“A bite of Tuscan prosciutto is all you need to understand salt-free Tuscan bread, the stuff that Dante so deeply missed when he was in exile. Prosciutto Toscano is saltier and a bit spicier than prosciutto from Parma or San Daniele, so saltless bread is an excellent foil. And now you can see for yourself. After years of due diligence to comply with Department of Agriculture rules, the hams are being imported into the United States for the first time. They are different from other hams because of the somewhat smaller size of the pigs, which also have less fat, and the seasoning used in curing, which involves pepper and juniper as well as salt. ‘The texture is also drier than the others,’ said Cesare Casella, the Tuscan chef who is selling the ham in his shops. ‘It’s more like Spanish serrano ham’: $28 a pound at Salumeria Rosi Parmacotto on the Upper West Side and Upper East Side. Also at Eataly and Fairway.” –Florence Fabricant, The New York Times, February 26, 2013
