Italian Salami: A Comprehensive Analysis

Salami is the generic Italian term that identifies dry-fermented sausages, a wide and diverse class of meat products. Today in Italy one can find artisanal salame, made from a very simple recipe, along with industrial salame. In addition to the production of salami with identifiable, specific characteristics, in particular those linked to their geographical origin, a wide and diverse range of dry-fermented sausages can be found. In 2016, the Italian production of salami accounted for 107,600 t, representing 9.2% of all the meat products of Italian manufacturing. This chapter begins with an introduction to pigs and pork production in Italy with some historical references, and then covers the distinct traits of the Italian heavy pig and the pork used as raw material for the manufacturing of Italian meat products. Finally, we address three different Italian salami, whose specific and typical traits are presented and described.