The DOP raw ham of the Langhirano hills: pork legs cured with sea salt and mountain air for 12 to 36 months, sweet where other hams are salty, sliced to silk in the city's salumerie.
Where to eat it: 4 restaurants across 1 city.
Parma ham was praised by Roman writers, but the modern Prosciutto di Parma DOP is a discipline of geography: legs salted and aged in the valley south of the city, where air moving between Apennines and plain dries them slowly. Only salt is permitted. The consortium's ducal crown brands each approved ham, Langhirano cures most of them, and the September Festival del Prosciutto opens the curing houses to visitors.
Tip from the editors. Ask the salumiere for the part near the shank, the gambetto, if you like it sweeter and drier.
Trattoria Sorelle Picchi grew out of a historic salumeria on Strada Farini in Parma, so lunch starts at the counter: culatello, coppa and spalla cotta.
Signature: Culatello di Zibello, Tortelli d'erbetta, Anolini in brodo
Order: The salumi board from the counter, then anolini in brodo.
Tip: The front counter is a working salumeria whose boards also sell to take away; tables book in two seatings at lunch, 12:00 and 13:45.
Taverna del Castello sits below Torrechiara's frescoed castle south of Parma, feeding prosciutto-country walkers on the village's stone lane before the climb.
Signature: Prosciutto di Parma, Tortelli d'erbetta, Torta fritta
Order: Prosciutto di Parma aged in the hills you can see from the door.
Tip: Park in the small lot below the village and walk up. Pair lunch with the Castello di Torrechiara, the best-preserved castle in the province.
Salumeria Garibaldi stocks Parmigiano Reggiano aged to 100 months and hand-tied culatello on Strada Garibaldi, Parma grocery-shopping at its most serious.
Tip: The extreme-aged Parmigiano wheels are the draw; ask to taste the 60-month against the 100-month before choosing.
Trattoria del Grillo in Vigatto won TV Parma's contest for the city's best torta fritta, pairing the fried puffs with Ponte Romano prosciutto crudo.
Signature: Torta fritta, Cappelletti in brodo di cappone, Gnocchi al salame e Lambrusco
Order: Torta fritta with prosciutto crudo, about 6.50 euro the basket.
Tip: Reservations are phone-only. The torta fritta arrives in waves, so pace the salumi board or the pasta courses will defeat you.
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