Mortadella

Probably the best known Italian sausage, mortadella is made of pork, but sometimes includes some beef, veal, or even horse and donkey meat. Traditional in Bologna, this is the largest of the Italian sausages, weighing between 5 and 15 kg (11 and 32½ lb). Giant mortadellas made for exhibitions can reach up to 150 kg (3 cwt) in weight.

Mortadella is 60 per cent pork meat and 40 per cent fat. The pork is finely minced and the fat takes the form of long, square-cut strips of lard. The mixture is seasoned with spices, and sometimes contains pistachio nuts and coriander seeds. Today, the sausage meat is forced into a synthetic gut, but in the past pig’s bowel was used. The sausage is then steamed or poached in special ovens.