And the fat becomes "good"
Once sought after, considered the noble part of the pig and a fundamental ingredient for cooking, after the economic boom fats begin to be demonized and gradually disappear from our tables to meet the demand for ever leaner meats and cured meats, also thanks to diets and the nutritional indications. But even in this field, things are changing. Over the years the feeding of the pigs has been changed, raised with menus based above all on noble cereals (barley in particular) and vegetable proteins. The composition of the adipose part has also changed: less saturated fatty acids in favor of unsaturated ones, friends of health. Furthermore, the fat is essential from an organoleptic point of view: it gives sweetness, conveys the aromas and flavours, gives softness to the cured meat and helps its chewability. The important thing is that it is not rancid and oxidized but fresh and precise, of a beautiful snowy white or slightly pinkish color, absolutely not yellow. Rancidity, in addition to having negative repercussions on health, flattens the aromatic profile and leaves unpleasant astringent, acidic and bitter sensations on the palate, leaving the mouth dirty and disorganized. The speech of "Spanish-style" cured meats is different, with managed and controlled oxidation, a desired function of the expansion of the aromatic palette: in the best cases, the cured meat takes on intense scents that recall the "good" animal, candied orange, vanilla and pervasive floral notes. Sensations that we have summarized with the term "funky". They are borderline cured meats, between the sublime and the edge of the precipice. Very enjoyable products, like fireworks, albeit demanding, the result of the producer's skill and a pinch of luck.
Mara Nocilla
