Mortadella di Campotosto (popularly called mule balls) is a

salami Salami ( ) is a cured sausage consisting of fermented and air-dried meat, typically pork. Historically, salami was popular among Southern, Eastern, and Central European peasants because it can be stored at room temperature for up to 45 days ...

produced in limited quantities in the territory of the municipality of

Campotosto Campotosto ( Sabino: ') is a ''comune'' and town in the province of L'Aquila, in the Abruzzo region of central Italy. Olympian Mariano Antonelli was born here. Geography Campotosto is located in the northern part of the province of L'Aquila, sou ...

in the province of

Abruzzo Abruzzo (, , ; nap, label=Neapolitan language, Abruzzese Neapolitan, Abbrùzze , ''Abbrìzze'' or ''Abbrèzze'' ; nap, label=Sabino dialect, Aquilano, Abbrùzzu; #History, historically Abruzzi) is a Regions of Italy, region of Southern Italy wi ...

. Mortadella di Campotosto it is listed as a

traditional Italian food product ''Prodotto agroalimentare tradizionale'' (PAT) is an official approval for traditional Italian regional food products similar to the Protected Geographical Status of the European Union. A list of approved products is published by the Ministry of ...

(P.A.T.) by the

Ministry of Agricultural, Food and Forestry Policies The Ministry of Agricultural, Food and Forestry Policies, it, Ministero delle Politiche Agricole, Alimentari e Forestali, italic=no or MiPAAF, is an Italian government department. It was formed in 1946 as the Ministero dell'Agricoltura e delle F ...

.Mipaaf
List of traditional food products

History

For a period of time the city of

Amatrice Amatrice (; Sabino: ) is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Rieti, in northern Lazio (central Italy), and the center of the food-agricultural area of Gran Sasso e Monti della Laga National Park. The town was devastated by a powerful earth ...

had appropriated the paternity of the salami, following the dominion it had over the areas of Campotosto and neighboring villages in the medieval period. The tradition of Campotosto mortadella is very ancient, it is believed to be more than 500 years old, as we know it today, only a few Campotostari continue the tradition of mortadella, and only a few palates have the opportunity to taste it today, due to the rarity of the product. It is included in the Slow Food movement

Ark of Taste The Ark of Taste is an international catalogue of endangered heritage foods which is maintained by the global Slow Food movement. The Ark is designed to preserve at-risk foods that are sustainably produced, unique in taste, and part of a distinct ...

, an international catalogue of endangered heritage foods.

Description

Mortadella is made only of pork, which shepherds and various farmers raised in the territory of the

Monti della Laga Monti della Laga is a mountain range in the central Apennines of Italy. Their ruggedness and inaccessibility makes them one of the lesser known areas of the Italian peninsula. Geography The mountains run for a length of about between the Italia ...

. It has an ovoid shape (and a weight traditionally identified as 330 gr). It has a fine grain and inside, it has a lard bar inserted over its entire length that characterizes the product compared to other cured meats. When cut, the section has a pink color, while the central bar of lard has a white color. The preparation of the sausage takes place in the following way:https://abruzzoturismo.it/en/campotosto-mortadella *very fine grinding of the meat; *seasoning with salt, pepper and white wine; *maturation of the mixture for at least 24 hours inside a wooden container (the scifone ) or steel. The dough is mixed several times with an infusion of cloves and cinnamon.The stuffing is done manually, with the casing stitching around the dough. In the lower part of the salami a small trestle is affixed to wrap the string during the loosening due to seasoning.The product can be consumed at least three months after grinding.

References

{{reflist Italian products with protected designation of origin Italian sausages Cuisine of Abruzzo