Zampone & Cotechino Modena PGI

The Consorzio Zampone e Cotechino Modena PGI (Zampone and Cotechino Modena PGI Consortium) is the custodian of two ancient Italian culinary specialities. It was founded in 2001 with the aim of protecting the two guaranteed specialities and raising product awareness.

Its raison d’être is to inform and protect the consumer: the Cotechino Modena and Zampone Modena are the only products to have obtained the prestigious European PGI (Protected Geographical Indication) certification, which ensures a link with the territory and respect for the traditional recipe.

Those who choose Consortium-protected products can be assured that they have been prepared according to a 500-year-old recipe, in a well-defined geographical area and in compliance with specific production guidelines.

Cotechino Modena PGI and Zampone Modena PGI

These two culinary delicacies, the stars of Italian dinner tables during the festive period and on other occasions, were first produced 500 years ago on the outskirts of Modena. These tasty products were created as a result of the ingenuity of the people of Mirandola who, in order to hide the pigs away from the invading enemy, bagged the minced meat in the rind and trotters: a clever idea that has led to us still being able to enjoy these two delicacies today.

Five centuries on, the two illustrious cured meats are still prepared according to the traditional recipe, but with additional guarantees. The PGI certification ensures that the Zampone Modena and Cotechino Modena are produced from the same precise blend of meats and seasonings that have been used since the Renaissance era. Zampone Modena and Cotechino Modena are now considered to be the ancestors of all cured meats containing rind. Once they started to appear, several similar products also popped up in other regions in central-northern Italy; they helped to pass on and spread the great knowledge of the art of producing cured from pure pork.

At the time when the first Italian states were established, the Cotechino Modena PGI was already recognised as one of the most traditional and delicious culinary preparations in Emilia-Romagna; it is considered to be the father of all cured meats. Since that time, the renown of this product has spread beyond its territory of origin. In the Duchy of Milan, there was talk of a Milan-produced “coteghin” and even the composer Gioacchino Rossini wrote to Mr Bellentani, one of the pioneers of large-scale Cotechino Modena production, saying that “I would like four Zamponi and four Cotechini, all of the most delicate quality.”

Zampone Modena PGI and Cotechino Modena PGI are produced in their traditional production area, which corresponds to the entirety of the provinces of Modena, Ferrara, Ravenna, Rimini, Forlì, Bologna, Reggio-Emilia, Parma, Piacenza, Cremona, Lodi, Pavia, Milan, Varese, Como, Lecco, Bergamo, Brescia, Mantua, Verona and Rovigo.

Zampone Modena PGI

Zampone Modena PGI is obtained from carefully-selected pork meat and rind, according to the principles of the ancient recipe. The minced meat can be delicately flavoured with pepper, nutmeg, cinnamon, cloves and wine.

The mixture is then stuffed into a natural casing taken from the skin of the pig’s front trotter and tied at the upper end, as dictated by tradition.

Cotechino Modena PGI

Cotechino Modena PGI consists of the prime parts of the pork and rind, as tradition dictates. The meat is gently minced and flavoured with spices and herbs (cloves, pepper, nutmeg, cinnamon and wine), then stuffed into casings.

Both precooked products are packaged in airtight bags and heat-treated at high temperatures for enough time to guarantee their organoleptic stability.

The raw products, however, are dried in hot-air ovens. To bring out their organoleptic properties, the products need to be boiled beforehand for around two hours. This is how Zampone and Cotechino Modena PGI obtain their typical taste, pink colour with a reddish tinge and firm consistency.