A Little Speck in the Alto Adige

Way up in the northernmost province of Italy, the Alto Adige or Südtyrol, you'll find a lightly smoked ham called "speck" on the menu. In Speck: A Joy from the Südtyrol Kyle Phillips points out that "speck" means "lard" in German, but the speck of the Alto Adige is really a cold-smoked prosciutto that is good on its own, and great as one of those flavor enhancers in all types of food from the region (for which a warning to vegetarians is warranted: a bit of ham or pancetta in an otherwise meatless dish does not change the dishes' vegetarian status in the minds of many Italians).

Why smoked? If you visit any northern ethnographic museum you'll discover the reason. At home in northern farms, perhaps to keep that curing ham from freezing solid, you might think to cure it way up in the exhaust pipe of your wood fired oven, where it's not hot, but not freezing either. Look for the ham hooks in old kitchen exhausts.

Eugenia Bone has a wonderful and mouth watering article on the delights of speck in Forbes: Hind on the Hog. You'll not only learn about the unique ham of the Alto Adige, but you'll get restaurant and visiting information as well.

Italy Travel Resources: Trentino--Alto Adige Map and Travel Essentials | Italy Region Information