Finocchiona igp blog
Finocchiona IGP
The Protected Geographical Indication is the European quality mark that protects and guarantees breeders, producers and consumers.
The European Union, after careful checks, recognized Finocchiona 'IGP (Protected Geographical Indication) in 2015, certifying the deep link with the territory in which it is produced; respect for only Tuscan processing according to the traditional recipe; the guarantee that every PGI marked product responds to precise qualitative and organoleptic characteristics.
Each individual process is therefore carried out according to the strict rules imposed by the Production Regulations, approved by the European Union.
To ensure compliance with these rules and the guarantee of putting a certified quality product on the table are: the independent control body and third party to the Consortium, appointed by the Ministry of Agricultural, Food and Forestry Policies and the Finocchiona IGP protection consortium.
Curiosity.
Did you know that the control body carries out periodic inspections and checks in the companies authorized to produce Finocchiona IGP?
The controls ensure the supervision of the production process and the finished product, so that the quality of the IGP mark is respected.
The origins of Finocchiona IGP
The authorship of this salami is claimed by both Campi Bisenzio and Greve in Chianti. Its origins go back to the Middle Ages, when, to make up for the use of rarer and more expensive pepper, it was decided to add to the mixture of fennel seeds, more easily available, convenient and also suitable for hiding any deterioration of the meat, given their strong aroma.
How it is prepared. The ingredients of the finocchiona IGP
Thus was born the finocchiona, prepared, according to the Tuscan tradition, with selected parts of Ham, from the bacon, of jowls and of shoulders of the pig which are ground, mixed with red wine and treated with salt, pepper, fennel and garlic.
At the end of the process (which still takes place manually today), the dough is stuffed into a blind beef casing and left to mature for about 5 months.
The finocchiona IGP between the past ...
The Chianti people usually say: as skilled hairdressers are able to make even the ugliest woman look attractive, so the aroma of finocchiona is capable of disguising the taste of even the most undrinkable wine.
The saying alludes to one curious popular custom: at the end of the 19th century the Florentine nobles who did not have cultivated land went to the countryside around Florence to buy the peasants' wine.
These, usually very hospitable, welcomed possible customers with a good breakfast of bread, finocchiona and a glass of red wine that had to be sold.
The spices and the strong aroma of finocchiona they actually served to alter the palate and confuse the sense of smell of the noble buyers who would certainly have bought the wine, evaluating it as excellent and free from defects.
…is present
Today, finocchiona IGP is used to prepare appetizers or simple snacks. If you've never tasted it, I recommend you try it with fresh pecorino Tuscan and a good piece of flatbread.
In the kitchen you can combine the finocchiona Toscana PGI then with various cooked vegetables (such as spinach, turnips and broad beans) or otherwise heat it slightly and consume it on slices of grilled polenta. Try it, and you won't regret it.