Slow Food narrative label

The narrative label is a Slow Food project and tells the story of the product, who produces it and the entire supply chain.

Pezzente della montagna materana narrative label

The product

Pezzente della Montagna Materana is a cured meat with an emblematic name that refers to the origins of peasant life, the need to preserve pork for as long as possible and, above all, to use every edible part of the pig. The cured meat owes its name to the cuts used for its production; while the "noble" parts were used by farmers for the production of more valuable sausages, the poor cuts were reserved for the beggar. On the palate it is soft, with a harmonious and well-balanced taste.

The territory

The Salumificio Don Francesco produces the Pezzente della Montagna Materana in Stigliano (Matera) which extends over a mountainous hill at around 900 meters above sea level in the Matera hinterland, surrounded by immense oak forests.

The animals

Inside the Pollino National Park in Francavilla in Sinni, the Franco Salerno Agricultural Company, supplier of the meat necessary for the production of Pezzente della Montagna Materana, owns a small herd of 50 Italian heavy pigs. The pigs have the opportunity to graze on a total of approximately 20 hectares of semi-wooded area and are hospitalized for the night.

The diet is based on green fodder, cereals and legumes partly deriving from agricultural activity and partly sourced from local suppliers strictly in the park area. The pigs are not administered hormones or antibiotics and do not undergo any mutilation operations. They are slaughtered around the age of one year and weighing around 140 kg at the Senise (PZ) slaughterhouse, 15 km away from the farm.

Processing and seasoning

Don Francesco produces the Pezzente della Montagna Materana from October to April. For its production, less noble cuts are used which, once cleaned, are cut into medium/coarse grains according to the dictates of tradition, mixed with Cervia sea salt (Slow Food Presidium), ground sweet dried pepper from Senise or chilli pepper, wild mountain fennel and garlic (not dehydrated), in expertly dosed quantities.

No nitrites, nitrates or other additives are used. The mixture obtained is then stuffed into a pig casing, tied with hemp twine and left to dry in special rooms for about four days, finally followed by the maturing period in thermo-conditioned rooms which lasts about a month.