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Prosciutto: A Raw Delicacy, Aged for Years and Eaten for Centuries

Prosciutto, one of Operacaffe's central ingredients, is a raw delicacy that has been served in Italy for centuries. Sink your teeth into Groupon’s guide to the salt-cured meat.

At first glance, prosciutto seems like a cross between raw bacon and smoked ham, but it's actually quite different from both. The Italian delicacy is still meat from a pig—the haunch, specifically—but unlike other cured meats, it doesn’t contain nitrates or even need to be cooked. Rather, prosciutto is slowly matured with little more than salt, air, and plenty of patience. The end result is a silky, sweet-tasting ham served thinly sliced and at room temperature, often as the centerpiece of an antipasto or charcuterie plate.

While individual methods vary among producers, prosciutto is created following simple, ancient practices. First, a pig or boar leg arrives fresh from the butcher; different makers may prefer different breeds, ages, and weights. Next, a curer coats the leg with sea salt to draw out moisture, then leaves it to dry in a special curing room. They may also coat the exterior—also referred to as the rind—with lard and grease to prevent the meat from becoming dehydrated. How long the haunches need to be cured depends on the desired taste, but most mature anywhere from one to three years.

The exact origins of prosciutto are unknown, but it’s likely been an edible favorite for millennia—the Roman statesman Cato mentioned a similar delicacy in his writings, and the ancient Celts are believed to have consumed salt-cured pork. Even the name hints at ancient roots: “prosciutto” comes from the Latin word “perexsuctus,” meaning “dried” or “deprived of all liquid,” as when Caesar shouted it from the theater steps when Brutus drank the last of his soda.