Mara Nocilla's article on Gambero Rosso explains everything about fats. From saturated to unsaturated ones.
" No longer demonized, today fats are recognized for their nutritional value and organoleptic role. as long as they are the right ones, i.e. unsaturated. here's what they depend on
Cured meat. Is it time to clear the customs of fats?
We continue to remove that thread of fat that surrounds a slice of ham or that peeks out in a larded salami. It's a habit we've taken since the Second World War. With the economic boom, the average consumer began to focus on increasingly lean meats and cured meats, and the market went along with this request. Result: fat has gradually disappeared from our tables, also thanks to diets and nutritional indications. Yet, it was once a fundamental ingredient for cooking, paid better than a ham. The snowy adipose layer and the abundant marbling were sought after: an added value in cured meats. But in recent years things have changed. We are witnessing the rehabilitation of fats thanks to gourmet "white" cured meats, the new frontiers of research, the most in-depth knowledge of the subject. "Not only have the tastes and consumption of Italians changed" explains the nutritionist Alessandra Mallarino "the composition of fats in cured meats have also changed, the way of raising and feeding the animals destined for butchery processing, exports have changed".
Cured meats: saturated and unsaturated fats
Distinguish between unsaturated and saturated fats. "The unsaturated ones, which melt quickly in the mouth, immediately becoming liquid and absorbing heat, as nutritionists teach us, are good for health, but tend to oxidize easily" explains Davide Cassi, one of the leading experts in Italy in terms of food chemistry and physics , who has been collaborating with chefs, pastry chefs and ice cream makers from all over the world for over 25 years. "Saturated ones, on the other hand, must be chewed longer, luckily they do not go rancid, but they are the main source of cholesterol".
Porks, sausages and fats. Breed, nutrition, seasoning
What does their greater or lesser percentage in a pig depend on? “First of all, from genetics” continues Cassi “black pigs do have more fat, double that of traditional heavy ones, but of the unsaturated type, therefore 'good'”. And then there is the diet, which has undergone a change over the years with a view to obtaining a quality raw material and better performance in delicatessen. Today pigs are fed mainly on vegetable proteins and noble cereals, barley in particular, which contains tocopherols, powerful antioxidants, and beta-glucans, components capable of reducing cholesterol. Thanks to the current pig menu, the composition of the fatty part has changed: fewer saturated fatty acids in favor of unsaturated ones. Professor Cassi adds two other interesting details. “Acorn-fed pigs living in the wild tend to have a higher component of unsaturated fat. Then there is the seasoning; very important biochemical processes take place during this phase, one in particular: the desaturation of saturated fats, i.e. the transformation of saturated fats into unsaturated fats, which, in addition to adding aroma and tenderness, makes the fat fluid and refreshing”.
To complete the reading of the article and learn about the role of fats in tasting you can
click here
Gambero Rosso has dedicated the
Grandi Salumi paper guide to the best Italian butchery production and a web section with the sheets of the products reviewed with the evaluation from 1 to 3 Slices, of the producers with the geolocation, to be filtered by category, region, name and score .
Discover here the exceptional score for the two flagship products of our production The Coppa Piacentina Dop and the Culatta il Mandolino
edited by Mara Nocilla
