Mortadella Bologna PGI

One of Italy’s most loved cold cuts, and without doubts the most famous in the entire Bologna gastronomic tradition.
Mortadella Bologna PGI, product of exquisite quality, delicate, tasty and incomparably fragrant, brings joy to our tables since 1661.

Mortadella Bologna is a type of cured meat made exclusively in Italy from the finest pork meat, with passion, know-how and superb expertise. All this to give you an unique and healthy product, as tradition recommends.

History

Mortadella Bologna has a centuries-old history and is considered the most famous cured meat in the Bolognese gastronomic tradition.

But what are the origins of Mortadella Bologna PGI?

The origins of this exceptional product are to be found in the territories of the ancient Etruscan Felsina and the Bonomia dei Galli Boi, rich in oak groves that provided tasty acorns to the numerous local pigs. The tradition of Mortadella Bologna was born from these pigs.

There are two hypotheses on the origins of the name:

1) The first evidence of what is believed to have been a mortadella producer is preserved in the Archaeological Museum of Bologna: a stele from the imperial Roman era in which seven pigs led to pasture are depicted on one side and a mortar and pestle on the other . Since the mortar was used by the Romans to crush and knead pork with salt and spices, it could be deduced that the name of the tasty delicatessen specialty comes from "mortarium" or "murtatum", which means meat finely chopped in the mortar .

2) The second hypothesis derives from the word myrtatum, the Latin term that designated myrtle. This aroma was in fact the key ingredient of a sausage called fattimen myrtatum. It was evidently a widely appreciated salami, since both Pliny the Elder and Varro talk about it.

The first real mortadella recipe was provided in the early 17th century by the agronomist Vincenzo Tanara with precise indications of the ingredients and a much greater quantity of fat than today.

In 1661, the uniqueness and exclusivity of the product and of the city of Bologna was officially recognized, thanks to Cardinal Farnese who issued a notice that codified the production of mortadella, providing one of the first examples of specifications similar to the current ones of DOP brand names. and PGI.

A couple of centuries ago Mortadella Bologna was a product reserved for an elite of gourmets, nobles and wealthy bourgeois who could afford a high-priced cured meat. It is only following the gradual development of the delicatessen industry, which began in the nineteenth century, that it became a product accessible to all, "democratic" and popular: the most loved by Italians!

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How it is produced ?

The meats used (the main cut is mostly obtained from the shoulder of the pig) arecarefully selected, chopped and mixed with the lard (the largest part is used and prized pork: throat fat), spices and natural flavourings.

The mixture is then bagged and cooked in special air stoves for several hours, depending on the weight (cooking times which on average range between 8 and 26 hours), until the cooking time is reached
temperature of 70° at the heart of the Mortadella. This is precisely the most delicate phase, which gives Mortadella Bologna PGI
its aroma and its softness. The last phase is cold showering and cooling.

All this, combined with the selected and high quality raw materials, makes Mortadella Bologna PGI a truly unique product!

The quality achieved in the choice of raw materials and processing techniques allows us to produce Protein mortadellas particularly suited to the needs of the modern consumer.