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Meat from Italy

Sopressa Vicentina DOPSoprèssa Vicentina

Soprèssa Vicentina is a large uncooked pork sausage from Vicenza province, protected as a PDO. Prime cuts of local pigs are minced with salt, pepper, spices, garlic and sugars, stuffed into wide natural casings, drained warm at 20–24 °C, dried for four to five days and matured for 60 to 120 days or more by size.

Fully documentedMeat2.2 months – 4.2 months

Recipe

Amounts from a sourceMaximum amounts per 100 kg of mix, from the PDO specification.
Pork mix of leg, neck, shoulder, belly, neck fat and loin100 kg[eu-sopressa-2010]
Saltup to 2,700 g[eu-sopressa-2010]
Cracked pepperup to 300 g[eu-sopressa-2010]
Finely ground cinnamon, cloves and rosemaryup to 50 g[eu-sopressa-2010]
Garlicup to 100 g[eu-sopressa-2010]
Sugarsup to 150 g[eu-sopressa-2010]
Potassium nitrateWithin permitted limits[eu-sopressa-2010]
Indigenous microbial culturesOptional, to start fermentation[eu-sopressa-2010]
Starteroptional indigenous microbial cultures

Total time across the recorded steps: 2.2 months – 4.2 months

Start
Drag the bar or press Play
0–3 °C

What changes: Starting material: chilled cuts of local pork

Step 1 of 6
Chill the cuts
Time
at least 24 h
Set
Temperature
0–3 °C
Set
Salt
None given
Acidity
Not documented
Which microbes the steps name, step by step
Lactic acid bacteria

The half-carcasses are cut and chilled, then boned, trimmed and stripped of nerves.

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

Soprèssa Vicentina is a large uncooked pork sausage from Vicenza province, protected as a PDO. Prime cuts of local pigs are minced with salt, pepper, spices, garlic and sugars, stuffed into wide natural casings, drained warm at 20–24 °C, dried for four to five days and matured for 60 to 120 days or more by size. Made in 6 steps over 2.2 months – 4.2 months. The longest step, mature, takes 2–3.9 months (Commission Regulation (EU) No 588/2010 of 5 J…). Salt is up to 2.7 % (Commission Regulation (EU) No 588/2010 of 5 J…). Lactic acid bacteria and Micrococcaceae does most of the fermenting.

Key numbers
Main step2–3.9 monthsSet[eu-sopressa-2010][eu-sopressa-2002]Mature
Temperature0–3 °CSet[eu-sopressa-2010][eu-sopressa-2002]Chill the cuts
Saltup to 2.7 %Set[eu-sopressa-2010]Mince and mix with salt and spices
AciditypH 5.4–6.2Set[eu-sopressa-2010][eu-sopressa-2002]Mature

What makes this one different

Soprèssa Vicentina is large (up to 8 kg) and fatty, made from all the prime cuts of local pigs whose feed may include whey from Asiago and Grana Padano cheese making. Its maturing time rises with size, from 60 to 120 days, and its pH stays mild at 5.4–6.2.

Related ferments

Variants

  • With or without garlicGarlic may be left out; sausage with garlic may use coloured twine for the end loop.

Safety

The specification caps moisture below 55 % and sets pH at 5.4–6.2. Salt is capped at 2.7 % of the mix. In a study of sausages sampled from 0 to 90 days of ripening, Salmonella was never detected, Listeria monocytogenes was found until 30 days, and water activity fell to 0.87–0.91. The authors conclude that neither organism was a risk to the consumer (conference abstract). 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.

Hazards the sources name: Listeria monocytogenes (found up to 30 days of ripening in a study of sausages sampled from 0 to 90 days; Salmonella spp. was never detected).

History and sources

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

Regional fairs on Soprèssa Vicentina have been held since the 1950s. Registered as a PDO by Commission Regulation (EC) No 492/2003 of 18 March 2003; the specification was amended by Commission Regulation (EU) No 588/2010 of 5 July 2010.

  1. [wsu-sausage] Washington State University Extension, Homemade Meat, Poultry, and Game Sausages (EB1661)gov
  2. [eu-sopressa-2010] Commission Regulation (EU) No 588/2010 of 5 July 2010, Annex II single document 'Soprèssa Vicentina' (IT-PDO-0105-0145-10.8.2009), Official Journal L 170, 6.7.2010 (CELEX 32010R0588), read via the EU Publications Office cellarspec
  3. [eu-sopressa-2002] European Commission 2002, Publication of an application for registration, Soprèssa Vicentina PDO, Official Journal C 114, 15.5.2002 (CELEX 52002XC0515(05)), read via the EU Publications Office cellarspec
  4. [eu-reg-492-2003] Commission Regulation (EC) No 492/2003 of 18 March 2003 supplementing the Annex to Regulation (EC) No 2400/96 on the entry of certain names in the register of protected designations of origin and protected geographical indications (Soprèssa Vicentina, Asparago verde di Altedo, Pêra Rocha do Oeste), Official Journal L 73, 19.3.2003, pp. 3-4, read via the EU Publications Office cellarspec
  5. [balzan2009] Balzan S., Busin F., Alberghini L., Giaccone V., Novelli E. 2009, Microbiological profile of PDO Sopressa Vicentina, Proceedings of the 55th International Congress of Meat Science and Technology (abstract in the University of Padua research repository)paper
  6. [balzan2010] Balzan S., Busin F., Granata A., Piras N., Magro L., Tenti S., Novelli E. 2010, Composition and ripening traits of Sopressa Vicentina PDO, in Trends and Challenges in Food Technology, Nutrition, Hospitality and Tourism (abstract in the University of Padua research repository)paper