What Is Prosciutto?
Prosciutto is made from the hind leg of a pig. Once the leg is cleaned, it is heavily salted with sea salt by a maestro salatore (salt master) and left for several weeks in a cool, dry environment. The salting process removes leftover moisture, creating an nonconducive environment for bacteria to form. It also creates a distinctive flavor.
The legs are then hung in cool, humid rooms for 60 to 90 days. When the salt curing is over, the leg is washed, the salt brushed from the meat, and the ham is left to dry for 12 to 36 months in large buildings that capture and circulate breezes throughout the drying rooms. It is said that the unique quality of the breezes where this drying process takes place is what gives different Italian prosciutti crudo their unique flavor profiles.
