Prosciutto Crudo

In North America when we speak of prosciutto we are thinking of the salted, air-cured ham taken from a pig’s thigh that Italians call prosciutto crudo. Parma is famous for its prosciutto, but there are also excellent prosciutti made in the rest of Emilia and in the Friuli. Unfortunately, they are not available in the United States. We must content ourselves with domestic brands, some of which are pretty decent. Prosciutto crudo is rich in flavor and quite fattening. For our purposes it is usually employed as an ingredient to lend a special flavor to sauces. For cooking, rather than for eating with melon, it should be quite thinly sliced. Occasionally recipe instructions call for diced prosciutto, which should be cut from a whole piece.