Speck

This Austrian speciality was introduced into Italy fairly recently, previously being known only to those who lived on the Austro-Italian border. Speck is a smoked, salt-cured, air-dried ham. It is extremely delicious on its own, but is widely used in sauces, ragùs and stews and to add a distinguished flavour to vegetables. It is similar to, but much cheaper than, Parma ham and many people eat it as an alternative as part of their antipasto. To me they seem so different that it is impossible to compare them.