FFD Charcuterie 2010 Supplement

A SU PPLEMENT TO

at the heart of speciality food and drink

digest

Guide to British & CONTINENTAL CHARCUTERIE

Create a winning selection in your speciality food store COOKED HAM • AIR-DRIED HAMS • SALAMI • SMOKED POULTRY & GAME • BUYERS’ CHECKLISTS • DISPLAY & STORAGE

Published in association with The Charcuterie Guild and its trade sponsors

WELCOME

by Bob Farrand

Introductory Offer We’ve been hand making and delivering award winning, high quality cooked meats for over twenty years. As a wholesaler we’re also in the unique position of being able to give you direct prices for premium products – no middle man, just great cooked meats straight from our kitchens to your business.

These are just a few of the special prices we’re offering at the moment. If you visit our website you can find even more…

• Dry Gammon Award winning, traditional cure • Farmhouse Gammon Award winning, traditional cure • Grange Gammon Low salt and lower fat ham • 30 Second Bacon Multi-award winning cooked bacon • Southover Cooked Streaky Affordable quality bacon • Topside 100% Natural award winning beef • Saltbeef One of our most popular products this year

£6.65p/kg £5.95p/kg £5.60p/kg £10.90p/kg £10.70p/kg £12.60p/kg £9.60p/kg

www.southoverfoods.com • 01273 596830 • good local food

Traditional Suffolk Hams and Bacon since 1820 www.ebacon.co.uk 2

FINE FOOD DIGEST

| Guide to Charcuterie

At one time, the word charcuterie referred exclusively to pork butchery but nowadays it’s generally associated with all types of cured meat.

Originally, curing was developed to preserve meat in the days before refrigeration. By raising acidity inside the meat through salting, drying and the addition of bacteria like lactobacilli, pigs fattened and killed in autumn could feed families through the winter.

In Italy, Spain and France, the volume of charcuterie consumed is enormous. In the UK, our knowledge of this type of food was, until relatively recently, confined to cooked ham. While this remains our biggest and most loved charcuterie product, we are increasingly buying into the Italian concept that every good meal starts with a plate of cold meats, a glass of Prosecco and a conversation.

Bob Farrand National Director, Guild of Fine Food & UK Cheese Guild w www.finefoodworld.co.uk

For every 100 books written about cheese, there are just a handful on charcuterie and even fewer take the time to explain the traditions and delights of traditional British hams. Set up almost a decade ago, The Charcuterie Guild, run by the Guild of Fine Food, delivers a similar level of retail product knowledge training to that of our longer-running UK Cheese Guild.

Knowledge is power, and for delis, food halls and farm shops it is the one certain way to provide a better shopping experience for customers. The Guild of Fine Food’s charcuterie training courses are open to all and deliver an insight into

retailing high quality British hams and Continental charcuterie.

The one-day training seminars are held around the country and feature extensive tutored tastings, advice on stocking, storing and display. The accompanying distance learning manual acts as a lasting tool to help deliver the highest standard of product knowledge in your store.

For information about upcoming dates please visit www. finefoodworld. co.uk

Published by: Great Taste Publications and The Guild of Fine Food, Wincanton, Somerset BA9 9FE. Tel: 01963 824464 w: www.finefoodworld.co.uk Written by: Bob Farrand Editor: Mick Whitworth Design: Richard Charnley Sales: Sally Coley, Becky Stacey Printed by: Advent Colour, Hants © Great Taste Publications Ltd and The Guild of Fine Food Ltd 2010. Reproduction of whole or part of this magazine without the publisher’s prior permission is prohibited. The opinions expressed in articles and advertisements are not necessarily those of the editor or publisher.

Cooked ham

I

n the UK, many Continental countries and much of North America, cooked ham is the biggest selling cured meat. Recent estimates tell us that in 95% of British households where pork is eaten you will find a few slices of cooked ham lurking in the fridge.

But the vast majority will be massproduced and, to a large extent, lacking texture or flavour, which presents the average deli or farm shop with a golden opportunity to compete head-on with supermarkets.

To do this, you need to understand the fundamental difference between traditionally cured and mass produced hams. And the first point is be wary of what most wholesalers tell you, because many of them don’t understand the difference either.

Most of today’s wet cured hams are made from fast-matured cross-bred pigs and the pork is cured by directly injecting brine into the leg using a multineedle injection process. As well as salt, the brine cure contains small amounts of sodium nitrate and nitrites, phosphates, sugar and quite often flavourings such as honey or mustard.

Often, these hams are not whole legs but have been re-formed from separate pieces of muscle meat. Pork pieces are injected with brine and massaged or tumbled to draw sticky enzymes to the surface, which helps bind them together, then packed into a conveniently shaped moulds and cooked. The finished product takes almost no time to produce, can be any shape – like the shape of a sandwich loaf – and is dead easy to slice

on a machine. Often it is also bulked out with added water.

By contrast, your ham should be one of your signature products. If 95% of pork-eating households buy ham each week it can be a great footfall driver and provides you with a story few if any supermarkets can match. Apart from a handful of farm shops that cure their own pork legs, most independent retailers either buy in cured legs (gammon) and cook them to their own recipe or buy in ready-cooked hams.

Whatever you do, the same questions need to be asked of your supplier.

Your customers want provenance, so make sure you know the breed of pig (which should not be fast-growing crosses, but traditional slow-maturing breeds, outdoor reared and naturally fed), how long it lived and how far it travelled to slaughter. And you don’t want boar meat, which has too much off-taint: the best ham is made from sow’s meat.

Most high quality hams are either dry-cured or Wiltshire-cured (the latter is milder and a little less salty) and neither process can be hurried. For a leg to cure properly in a Wiltshire brine bath you’re looking at two to three weeks.

Dry curing demands up to six weeks, during which time salt is massaged into the leg every other day. Both types of ham need a period of conditioning to relax the meat and allow the ham to properly mature – a lengthy process few supermarkets entertain.

Fearful of food legislation, most mass-market producers blast-chill their hams immediately after cooking. This

BUYER’S CHECKLIST Ask your ham supplier the following key questions: • Breed of pig - look for traditional breeds, not fast growing hybrids • Gender – look for gilts (uncovered females), not boars • Location - free range outdoor, not indoor-reared • Feed - natural fodder, controlled diet • Age at slaughter – needs to be 26 weeks-plus for better texture and flavour • Distance travelled to slaughter - the shorter the better • Length and type of cure – Wiltshire or dry-cured, the longer the better, not multi-needle injection • Conditioning – the longer the better • Method of cooling – avoid blast-chilled ham

Guide to Charcuterie |

FINE FOOD DIGEST

3

0480 Melodia Ad

Cooked ham prevents the meat relaxing as it would if cooled slowly and the flavours coated on the outside or under the skin cannot permeate through the meat. If you buy hams ready-cooked, ask how the producer treats them after cooking. Good ones never blast chill: they let the meat cool slowly to the point when it can be chilled normally, regularly checking temperature and pH level for safety.

Properly cured hams (as opposed to fast cured massmarket hams) also have higher acidity levels, offering greater protection against harmful bacteria.

If you decide to cook your own hams, your EHO will insist you keep records showing how each one was handled, but you too can largely avoid fast chilling by investing in probes to measure temperature and pH level in the centre of the joint. Keep monitoring the meat as it slowly cools to the point at which it becomes vulnerable to bacteria, at which stage you should chill it as soon as possible.

Artisan delicacies from Italian traditions La Credenza since 2001 has been sourcing farmhouse cheese, cured meat and ambient products of the highest quality from many small artisans all over Italy passionate about the products they create, generation after generation.

To us, every product tells a story of traditions, of local flavours and customs from old times.

Our full range of products will take you on a timeless culinary journey throughout regional Italy; may we tempt you here with a small selection:

23/11/10

15:38

Page 1

Importers and distributers of fine hams and charcuterie For a full list of charcuterie products, please go to our web site and register www.melodiafood.com when ordering please quote “GOFFAD01

Salumi from Maremma From a small medieval hamlet in the Tuscan Maremma, Silvano Mori’s family factory will bring to your table the flavours of bygone days, of ancient knowledge and of ingredients of the finest quality.

Carve out a niche Hand-carving a bone-in ham to order is part of the theatre of a good deli although some retailers claim customers are often unwilling to wait while it’s done. Whether you sell de-boned hams and slice them on a machine or choose to hand-carve, you need to make sure the quality is better than anything sold in local supermarkets. Regularly buy their best and benchmark against your own – and be honest. If texture and flavour is not noticeably better, change your ham.

Prosciutto San Daniele

Aged in the

unique microclimate of San Daniele hill, bordered by the Alps and reached by the warm Mediterranean flow.

At Prosciuttificio DOK, the expertise has been handed down from generation to generation.

La Credenza Ltd

Hand-carving creates ‘theatre’ at the deli counter

Unit 9, College Fields Business Centre Prince George’s Road, London SW19 2PT Info@lacredenza.co.uk 020 7070 5070

For more information visit our website or call Carlo on: 07971 168514 Melodia Food Company Limited Watery Lane Works, Watery Lane, Darwen BB3 2EB www.melodiafood.com

Stocking cooked hams Identifying the core ham for your store is worth spending time on.

If you cook your own, it is important to gauge customer reaction by regularly offering tastings. Is it too salty, too dry or weak in flavour or texture? Do cutomers instantly tell you it’s special and make a point of asking for it?

If the reaction is ambivalent, play around with your recipe until you get it right. Remember, customers who decide they do not like your ham rarely tell you – they just buy it somewhere else.

With ready prepared hams it’s easier to mix and match until you are comfortable with your core offer. But in any event, regularly stock guest hams, particularly if you make sandwiches or have a café. A different, perhaps richer flavoured ham may help identify a sector of the market you are not currently satisfying.

British barn reared award winning smoked turkey and traditional smoked duck breast

Dukeshill in Shropshire has the Royal Warrant to supply its traditional hams

Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) and Protected Geographical Indication (PGI) No British cooked hams have been granted protection under the Protected Names scheme. York or Wiltshire hams are generic and,as such, can be made anywhere and in whatever manner the producer feels comfortable with. Which explains why good retailers must check the provenance and authenticity of their British hams .

Mainland Europeans have exercised greater care in protecting their traditional cured meat products and many in Italy, France and Spain have been accredited with a PDO or PGI. This is your guarantee of authenticity in terms of how and where the meat is produced but is no real guarantee of quality. Most supermarkets stock a range of cured meats with PDO or PGI so the best delis and farm shops need to take care in selecting on taste as well as authenticity.

4

FINE FOOD DIGEST

| Guide to Charcuterie

Cooked turkey, cooked and smoked ham, smoked chicken breasts and other charcuterie also available Adlington Limited Pheasant Oak Farm Hob Lane Balsall Common CV7 7GX

01676 532681 www.adlingtonltd.com Guide to Charcuterie |

FINE FOOD DIGEST

5

Air-dried hams

Italy

The best known air-dried ham from Italy is Prosciutto di Parma (Parma ham) which boasts a 2000 year heritage and is still produced in the Parma region from large 10-monthold pigs that have been fed on grains and the whey byproduct from Parmesan production. The lactose present in the whey imparts a unique sweetness into the ham which is amplified by a long and strictly regulated curing process that is labour intensive, highly regulated and takes a minimum of 12 months.

The last decade has seen the emergence of ‘longer-cured’ Parma ham, 18 months or more, which some producers and most supermarkets are promoting as intrinsically better, in common with long matured wines. This isn’t the case because a pig leg only needs to cure for as long as it’s weight dictates; cure it any longer and it dries out. There is an argument that suggests larger legs mature longer and the bigger the pig, the more fat, muscle texture and flavour, but age is not the key factor.

Be wary of itinerant wholesalers who attempt to convince you their hams, while they aren’t Parma, are ‘as good as the real thing’. Mostly they will be prosciutto crudo, made from legs of pork imported from all over Europe, fast grown, small and the end product is often under- or over-cured. If you can’t see the five-pointed crown logo of the Consorzio del Prosciutto di Parma then it’s not the real thing and don’t buy.

A close relative to Parma, and one some claim is even sweeter, is Prosciutto san Danielle. This is largely ignored by supermarkets, which is a point of difference many delis and farmshops have embraced. At its best, it is amazingly sweet and delicate and well worth considering.

The supermarkets have yet to discover Culatello di Zibello PDO, made from aged pigs and matured through the winter damp and fog the Parma region. Your first taste

…all in the best possible taste!

FINE FOOD DIGEST

| Guide to Charcuterie

Prosciutto de Parma, like this ham from Negroni, is one of Italy’s best-known exports.

France

The French convinced us to sell loads of their cheese but largely failed to turn us onto their charcuterie. Which is a pity because, at its best, Jambon de Bayonne is thought by many to out-class the air dried hams of Italy and Spain. This PDO meat must be cured in the basin of the river Ardour, although the pigs may be one of eight breeds reared in an area from Deux Sevres in the north to Aveyron and the Aude in the east. The locals believe the best comes from the traditional Basque pig breed.

Curing is for a minimum 7 months but many go beyond.

The ones to look for are marked with ‘Croix Basque’, topped with the name Bayonne and carry the PGI logo.

Spain

Spain is the world’s largest producer of air-dried hams and much of it is sold as Serrano and is mostly undistinguished.

You need to look for those boasting a regional accreditation, or even a PGI or PDO – such as those from the mountinous region of Teruel. Generally sliced thicker than Parma ham, these hams are intense, meaty in texture but never chewy,

Specialists like Brindisa import the best of Spain’s air-dried hams

Continental air-dried meats

Enquiries 020 7284 1063 Email serious@seriouspig.co.uk Find out more www.seriouspig.co.uk

6

of the best ones will be memorable: it’s a stunning meat that offers a delightful alternative to Parma ham and has an interesting history that sadly is just too long to relate here.

Look it up and let your customers enjoy.

Coppa is another speciality largely ignored by supermarkets yet one example has taken three stars at the Great Taste Awards, and Speck from Alto Ardige, with its spicy, smoky flavours, is as good in cooking as on a plate.

• Select PDO or PGI only • Buy from suppliers who specialize in meats from one country who know the producers personally and work closely with them • Research appropriate formats for your counter – whole ham, half, quarter etc • Slice thinly for Italian, thicker for Spanish • Show customers the first slice to check for thickness • Do not lay slices on top of each other. Lay side by side on freshcling and cover with another sheet before cutting more.

• Check cut surfaces for irregular blotches – colouring should be even with thin veins of fat.

•The exterior should not be too hard or too soft – it should gently spring back when pressed.

Guide to Charcuterie |

FINE FOOD DIGEST

7

Air-dried hams Get yourself noticed...

British airdried meats The Brits have some very good air-dried hams that are worth considering but not to the exclusion of Continentals, unless your store is exclusively British food. Those worth seeking out and enjoying include the Camarthen from Albert Rees, Cumberland from Sillfield, Richard Woodall’s Cumbria, Monmouthshire air-dried from Trealy Farm (below) and Denhay, as well as Ireland’s Connemara Fine Foods and the Brady Family.

From traditional fly-wheel slicers to economy machines, SCS is a cut above the rest!

South Coast Systems Suppliers of scales and food equipment to delicatessens and farm shops.

01825 732497 South Coast Systems Ltd Station Approach Buxted TN22 4LA www.southcoastsystems.co.uk enquiries@southcoastsystems.co.uk Authorised Avery Berkel and Berkel UK distributor

01_BATH_PIG.indd 1

Salami

23/07/2010 17:16

British salami has improved beyond recognition in recent years. This is from Deli Farm Charcuterie.

Our award winning Suffolk Salami and Semi Dried Chorizo is produced and packed on our Suffolk farm using our own outdoor bred freedom food approved pork. Both are suitable either eating straight from the pack or for use in cooking.

Contact Ian or Sue Whitehead on 01379 384593

www.suffolksalami.co.uk 8

FINE FOOD DIGEST

| Guide to Charcuterie

Award winning Charcuterie made with pure wild venison sustainably sourced frommade the Scottish Award winning Charcuterie with Highlands. pure wild venison

salami - chorizosourced - pepperoni smoked venison - bresaola sustainably from -the Scottish Highlands.

Tel: 01397 712121 Email: info@greatglengame.co.uk

salami - chorizo - pepperoni - smoked venison - bresaola contact Niki Tel : 01397 712121

Email : info@greatglengame.co.uk

and again, we’re talking about a charcuterie product largely undiscovered by supermarkets.

One Spanish air-dried ham that has begun to appear in British supermarkets – although they’re mostly making a poor job of it – is Jamon Iberico de Bellotta. Although it’s sometimes referred to as Pata Negra, the large pigs used to make this imperious ham are not exclusively ‘black-footed’ but are direct descendants of the large wild boar that populated the region several thousand years ago.

The culture surrounding this ham is fascinating and worth the effort in discovering its secrets but these enormous pigs live a virtually free existence for two years and walk to the slaughterhouse after gorging a tree’s-worth of acorns during their final three months, when the double their body weight. A twoyear maturation period develops a ham that once tasted is rarely forgotten. The animal’s unique ability to absorb the rich oil from the acorns creates a flavour that sits firmly among the top foods to try before it’s too late.

Stock it if you can, talk to a variety of wholesalers and taste their quality. There are several grades, reflecting the diet of the pigs and how many acorns they’ve eaten. Jamon Iberico de Bellotta is the top ham, having reached the required weight exclusively on acorns. The lesser Recebo is boosted to finishing weight with grains and other foods, and pigs used for Campo hams have hardly eaten any acorns. The shoulder, or palleta is worth considering but do research carefully before ordering.

B

rits have been having an on-off love affair with salamis for three decades.

Traditionally made using the left-over bits from the pig mixed with whatever herbs or spices were lying around, salamis are often assumed to be laden with saturated fat. We never quite appreciate how air-drying structurally changes the nature of fat – it metamorphosis from bad fat to reasonably good, which may explain why men in rural parts of Spain, Italy and France often live to a ripe old age – although it might be the red wine.

The key is to look for the unusual

Germany

The generally smoked hams from Germany, Black Forest and Bavarian, are popular with British consumers who share the German passion for smoked meats. At home, these hams are as much a signature of a good butcher or grocer as cooked hams are for British delis and farm shops – each works to their own recipe, many handed down through the generations. Sadly, these rarely reach these shores and we have to make do with hams from large factories.

Black Forest ham from Reinert: popular with British fans of German smoked hams

or, as with British cooked hams, check the provenance. Much ordinary supermarket salami is made from pigmeat sourced throughout Europe – fast matured pork from crossbred animals with little texture or flavour.

Make sure you know where the pigs lived as the best salami are made close to the best hams, using the same pigs. Italian salami made from Parma pigs fed on whey always deliver more flavour, as will chorizo made from pigs that gorged themselves on acorns. As ever, benchmark against those offered in local supermarkets.

You’re looking for natural casings that are neither tough nor chewy, meat with good fat evenly distributed and a texture that has firmness and flavours in balance. Milano and Napoli are firm favourites but good importers will strike a balance between popular lines and more esoteric varieties, essential if you are to offer something special.

Others from Italy include some cracking artisan made Salame di Cinghiale, or wild boar salami, along with a selection of PDO meats such as Sopressa Vicentina, Salame di Varzi, Salami alla Cacciatora and Salami Piacentino. Saucisson Sec or Saucisson Avec Herbes Fines from

France are both delicate and fragrant and some of your customers will ask for German pepper salami – stock it if enough do. The artisan made Iberico chorizos are to truly savour and drive sales – but again buy as close to the producer as you can get.

An increasing number of Polish consumers opens new markets for Wiejska and Sapocka and a bunch of other meats with unpronounceable names but find time to visit your nearest specialist Polish deli and sample what they’ve got – that’s the standard you need to set as most Polish meats stocked in supermarkets are a pale imitation.

British salami producers have improved beyond recognition in recent years. Whether this is down to global warming or merely a refining of skills it doesn’t really matter. Where once you’d chew for half an hour on a piece of sausage that only remotely delivers flavour, now we have a wide range of home produced salumi to chose from.

Go in search of meats from Trealy Farm, Welsh Farm Organics, the Real Boar Company, Deli Farm Charcuterie, Suffolk Salami or Laverstoke Park Farm. You won’t be disappointed.

Guide to Charcuterie |

FINE FOOD DIGEST

9

Other Charcuterie Products

B

A promotional feature for Cibosano

ritish consumers are often Italian deli. That’s a blanket ruling reluctant to try meats they that was agree several years back after are unfamiliar with, so considerable lobbying by the Guild of offer variations on products Fine Food. they’ve tried before. Chicken and Be careful because if your shop duck and even goose are well known is not air-conditioned, during hot although a lot of chicken on sale is weather your salamis will lose very ordinary. Traditional breeds, moisture, weight and therefore profit. slowly smoked, will offer deeper, more The best charcuterie counters are satisfying flavours and if you add packed, busy and the cut surfaces are newer ranges such as smoked venison, facing the customer. On busy days, pheasant, quail or even springbok there’s no need to constantly cling during the lead up to holidays, they film cut ends but if there is any sign of will freshen the counter at a time drying out, bin the first slice. when customers are happy to indulge Recommended display lives of cut themselves. charcuterie can be worryingly short These times for open meats Be alive to trends in restaurants and, in theory, could cause you a lot Why not suggest customers try braseola displayed on the counter and on TV food programmes as with Parmesan from your cheese counter? of wastage on slow moving lines. are for guidance only: consumers buy what they enjoyed Since 2007, retailers must not rely on • Cooked bulk meats inc when eating out or what James the box life of the product once it is hams: 4 days uncut, one pudding – in many variations. This is a cut but must operate clearly defined Martin recommends. Bresaola is an day sliced dish that maintains its characteristics: air-dried beef that’s lower in fat than procedures that monitor shorter, • Rare beef: 3 days Our range of independently-selected gourmet Lancashire’s is different to Yorkshire, many charcuterie product and Italian display lives for different meats.

• Pre-sliced cooked meats: coffees is designed for people who appreciate which is different to Scotland and chefs have made it popular by serving The Guild’s recommended display gold 09 2 days Ireland. Similarly, Pastrami, which was excellence with rocket and Parmesan shavings lives listed on the right are identical to you run when they taste it. Whether • G

arlic sausage, Bierwurst, originally an Eastern European brisket a café, (left). There’s many a deli that has thoserestaurant, used by all main supermarkets delicatessen, hamper Green Mountain Mortadella and other Fair Trade Organic or topside of beef that is salted, spiced, unexpectedly sold out of a particular and are or safe, assuming refrigerated company, farm shop, all contact us and discover Espresso Blend cooked sausages: 10 days dry-cured and then smoked for good ingredient on a Saturday morning storage regulations are adhered to.

It is why coffee needn’t be just another commodity. uncut, one day sliced measure, is now made by several good because it was suggested in a recipe also permissible to cut a salami in two artisan British producers to amazing Glenfinlas on Saturday Kitchen. It’s impossible to pieces and immediately Coffee.wrap and work • Fermented meats eg. effect. predict but it stresses the importance to the original box life until the first salamis: 21 days uncut, gold 09 The finest properly For 25inyears, of staying abreast of what’s popular slices are cutbeans, from one of the halves. roasted. one day sliced Oils and Vinegars.

Mountain Display and storage Web: food and drink. Importers of5 Fine At www.glenfinlascoffee.com that stage, the shorter, display life • Dry-curedGreen meats eg.

Goldhawk Mews Dark Magic Uncut, air-dried meats may be safely Many consumers who’ve eaten a W12 8PA will apply to the cut piece. Remember London Parma Ham: 28 days Espresso Blend & Email: enquiries@glenfinlascoffee.com Fair Trade Organic 020while 8740 1335 displayed out of refrigeration in the full English (or Scottish or Irish) always to note the ‘display until’ dates uncut, one day sliced Sumatran Reserve om@oilmerchant.co.uk Telephone: 0131 220 8251 style associated with a traditional staying in a hotel will have tried black on each product in the counter.

glenfinlas

Daniele Carotenuto/Dreamstime.com

c coffee

BRINDISASPANISH SPANISH FOODS BRINDISA HAM

Brindisa sells top quality Spanishteam foodswill andbe ingredients.

The Brindisa delighted Our expert sales team is here to help you choose to help you choose from our from wideour selection of Spanish hams, charcuterie, oils, olives, selection of air-curedolive Spanish hams . paprika,and saffron, and much more delicious charcuterie.

Let us tell you all about our carefully chosen range and, if you want a master class in the art of ham carving, why not sign up for our Ham School?

The Brindisa Master Carver will explain how to get maximum satisfaction from your ham in the evening classes held in the atmospheric surroundings of our Borough Market shop near London Bridge.

display times

taste our Pecorino Tartufo, a delicious sheep's milk cheese with aromatic truffle shavings.

New this year are two new brands of specialist Italian cakes, Panettone and Pandoro. Imported exclusively from our business partners Paluani and Tremarie, both ranges will be available for delivery just in time for the Christmas trade.

Cibosano also supplies the wholesale, catering and manufacturing markets with a huge choice of Italian products using only the finest ingredients to inspire the most experienced chefs and satisfy the most discerning palates.

Explaining his company’s ethos, Totuccio who has worked in fine food for over 25 years, said: “As a company we’re passionate about the food we import and only source the finest quality available. Over the years we’ve established excellent relationships with our producers in Italy and our UK customers. Our name means “wholesome foods” and we’re very proud to have introduced some of Italy’s finest produce to UK consumers.”

Italian Provenance For further information call 020 8207 5820 or find further details at www.cibosano.co.uk.

EXCELLENT AND VALUE FOR MONEY EXCELLENT QUALITYQUALITY AT LOW PRICES: Be assured of great quality whatever you choose.

Brindisa offers real value for money, with foods priced suit every WeCHARCUTERIE aim to be THE toWORLD OFpocket.

SPANISH competitively priced on everything from chorizo We sell 15 different types of cured chorizos alone! Spain´s food culture is to cheese and the relationships we have enjoyed rich in charcuterie and centuries of experience bring us many true forparticularly over 20 years with many of our suppliers, have delicacies: from lomo, pork loin;the salchichón, cured salami; grown our expertise andlean skillcured in selecting best 988 to cecina, beef.

SINCE 1 foods for ourcured customers.

GREAT CUSTOMER GREAT CUSTOMER SERVICE:SERVICE • Next day, FREE delivery both in1988 and SINCE

•Next FREE delivery both inorders and out of outday, of London, low minimum London, low minimum orders • Sales support: ham training with our dedicated •Sales support: ham training withcards our master Master Carver, tastings, recipe carver, tastings, recipe cards and serving • Advice on how to care for your ham suggestions • Peace of mind: we have our own technical team and close supplier relationships •Peace of mind: we have our own technical team TryCOMING our new SOON range of Brindisa store-cupboard essentials forlabel evenibérico morede affordable quality.

• Brindisa bellota ham • Fresh ibérico meat

CALL US NOW ON 020 8772 1600 TOCALL FIND OUTTEAM WHAT WE020CAN DOTOFOR YOU! OUR SALES NOW ON 8772 1600 FIND OUT WHAT WE CAN DO FOR YOU! WWW.BRINDISA.COM • 020 8772 1600 • BRINDISA SHOP & TAPAS BRINDISA BOROUGH MARKET • TIERRA BRINDISA SOHO • CASA BRINDISA SOUTH KENSINGTON

2010DIGEST · Vol.11 Issue to 7 Charcuterie FINE FOOD | Guide 34 10 August

Nowadays, British consumers look for authenticity and provenance in food purchased for home consumption. This means good delis and farm shops need to source artisan Italian foods with care, the standard mass produced lines found in many supermarkets will rarely be good enough.

Cibosano Ltd is one of the UK’s leading specialist importers of quality Italian foods but more importantly, the company sources many products from smaller artisan producers of chilled and gourmet foods, particularly in charcuterie (salumi and salami).

All products are directly sourced from Cibosano director, Totuccio Castiglione’s native Italy, enabling the family-run, Hertfordshire-based company to establish a reputation for the highest quality produce and excellent customer service.

Chilled meats accounts for just over half of its business and the range offers leading specialist delicatessens and many of the country’s finest department stores with the finest artisan charcuterie products including an absolutely stunning salame di cinghiale (wild boar). Artisan Italian cheeses sourced directly from producers offers real provenance, just

01892 838999 Cibosano Limited, Unit 3, Lismirrane indUstriaL Park, eLstree road, eLstree Wd6 3ee www.rowcliffe.co.uk t: 020 8207 5820 e: sales@cibosano.co.uk w: cibosano.co.uk f: 020 8207 5858 Vol.11 Issue 10 · December 2010 Guide to Charcuterie |

FINE FOOD DIGEST

53 11

TradiTion 1862 Trevélez Ham Produced in Trevélez, the highest village in Spain, where the conditions are perfect for air-drying hams.

The Trevélez mountain air is so pure we don’t need to use nitrates (only sea salt).

Naturally aged for a minimum of 20 months for a full, smooth flavour.

The only ham in Spain to have been awarded a Royal Warrant.

Tradition 1862 Trevélez Ham is available from Bellota Ltd Telephone: 01432 840998 or email: info@bellota.co.uk