If you said the word ham to me, the first thing that would pop into my mind is probably the ham that my mom would put on my sandwiches for my school lunches when I was in elementary school.

Until recently, I never knew the world of ham that was out there.

I recently fell in love with a new type of ham prosciutto, which is Italian for ham.  According to Wikipedia, it’s typically dry-cured and uncooked.  It typically derives from Northern Italy, in regions like Tuscany or Emilia.

The process of making prosciutto can take a while, from 9 to 18 months.  It’s salted, pressed, and hung in a dark and ventilated environment.

LifeInItaly.com writes about how there are actually regional standards in Italy for prosciutto.  If you want to be labeled as “Protected Denomination of Origin or PDO Prosciutto”, you have to meet those standards.  When buying prosciutto, make sure that you look for the brand mark or the log of the local consortium.

And most important… it’s delicious.

So, in additional to whatever various meat products that you’re consuming this Labor Day, go out and try prosciutto.  It’s worth giving it a whirl.

If you’re really looking for something new, look for duck prosciutto.  This is something that I tried for the first time over the weekend and really enjoyed but for $30/pound, it’ll definitely be a rare treat in my life.

Next up, I really wanna try Serrano Ham.