Prosciutto

Prosciutto ( ; Italian:), also known as prosciutto crudo, is an uncooked, unsmoked, and dry-curedham. It is usually served thinly sliced.

Several regions in Italy have their own variations of prosciutto crudo, each with degrees of protected status, but the most prized are Prosciutto di ParmaDOP, from Emilia-Romagna, and Prosciutto di San Daniele DOP, from Friuli-Venezia Giulia. Unlike speck (Speck Alto Adige) from the South Tyrol region, prosciutto is not smoked. There is also a tradition of making prosciutto in southern Switzerland.

In Italian, prosciutto means any type of ham, either dry-cured (prosciutto crudo or simply crudo) or cooked (prosciutto cotto), but in English-speaking countries, it usually means either Italian prosciutto crudo or similar hams made elsewhere. However, the word prosciutto itself is not protected; cooked ham may legally be, and in practice is, sold as prosciutto (usually as prosciutto cotto, and from Italy or made in the Italian style) in English-speaking regions.