This year’s edition of NYCWFF, New York’s largest wine and food festival, was a four-day culinary celebration packed with tastings from the industry’s finest. One of the fair’s main events, the Aperitivo by Fratelli Beretta hosted by Katie Lee, was attended by 1,000 guests eager to try the Prosciutto di Carpegna, introduced by the Italian charcuterie brand in the United States, among other Made In Italy authentic products.
Prosciutto di Carpegna, a charcuterie favorite among chefs, is becoming a popular menu add-on at prominent restaurants and specialty stores around the country, where it is sold as a whole boneless leg or sliced on a 3oz tray.
The delicacy from Carpegna, a village in the Marche region of Central Italy, is made at a single plant owned by Fratelli Beretta in the nearby Montefeltro Mountains, where the age-old traditions of pork curing techniques date back to the 1400s. The leg for the Prosciutto di Carpegna is sourced from only three regions in Italy, Lombardia, Marche and Emilia Romagna. The curing process is entrusted to ten master butchers, known as Maestri Salumai, made with the famed sweet salt from Cervia, a nearby coastal city, then coated with a secret blend of lard and spices. At the end of the 20-month curing process, designed to elevate the aromatic notes that give it such a unique flavor, the Salumai prick the prosciutto with a horse-bone needle along specific points of the leg. The final step of the process, which follows strict production regulations before being imported into the United States, is a quality check before being labeled with the “Prosciutto di Carpegna DOP” certification.
Along with the Prosciutto di Carpegna, Fratelli Beretta, the longest standing family-owned Italian charcuterie brand, continues to win over the American palate with their high-quality selection of cured meats. Recently, they debuted two Fratelli Beretta concession stands at Madison Square Garden on the 6th and 10th levels, offering their signature prosciutto in their sandwich menu, while their “snack pack” Small Plates are also available at Radio City Music Hall and the Beacon Theatre.