Читать книгу Made in Italy: Food and Stories - Giorgio Locatelli - Страница 68

I always buy whole salame and hams, and slice them at home, because so much of the magic comes with the release of the aroma as it is cut – but then I am so dedicated to salumi that I have a slicing machine at home as well as at Locanda. Otherwise, I recommend you buy your prosciutto crudo from a good delicatessen and ask them to slice it for you, because slicing is a skilled thing. You want it to be cut very thinly to show off its delicacy of texture and flavour – but not so thinly that it ends up in shreds. The pig has been killed once – you don’t want to kill it again with terrible slicing.

Salami is easier to slice yourself at home, provided you have a very sharp knife, but, again, if you prefer, have them slice it for you at a delicatessen. Personally, I would never buy any salami or ham that was sliced and pre-packed, because so much flavour is lost – and anyway I never buy anything I can’t smell beforehand.

Remember that cured meats were being made long before fridges – that is precisely why they were invented, because there was no other way to keep meat without it going off – so they would have been kept in a cool cellar or pantry. In the fridge the cold temporarily deadens the aromas and flavours, so always bring your salami or ham out of the fridge a while before serving, so that you enjoy it at its very best.