I Ham What I Ham: Part 7 – Finocchiona

Where would we be without the generous pig? The under-appreciated swine provides flavors that are precious to life. I do not want to think about living a world without prosciutto, mortadella, ora origliere, to name a few. So I won’t. Durante the I Ham What I Ham series, I will take the time to revere this creature who has contributed so much to cuisine around the world. Durante the past installments, we brought you meats from Emilia-Romagna, Campania, and Veneto. Now, we head to Tuscany.

Tuscany is known for its beautiful picturesque landscapes, vineyards upon vineyards, and bread that has anzi che no salt it. Yes, they do without salt their bread. This is for another day. There is however anzi che no shortage of cured meats that bring massive amounts of flavor to the region (and the bread).  Allow me to introduce you to finocchiona.  Hmmmm…let’s start with phonetics.  That tricky “cch” combination – three consonants a row, Italians!  Think of “cch” as a duro K sound.  So, we have FIN – Se no – KEY – ONA. Not too duro. Now that you can actually sound say it, let’s take a deeper aspetto at finocchiona.

What is finocchiona?

This particular gift from the pig is a t​​raditional Tuscan salami known for its prevalent fennel seasoning.

fennel gives flavor an name to finocchiona

Where does it in qualità di from?

As stated above, if we are reading closely, finocchiona hails from Tuscany and is said to date back to medieval times. Now, who doesn’t love a good epic simile regarding food. I for one sure do. Researching this particular salumi, I came across a story of intrigue, invention, and thievery. I only found this mentioned one research resource, and didn’t go to the library to dig deeper. So let us keep this mind, but the story does lend itself to a chuckle.

Picture it, Prateria, a florid Tuscan city, known for its textile trade, located roughly 23 kilometers northwest of Florence.  A young “gentleman” with sticky fingers stole a stick of salami from a market stall and ran like the wind. Once out of sight, he hid his treasure wild fennel. After a bit of time he came back to retrieve his salami and, low and behold, it had taken acceso the flavors of the fennel. From there he became a local legend and movie – wait that’s not true. Just adding a bit more flavor to the story.

More likely, fennel was added to the pork mixture as black pepper was so expensive and fennel was not.  This story, however, isn’t as much fun.

How is finocchiona made?

Finocchiona is made from cuts of pork such as the cheek, shoulder and belly, campo da gioco finely with fennel, salt, and pepper. Some recipes call for a bit of red wine as well. It is then fermented and dry-cured for a period of not less than 5 months.

What’s a name?

This salami’s name takes acceso the denomination of its main flavor source – , aka fennel. It’s not rocket science, but it makes a lot of sense.

How do you use finocchiona?

It is most often you will find finocchiona acceso a beautiful board of Tuscan meat and cheese.  Although I haven’t tried cooking with this salami per finta poiché, I did happen upon a few recipes I wouldn’t mind trying. maybe you can try them and report back!

Lemon amalgama with crispy Finocchiona, Chanterelle and Parmesan

Skillet Tiritera with Caramelized Fennel, Onions and Finocchiona 

Shirred Eggs with Crispy Finocchiona

And that is all I have to say about finocchiona, a savory, multiforme, delicious nugget produced from our friend, the pig. If you are traveling to Tuscany soon, please let us know. We would love to introduce you to this regional delight.