January Commitment

January 25, 2008
Vetralla

butchershop1 January CommitmentThey say the difference between bacon and eggs is one of contribution vs. commitment. While the chicken might make a contribution, it’s the pig that makes the commitment. And so lucky us . . less so the pig . . . January is the month when Italian pigs make the commitment . . . tons of pork meat gets prepared in country homes, farms, and macellerie (butcher shops) all over Italy.

Visiting the local macelleria this month you will find an even greater than usual choice of the entire range of delicious traditional Italian pork products . . . beginning with still warm porchetta, (rosemary and pepper cured, spit-roasted), often available directly from a to-go glass case on the sidewalk as a sandwich outside the shop.

butchershop2 January CommitmentHere master butcher Sergio shows off the dark sausages he’s prepared and strung like garlands along the shop’s marble wall. The Furia family prides itself on the variety of fresh and cured meats they offer such as salsiccie con peperoncino (spicy sausages with red pepper), bianche (light colored), and al fegato (dark sausages made with the addition of liver). All the butchering work is done on site and they are so proud of their herds raised in the wild that they even had a portrait painted of them and placed over the counter!

Given the level of commitment, we would expect no less . . .

Macelleria Furia, Piazza della Rocca, Vetralla (VT) butchershop3 January Commitment


Mary Jane Cryan

Contributed by Mary Jane Cryan (see bio) - Author, historian, cruise ship lecturer, and founder of Elegant Etruria, www.elegantetruria.com, a window on life in central Italy. Her latest book Etruria – travel, history and itineraries in Central Italy has just been released.