--- Season 3 of airs Tuesdays at 8pm on SBS Food, or stream it free via SBS on Demand ---
Curing pork to create delectable, fermented meats is an ancient, cultural art preserved by Italian families all over the world.
This popular culinary craft of salting cured meats sourced from the major muscles of a pig is encapsulated by the Italian word ‘salumi’. Salumi results in the delicious cured meats you love like pancetta, coppa, prosciutto and, of course, the similar sounding name-sake ‘salami’.
The craft of salumi may be a tasty way to preserve pork but in many families, it’s also a treasured family experience, handed down from generation-to-generation.
Co-owner of , Massimiliano Scalas, tells SBS he learnt how to make salami from his dad before he was a teenager.
“We always had pigs, so every winter we made salami, sausages and pancetta,” Scalas, a native Sardinian, explains. “It was tradition to learn how to make these foods.”
Inspired by his upbringing, chef training and years spent in professional kitchens, Scalas has since perfected his salami recipes. He’s created a successful business selling Italian cured meats and is doing his part to keep traditional varieties of salami alive.
The company sells free-range Sardinian salami (salsiccia Sarda) that’s based on “a recipe that an old lady passed down to me”. The soft salami of Sardinia is made using a traditional method of fermentation and is sold in two varieties- chilli picante or fennel finocchietto. “Sardinian salami has a U-shape and a very coarse grind so you can see the fat."
As precious as these age-old recipes for salami are, if salami recipes and salumi methods are not handed down and preserved by the next generation, they may be lost.
Scalas, a father of two, hopes his children will one day learn the art of salumi. “As they grow up, they will get more involved…I would love that they learn.”
Passing salami-based traditions on
In Australia, Scalas observes, people with an Italian background seem to keep the tradition going more than those living in Italy, motivated by a real determination to never lose their culture.
“In the old days in Italy, when I was a kid, everybody used to make salami. But back in Italy today, a lot of people don't go to the trouble to make it at home, as there are so many salami products available in every supermarkets.
“I think people are more traditional here in Australia than back in Italy. There may actually be more people continuing the tradition of salami making here in this country, with the second and third generations of Italian-Australians who want to learn how to make it at home.”
It makes me feel proud. For Italians food is and always will be a family affair.
As the new series of the SBS show, , discovers, Scalas is right: families throughout Australia are actually continuing the tradition of making salami at home and preserving Italian culture for generations to come.
In episode four, the show’s host Silvia Colloca learns about salami making from her Australian-Italian friend Michael whose family has been making cured meats and sausages for five generations.
The cameras follow Colloca as she joins Michael for the annual tradition of ‘salami making day’: a tradition that’s been in his family for over 150 years.
“It makes me feel proud,” says Michael in Cook Like An Italian. “For Italians food is and always will be a family affair… It is days like this that makes it all worthwhile.”
Typically, Michael and his son Tony make salami for 30 or 40 family and friends each year on salami making day. So they need about 200 to 300 kilos of pork to start with.
The pork is coarsely ground using a purpose-built mincer. This is a job that would have been done by hand when Michael helped his father as a boy.
“My dad’s at an age that it was time for me to start getting more involved and try and just really carry on this tradition,” says Tony, Michael’s son. “If not, [the family tradition of making salami] will be lost.
“You know, I hope I can pass the tradition down to my son and then it just continues on...”
