THE CONSORTIUM
PROSCIUTTO TOSCANO DOP

In 1990, a group of Tuscan producers, conscious of the need to protect Tuscan Prosciutto from the uncontrolled proliferation of other cured hams, which have very little in common with the Tuscan tradition, established the Consorzio del Prosciutto Toscano, a body whose mission it is to promote, valorise and protect the product on the domestic and foreign markets, while maintaining close ties with the region of Tuscany.

In 1996, Tuscan Prosciutto was granted the important DOP (PDO) – protected designation of origin – label, thanks to the commitment and respect of all the Protection Association members of the Tuscan food traditions, having accepted and followed, with great pride, the rules laid down in the product specification.

Production area: history and tradition

In Tuscany, men, animals and plants have a form, a language, a sentiment, they have colours and joy to express. It is our passion for history and traditions that drives every action, whether large or small, and the process of creation is always transformed into a “ceremony”.

Pig breeding in Tuscany has a very long history and our processed meats and cold cuts are genuine, tasteful and savoury, characteristics that reveal their excellent quality. Our meat processing tradition probably developed in the early Middle Ages, even from the times of Charlemagne. In the winter months, Tuscan farmers would slaughter their pigs, fattened with loving care for the entire year, and process the meat so that it could be kept for the family to eat.

The whole process was something of a feast, in which genuineness, taste and avour achieved remarkable levels of excellence. However, it was in the 15th century, at the time of the Medici, that speci cations were introduced for the entire production process.

Thanks to its avour and aroma, Tuscan prosciutto is inimitable, but the success of this ham lies first and foremost in the perfect climate for the maturing process, thanks to the light winds, from land and sea, that blow across a territory protected from the cold northerly winds by the Apennine Mountains. Its delicate flavour is masterfully enriched with the typical special maquis herbs of Tuscany, comprising lentisk, myrtle and juniper, the secret ingredients of the prosciutto producers.

This simple authenticity of Tuscan products, which the entire world acknowledges us, is true also of our hams.