Levoni Prosciutto Di San Daniele (San Daniele Ham)

TASTING NOTES FROM THE CURATOR

Prosciutto di San Daniele is a specialty exclusive to San Daniele del Friuli, and holds a DOP certification. Levoni’s is made with quality pork, and has a wonderful pinkish red color with white streaks of fat. It has a delicate aroma, rounded and pleasant. Its texture is soft and melt-in-your-mouth, and has a well-balanced flavor, sweet, but with a nice maturity.

PREPARATION AND PAIRINGS

Enjoy the Levoni Prosciutto di San Daniele as an appetizer, with figs, melon, or burrata. This ham is great on bread, with sun-dried tomatoes, and sprinkled with a bit of olive oil. You can also have it on salads or in pastas. Pair with an aromatic, fruity white wine.

A LIFELONG DREAM, REALIZED

The Levoni story began with Ezechiello Levoni, a former butcher’s apprentice. He realized his lifelong dream of opening up his own curing plant in 1911, in the outskirts of Milan. He put in practice all that he had learned with the Milanese master butchers throughout the years. In 1913, he got his first major recognition. Proud of his new brand, he entered the “Modern Arts & Industry” International Exhibition in London, winning a gold medal for his Salame Ungherese. This win was particularly sweet as the competition famously declared a newcomer like him would only win “when pigs fly.”

Levoni moved the flagship production to a small province in Mantua called Castellucchio in 1923, and in the succeeding years, would also put up their own slaughterhouse and curing plant. In 2014, they opened their first subsidiary in the United States, opening up a whole new wave of opportunities for Ezechiello’s dream. The company is still a family business, now on its fourth generation, and still producing high quality meats.

Storage Instructions

Vacuum-sealed packs of hand-carved cured meats can last up to five months in the refrigerator (never the freezer). Once the pack is opened, they’re best enjoyed within the day.