Pancetta (or Panseta) della Bergamasca, Bergamo Bacon

Fragrant and spicy, with a beautifully white fat layer and a distinctive pink vein, this pancetta is the queen of the local cuisine. It is packaged in strips or rolls. Bergamo Bacon is made from cuts of fresh pork, with a rind weighing at least 3 kilos. The meat is then cured by hand with the addition of other ingredients such as sea salt, black pepper, spices and herbs. It is seasoned for at least 45 days. It tastes sweet, with a slightly salty and spicy kick. This pancetta is very soft and there’s a surefire way to recognize it: every chewy bite literally melts in your mouth.Being a cured product, Bergamo Bacon is produced all year round. It can be produced exclusively in the Bergamo area. The name “Pancetta” comes from the cut of pork meat that is used to prepare it: the pig’s belly (pancettone).

Served sizzling with butter and sage, it is an excellent condiment for * Casonsèi de la bergamasca * (stuffed pasta shapes), but it can also be used as an ingredient to prepare rich sauces for gnocchi and pasta with vegetables. Bergamo Bacon is also involved in the original recipe of * Polenta e osèi * (polenta with game birds). In this dish, thin slices of pancetta are sandwiched between the birds (thrushes). It is often required for dressing stewed, but also braised and roasted meat, as it keeps it very soft and moist

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs of the Italian Government has granted Pancetta Bergamasca the status of Traditional Food (Prodotto Agroalimentare Tradizionale, P.A.T.). In order to be labelled “Pancetta Bergamasca” (Pansèta de la Bergamasca in the local dialect), this cured meat needs to meet the strict requirements and production regulations of the brand “Bergamo, City of a Thousand Flavors” as established by the Bergamo Chamber of Commerce