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Meat from Italy

Salame di Varzi DOPSalame di Varzi

Salame di Varzi is a PDO raw salami of fresh pork with 15–30 kg of fat per 100 kg of lean, minced through a 12 mm plate and seasoned with sea salt, black peppercorns and an infusion of garlic in red wine. It is stuffed into pig casing, tied in a close mesh and matured in airy rooms for at least 30 to 180 days, depending on its size.

Fully documentedMeat37 days – 38 days

Recipe

Amounts from a sourceSeasoning per kg of meat mix, as set in the PDO specification approved in 2025.
Lean pork100 kgFresh, never frozen or otherwise preserved[gu-varzi-2025]
Pork fat15–30 kg (13.0–23.1 % of the mix)[gu-varzi-2025][eu-varzi-2025]
Sea salt20–25 g per kg[gu-varzi-2025]
Black peppercorns1–2 g per kg[gu-varzi-2025]
Garlic infused in filtered red wine7–10 ml per kg[gu-varzi-2025]
Sodium or potassium nitrate, or sodium nitriteWithin the limits of the law in force[gu-varzi-2025]
Startermicrobial starters (the Varzi sausages studied by Di Cagno and colleagues in 2008 were made with them)

Total time across the recorded steps: 37 days – 38 days

Start
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What changes: Lean pork and fat are minced coarsely through a 12 mm plate

Step 1 of 5
Mince
Time
Not documented
Temperature
Not documented
Salt
None given
Acidity
Not documented
Which microbes the steps name, step by step
Lactobacillus sakei
Lactobacillus curvatus
Lactic acid bacteria
Staphylococcus xylosus
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 di Varzi is a PDO raw salami of fresh pork with 15–30 kg of fat per 100 kg of lean, minced through a 12 mm plate and seasoned with sea salt, black peppercorns and an infusion of garlic in red wine. It is stuffed into pig casing, tied in a close mesh and matured in airy rooms for at least 30 to 180 days, depending on its size. Made in 5 steps over 37 days – 38 days. The longest step, mature, takes at least 30 days (European Commission 2025). Salt is 2–2.5 % (MASAF decree of 3 February 2025). Lactobacillus sakei and Lactobacillus curvatus, the dominant lactic acid bacteria apart from the starters, and Staphylococcus xylosus, which dominated the coagulase-negative staphylococci, in three Italian PDO fermented sausages studied together (Varzi, Brianza and Piacentino); Varzi and Brianza were made with microbial starters does most of the fermenting.

Key numbers
Main stepat least 30 daysSet[eu-varzi-2025][gu-varzi-2025]Mature
Salt2–2.5 %Set[gu-varzi-2025]Season

What makes this one different

Salame di Varzi is minced coarser (12 mm) than Salame Brianza (4–8 mm) and seasoned with a garlic and red wine infusion. Its largest form, the Cucito, has a double casing and is matured for at least 180 days.

Related ferments

Variants

  • Filzetta0.5–0.7 kg; at least 45 days.
  • Filzettone0.7–1 kg; at least 60 days.
  • Sottocrespone a budello sempliceSingle casing, 1–2 kg; at least 120 days.
  • Cucito a budello doppioDouble casing, 1–2.5 kg; at least 180 days.

Safety

The specification limits nitrate and nitrite to the legal maximum and bans frozen or preserved meat. No pH or water activity limit is set in the documents read. 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

Registered as an EU PDO in 1996 (Regulation (EC) No 1107/96). A 2025 standard amendment added the smallest size, 0.3–0.5 kg, matured for at least 30 days.

  1. [wsu-sausage] Washington State University Extension, Homemade Meat, Poultry, and Game Sausages (EB1661)gov
  2. [eu-varzi-2025] European Commission 2025, Communication of an approved standard amendment, 'Salame di Varzi' PDO (PDO-IT-0208-AM01), with single document, Official Journal C/2025/3433, 19.6.2025, read via the EU Publications Office cellarspec
  3. [gu-varzi-2025] MASAF decree of 3 February 2025, Modifiche ordinarie al disciplinare di produzione della DOP 'Salame di Varzi' (25A00885), Gazzetta Ufficiale, Serie generale n. 36, 13.2.2025, Art. 5gov
  4. [qualigeo-varzi] Fondazione Qualivita (Qualigeo), Salame di Varzi DOP product sheetweb
  5. [dicagno2008] Di Cagno R., Chaves Lopez C., Tofalo R., Gallo G., De Angelis M., Paparella A., Hammes W.P., Gobbetti M. 2008, Comparison of the compositional, microbiological, biochemical and volatile profile characteristics of three Italian PDO fermented sausages, Meat Science 79:224-235 (abstract)paper