Parma Ham vs. Prosciutto: What's the Difference? - Home ...

It's no wonder, really. “Prosciutto” is literally the Italian word for ham, and Parma is a region in Italy. Simply put, any Parma ham is ... Skiptocontent ManypeopleareconfusedabouttheParmahamvs.prosciuttodebate. It’snowonder,really.“Prosciutto”isliterallytheItalianwordforham,andParmaisaregioninItaly.Simplyput,anyParmahamisprosciutto,butnoteveryprosciuttoisprosciuttodiParma.ParmahamisonlymadeintheParmaregionandshouldbepreparedfollowingspecificguidelines. HereI’llexplainhowParmahamandregularprosciuttoarepreparedandhowtoidentifyrealParmaham.I’llalsoanswerwhetheryoucansubstituteonekindforanotherwhencooking. ReadontofindouteverythingyouneedtoknowabouttheParmahamvs.prosciuttodiscussion. TableofContents1IsParmaHamtheSameasProsciutto?2WhyIsItCalledParmaHam?3WhatIstheDifferenceBetweenParmaHamandProsciutto?4CanISubstituteProsciuttoforParmaHam?5InSummary IsParmaHamtheSameasProsciutto? Prosciuttoisatypeofdry-curedItalianmeat.Theword“prosciutto”translatesto“ham,”“prosciuttocrudo”to“rawham,”and“prosciuttocotto”to“cookedham.”Inthisarticle,I’llbetalkingabouttraditionalprosciuttocrudo. Prosciuttoismadefromporklegsgenerouslyrubbedwithsaltandherbs.Then,themeatislefttorestinacoolplaceforafewweekstoremovetheexcesswater.Thisstopsbacteriagrowth,allowingustoenjoyrawprosciuttosafely. Themeatisthenwashedandtheprocessisrepeated.Thesecondtime,themeatcanbelefttocureforupto36months,dependingonthesize.Duringthistime,meatacquiresitsuniquesweetandsaltytaste. ParmahamisprosciuttospecificallypreparedintheParmaregionofItaly.Asyoumayhaveguessed,Parmahamandprosciuttohavealotincommon. Botharemadefromdry-curedporklegsoriginatingfromItaly.Thepreparationprocessesaregenerallythesame,yettherearemultipleotherdifferences. WhyIsItCalledParmaHam? Asmentioned,ParmahaminItalyisknownasprosciuttodiParmaandisessentiallythesameasprosciutto,withafewimportantdistinctions. Prosciuttocanbemadeinanyregion,whereasprosciuttodiParmaisexclusivetoParma.It’saProtectedDesignationofOrigin(PDO)food,meaningthatitcan’tbeproducedanywhereelse. ProsciuttodiParmaisoneofthefinesthamsintheworld.Whenthinlysliced,itmeltsinthemouthandshouldhaveanarrowlineofcreamyfatrunningdownoneside. RealParmahamshouldfeatureafive-pointedcrownmarkwiththeword“Parma,”knownastheDucalCrown.ThepreparationstandardsarestrictlyoverseenbytheConsorziodelProsciuttodiParma. WhatIstheDifferenceBetweenParmaHamandProsciutto? ThecruxoftheprosciuttodiParmavsprosciuttodebatelieinthepreparationdetails.ThepreparationprocessofParmahamhasstricterguidelines. ArtisansmustfollowthemtoreceivetheDucalCrownmark.NoherbsareusedinthepreparationofParmaham:theonlyingredientsareporkandsalt. Whileanypigbreedcanbeusedforregularprosciutto,ParmahamismadeonlyfromLandraceandDurocpigs. Meatisfirstrubbedwithsaltandlefttorestforaweek.Aftertheporkisrubbedwiththesecondlayerofsalt,it’slefttoageforanother15-18days. Then,themeatisplacedinaspecialcoolanddryroomfor60-90days.Theexcesssaltisthenwashedoffandthemeatislefttocureforthreemonths. Afterward,theprosciuttoiscoveredwithamixoflardandsalttopreventtheexternallayerfromdrying.Finally,themeatisleftinacellar-likeroomforayear. Oncethecuringprocessiscomplete,eachprosciuttolegischeckedthoroughlyforqualitystandardstobecalledprosciuttodiParma.Ifthemeatpassesthetest,it’sgiventheDucalCrownmark. Theguidelinesforregularprosciuttoarelessstrict,andthetastemayvarymorenoticeablyasaresult. CanISubstituteProsciuttoforParmaHam? RealParmahamishardtofindinUSstores.Inmostcases,youcansubstituteParmahamforprosciuttoandlikelywon’tnoticeabigdifferencewhenthemeatiscookedormixedwithotheringredients. Bothtypesofmeathaveameltingtexturewhenthinlyslicedandalightlysweetflavor. However,regularprosciuttoisoftenpreparedwithherbs,whichmaygiveitaslightlydifferenttasteandsmell. InSummary Hopefully,thisarticlehashelpedyoutodistinguishbetweenParmahamandprosciutto. Whilethesetwotypesofmeatareverysimilar,IsuggestyoutryrealParmahamifyouhaven’tdonesobefore.Ithasauniquetextureandsubtleflavorthatcan’tbereplicated,especiallywhenitcomestoprosciuttomadeoutsideofItaly. RelatedPosts:ParmaHamSubstitute:WhatCanYouUseInstead?SerranoHamvs.Prosciutto:SimilaritiesandDifferencesExplainedWhatisProsciutto?EverythingYouNeedtoKnowDoYouNeedtoCookProsciutto?(Answered) Postnavigation ←PreviousPostNextPost→ RecentPosts: Tempehvs.Chicken(SimilaritiesandDifferencesExplained)April12,2022 TempehSubstitute:Here’sWhatYouCanUseInsteadApril12,2022 Tempehvs.Natto(SimilaritiesandDifferencesExplained)April12,2022 SearchSearch