What is in season in Parma. and what to order when the market changes.
Spring
- Erbette chard: The leafy filling of tortelli d'erbetta comes into its own; trattoria menus lean green from April.
- Fresh Parmigiano batches: Dairies welcome visitors year round, but spring milk starts the wheels that will be tasted in future years.
Summer
- Tortellata di San Giovanni: On 23 June Parma eats tortelli d'erbetta outdoors for the midsummer feast; osterias lay long tables.
- Tomato harvest: The Food Valley's pomodoro season peaks from August; the processing plains around Parma run at full tilt.
Autumn
- Porcino di Borgotaro IGP: Italy's only IGP porcini come down from the Taro valley; the Borgotaro fair fills two September weekends.
- Fragno black truffle: The Val Baganza truffle appears from October; Calestano's hills supply the city's risottos and tortelli.
- Prosciutto Festival: Langhirano opens its curing houses in early September for Finestre Aperte during the Festival del Prosciutto.
Winter
- Anolini in brodo: The stuffed pasta in capon broth is Parma's Christmas rite and stays on trattoria menus all winter.
- Bolliti: Boiled-meat trolleys roll from September to April; Cocchi's is the city's reference version.
- Culatello fog season: The Bassa's fog does the ageing; November Porc celebrates the pig across four river towns each November.