dish and especially for children, thanks to a perfect balance between sweetness and sapidity.
Boselli hams are released for consumption after the tenth month when the product has already taken on its own particular aroma, colour and sweetness.
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prosciuttificio Boselli: ham made in Italy; the ham from the Veneto of age-old gastronomic traditions