Cotechino Modena
Encyclopedia
Sausage
A sausage is a food usually made from ground meat , mixed with salt, herbs, and other spices, although vegetarian sausages are available. The word sausage is derived from Old French saussiche, from the Latin word salsus, meaning salted.Typically, a sausage is formed in a casing traditionally made...
made from pork
Pork
Pork is the culinary name for meat from the domestic pig , which is eaten in many countries. It is one of the most commonly consumed meats worldwide, with evidence of pig husbandry dating back to 5000 BC....
, fatback
Fatback
Fatback is a cut of meat from a domestic pig. It consists of the layer of adipose tissue under the skin of the back, with or without the skin...
, and pork rind
Pork rind
Pork rind , is the fried or roasted skin of a pig. Frying melts most of the fat from the pork rind...
, and comes from Modena
Modena
Modena is a city and comune on the south side of the Po Valley, in the Province of Modena in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy....
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, where it has PGI
Protected designation of origin
Protected Geographical Status is a legal framework defined in European Union law to protect the names of regional foods. Protected Designation of Origin , Protected Geographical Indication and Traditional Speciality Guaranteed are distinct regimes of geographical indications within the framework...
status. Zampone Modena is closely related and also has PGI status.
Gavello
Gavello is a comune in the Province of Rovigo in the Italian region Veneto, located about 60 km southwest of Venice and about 12 km southeast of Rovigo...
, where, whilst besieged, the people had to find a way to preserve meat and use the less tender cuts, so made the cotechino.
Mirandola
Mirandola
Mirandola is a city and comune of Emilia-Romagna, Italy, in the Province of Modena, 31 km northeast of the provincial capital by railway.- History :Mirandola originated as a Renaissance city-fortress...
developed its own specialty enveloped in a hollowed out pig's trotter
Pig's trotters
Pig's trotters are the feet of pigs. The cuts are used in various dishes around the world, they have been used by chefs such as Marco Pierre White and Pierre Koffmann, and have increased in popularity since the late-2000s financial crisis.-Description:...
, named the Zampone.
By the 18th century it had become more popular than the yellowish sausage that had been around at the time, and in the 19th century entered mass production
Mass production
Mass production is the production of large amounts of standardized products, including and especially on assembly lines...
in and around the area.
Cotechino is often served with lentils or cannellini beans with a sauce alongside mashed potatoes, especially around the New Year
New Year
The New Year is the day that marks the time of the beginning of a new calendar year, and is the day on which the year count of the specific calendar used is incremented. For many cultures, the event is celebrated in some manner....
.
External links
- Cibo360 - Cotechino & Zampone (Italian)