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Prosciutto tastes funny... !?!

Augie6 Jul 18, 2011 08:58 AM

I bought a 1/2 lb of Prosciutto at a very respectable Italian Store yesterday.. However the meat taste very very bland for Prosciutto.. Also , if this makes any sense, it has an tremendous fatty taste with every slice. (not in a good way)

I never had this happen to me in years of buying Proscuittos... maybe it was the area cut or this particular batch.. This was a higher end option , I am little dissapointed ?

This every happen to anyone?

  1. BobB Jul 19, 2011 09:17 AM

    Not sure what you got, but "higher end option" may be a clue. Often less expensive dried hams add more salt to compensate for poorer quality meat or insufficient curing time. Some of the most expensive have a milder, more refined flavor.

    Or, you may just have gotten some from a poorly cured batch where the seasonings didn't get properly distributed throughout the leg.

    1. Pixie Muse Jul 18, 2011 06:41 PM

      Personally, at the risk of being disowned by my Italian mother, I gave up prosciutto for Jambon Serrano. It's more flavorful, easier to work with and has a sweeter taste to it. Yes, I have had bad prosciutto, and I think it comes from not been cured long enough hence the fatty taste and texture, often distastefully left lingering on the palate.

      1. w
        wattacetti Jul 18, 2011 10:51 AM

        What do you normally buy?

        Our commercial "domestic" ham is less salty, less fatty and considerably chewier, or artisanal "domestic" ham saltier, more fatty, denser but not chewy.

        Bulk imported prosciutto goes less salty and chewier but it's slightly fatter than the comparable domestic product. Artisanal prosciutto is salty, fatty, dense and not chewy (very tender to tell the truth).

        1. e
          escondido123 Jul 18, 2011 09:27 AM

          Was in Prosciutto de Parma or another kind?

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