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Meat from Italy

Salame Cremona IGPSalame Cremona

Salame Cremona is a large, soft, raw salami of minced pork with salt, pepper and crushed garlic, stuffed into a natural casing at least 65 mm wide. It is warm-dried at 15–25 °C, then matured at 11–16 °C for at least five weeks, from 35 to 110 days depending on its width. The PGI requires a pH of 5.20 or higher.

Fully documentedMeat36 days

Recipe

No fixed amounts recordedThe specification lists the ingredients but sets no amounts for salt or seasoning; each producer keeps its own recipe.
Pork muscle and fatTrimmed of large connective tissue, soft fat, lymph nodes and nerves; carcass 110.1–180.0 kg; mechanically separated meat is banned[masaf-cremona-2025]
SaltAdded while mincing; no amount is fixed[masaf-cremona-2025]
Spices, peppercorns or coarse pepper, and crushed garlic[masaf-cremona-2025]
Still white or red wine, sugar, dextrose, fructose or lactose, starter cultures, nitrate, nitrite, ascorbic acid (optional)[masaf-cremona-2025]
Natural casing, at least 65 mm across when filled[masaf-cremona-2025][eu-cremona-2025]
Starterstarter cultures are allowed as an optional ingredient

Total time across the recorded steps: 36 days

Start
Drag the bar or press Play
at least 0 °C

What changes: Trimmed pork and fat are minced through a 6 mm plate

Step 1 of 5
Trim and mince
Time
Not documented
Temperature
at least 0 °C
Set
Salt
None given
Acidity
Not documented
Which microbes the steps name, step by step
Lactic acid bacteria
Flavour
Not documented
Texture
Not documented
Colour
Not documented

Microbes at work in this step

Not documented for this step.

Method

Measured measured in a studySet fixed by a specification or tested recipeReported one source reports itTypical a general value, not sourced for this fermentUnconfirmed not yet checked against a source

At a glance

Salame Cremona is a large, soft, raw salami of minced pork with salt, pepper and crushed garlic, stuffed into a natural casing at least 65 mm wide. It is warm-dried at 15–25 °C, then matured at 11–16 °C for at least five weeks, from 35 to 110 days depending on its width. The PGI requires a pH of 5.20 or higher. Made in 5 steps over 36 days. The longest step, mature, takes at least 35 days (Ministry of Agriculture 2025) and runs at 11–16 °C (Ministry of Agriculture 2025). Lactic acid bacteria and cocci does most of the fermenting.

Key numbers
Main stepat least 35 daysSet[masaf-cremona-2025]Mature
Temperature11–16 °CSet[masaf-cremona-2025][eu-cremona-2005]Mature
AciditypH at least 5.2Set[eu-cremona-2025]Mature

What makes this one different

Salame Cremona must be at least 65 mm wide, and its minimum maturing time rises with the width of the casing, from 35 to 110 days. The paste is kneaded for a long time to give its soft, blurred slice.

Related ferments

Safety

The PGI requires pH 5.20 or higher, a water/protein ratio of at most 2.00, and packaging and slicing only inside the production area under the control body. These are figures for controlled production, not a home method. Washington State University Extension does not recommend making dry sausage at home, because S. aureus toxin can form if fermentation is not rigidly controlled.

History and sources

Every number is labelled with how it is known. How this atlas is made

Records in the Cremona archives from 1231 show trade in pigs and meat products between the Cremona region and neighbouring states. Bishop Cesare Speciano's visits to convents (1599–1606) note sausage handed out on days when meat was eaten. Registered as an EU PGI in 2007 (Regulation (EC) No 1362/2007).

  1. [wsu-sausage] Washington State University Extension, Homemade Meat, Poultry, and Game Sausages (EB1661)gov
  2. [eu-cremona-2025] European Commission 2025, Communication of an approved standard amendment, 'Salame Cremona' PGI (PGI-IT-0265-AM01), with single document, Official Journal C/2025/6442, 1.12.2025, read via the EU Publications Office cellarspec
  3. [masaf-cremona-2025] Ministry of Agriculture, Food Sovereignty and Forests (MASAF) 2025, decree approving an ordinary amendment and consolidated product specification (disciplinare) of the IGP 'Salame Cremona', Art. 5gov
  4. [eu-cremona-2005] European Commission 2005, Publication of an application, summary 'Salame Cremona' PGI, Official Journal C 126, 25.5.2005 (CELEX 52005XC0525(03))spec