GUSTARE | TASTE NORCINERIA
questi ultimi, profuma delle erbe e dei fiori dei pascoli, nutrendo quindi adeguatamente i maiali, ma anche ammorbidendo e profumandone la carne. Da una virtuosa economia rurale improntata, come sempre, ad annullare gli sprechi, nasce quindi uno dei “segreti” per ottenere insaccati teneri e aromatici. Anche se, poi, una parte considerevole della responsabilità sulla qualità di sopresse e affini sarà di chi farà su le loro carni e di chi le saprà far maturare in ambienti adeguati”. Perché, è bene sottolinearlo, in quelle grandi e spesse fette di sopressa de casada simbolo dell’ospitalità tra i colli del Conegliano Valdobbiadene, ci sono mesi di pazienti attenzioni e di attese, lunghi processi artigianali e grande attenzione alla conservazione, da sempre principale problema del consumo di carne. Cui la produzione industriale (spesso di eccellente qualità) ha certo impresso maggior sicurezza e tutela, ma ha anche tolto - diciamolo - qualche profumo e qualche sapore. Ed anche un po’ di poesia. In the Conegliano Valdobbiadene hills pan e sopressa is more than a snack, it’s a throw-back to a simpler time. Pan e sopressa is also an expression which means to be clear and direct, just like the two flavours themselves. It’s also representative of a way of life and it’s no accident that throughout these hills in the wineries Prosecco tasting sessions are accompanied by this simple staple. The same is true in the osterias and even in the best restaurants where expert chefs work their magic on this happy combination of flavours. It’s no exaggeration to say that sopressa is one of the products which most represents the Pedemontana area of the province of Treviso. Even though less celebrated than its cousin from Vicenza – which enjoys DOP status – Treviso sopressa (with just one p because in the local dialect double letters are not pronounced and so also not written) has a long tradition of its own. Alongside other cured meats and salamis, sopressa was made at home by those families lucky enough to have the one precious ingredient: pigs. Precious because as we all know, it’s an animal from which nothing is wasted. But precious also by virtue of its centuries’ long tradition in the area which gave rise to the development of expertise in drying, curing and salting, essential skills for storing meat over long periods. This meant the meat could be adapted to a variety of local traditions which would often vary from one family to another. Danilo Gasparini, Professor of the History of Food and Agriculture at Padua University, has a deep knowledge of these traditions. He has performed countless studies into the food and agricultural traditions in the province of Treviso examining their roots and distinctively local production methods. He explains that making cured meats at home is much more than a simple habit: “Among cured meats the most characteristic of the northern part of the province are sopressa and bondiola, including the col lingual version with cured tongue at the centre. The work was performed by each family usually with the help of a local expert in the art of breaking up the animal – far su in dialect – making sure each part would be ready to be worked fresh and made into cured meats”. “Once upon a time there were many expert becheri (butchers) not least because families would usually all slaughter their animals at the coldest time of year – between December and January – so as to ensure the best preservation of the meat. The work had to be done quickly so there
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