Pancetta () is a salt-cured pork belly meat product in a category known as Salumi. In Italy, it is often used to add depth to soups and pasta.[ (in Italian).]
Uses
For cooking, pancetta is often cut into cubes (
cubetti di pancetta).
In Italy, it is commonly served as a
Lunch meat, sliced thin and eaten raw. It can also be used in
carbonara (although
guanciale is generally regarded as more traditional).
[ republication of La Buona Vera Cucina Italiana, 1966.] By the end of the 20th century in
southern Italy, pancetta had become the most popular pork fat product, overtaking diced lard which was increasingly considered unacceptably unhealthy.
Types
The rolled type is typical of northern Italy,
[ (in Italian).] while the flattened type is typical of central and southern Italy.
[ (in Italian).]
While most pancetta is salt-cured and dried, pancetta affumicata ('smoked pancetta') is salt-cured and smoked, similar to bacon.
Ingredients
Most pancetta products are made using pork belly brined in a mixture of salt,
dextrose, spices and spice extracts, sodium erythorbate, garlic, sugar,
sodium nitrate, and/or
sodium nitrite.
Production process
The pork belly skin is removed before the pork is salted and held in a tub of
brine for 10–14 days in a low-temperature and high-humidity environment. The brine is usually composed of salt, nitrite,
Vitamin C, spices such as
black pepper,
Chili pepper, garlic,
juniper, and
rosemary, and sometimes nitrate.
After salting and brining, the pork is rolled, with layers of fat on the outside surrounding a meaty core. The rolled pork is then tightly packed into nettings or other fibrous casings. Rolling produces the pancetta's distinctive shape, while the casing prevents case hardening in the latter stages of the production process.
Following rolling and packing, the pork undergoes Enzyme catalysis facilitated by exposure to a warm environment of 22–24 °C for 24 to 36 hours. It is simultaneously exposed to cold smokes for desirable colours and flavours and to prevent moulding.
Finally, the smoked pork is held at 12–14 °C and 72–75% relative humidity for 3–4 weeks for Food drying. The resulting pancetta retains approximately 70% of its original weight.
Preservation and shelf life
Pancetta is preserved by curing.
Curing is done using a spice and salt mixture containing nitrates or nitrites, which act to extend the shelf life of
. Nitrates help remove excess moisture from the pork, decreasing
water activity and limiting available free water for the growth of spoilage-causing and pathogenic microorganisms. Sodium nitrites are used to prevent the growth of botulism-causing bacteria and listeria monocytogenes, as well as imparting desirable flavour and colour.
Nitrates are said to act like time-released nitrites and are used in pancetta products that require longer periods of curing and drying.
Pancetta kept in its original packaging can be stored for up to 12 months.
Nutritional value
One 30-g serving of pancetta contains around 5.0 g of protein, 11.0 g of
fat, and 20–25 mg of
cholesterol. One serving comprises between 15 and 22 percent of the accepted daily value of fats.
Despite its high portion of daily fat value, pancetta has a lower fat content than other bacon products.
A single serving of pancetta contains around 540 mg of sodium.
Regulations
In the
European Union, the labelling of pancetta is regulated under the protected designation of origin (PDO) regime. Only pancetta produced in the Italian region of
Calabria may be labelled as
pancetta di Calabria.
In the United States, under the Food Safety and Inspection Service of the USDA, hormones are not allowed in hogs or poultry raised for food. Pork or poultry sold in the US must be labelled as hormone-free and include a statement saying that federal regulations prohibit the use of hormones.
Under Canadian regulations (C.R.C., Annex C.2), a cured meat product such as pancetta is an edible meat product prepared with salt with at least 100 ppm of sodium nitrate or potassium nitrate.
See also
-
List of dried foods
-
Bacon
