Campania · Salerno

Soppressata di Ricigliano

Compact, smoked with forest wood, softened by pancetta fat and mellowed under oil.

Geo AHistory BRitual AMethod A

What it is

A Salerno-province soppressata from Ricigliano and San Gregorio Magno, made from pork, lean ham, loin and a small percentage of pancetta fat, dried on canes, smoked and preserved in oil.

Origin place card

The official page places production in Ricigliano and San Gregorio Magno in the province of Salerno.

Verified history

Regione Campania — Soppressata di Ricigliano supports this historical/traditional framing for Soppressata di Ricigliano: The sheet documents the place and production method, but gives no early written attestation. Treat the wording as source-supported tradition/history, not independent archival proof of a founder, precise origin date, first attestation, or origin story.

Local hypothesis

This is a mountain-edge salume page: cane drying, forest wood, oil and the small communes that keep a named variant alive.

Local legend / oral tradition

No legend is documented; local tradition is expressed through place, casing, smoke and preservation.

Ingredients

Pork, lean ham, loin, a small percentage of pancetta fat, salt, pepper, natural casing and oil for preservation. Source-supported detail: La carne suina, il prosciutto magro e il lombo vengono tritate e impastate con una piccola percentuale di lardo di pancetta, e condite con sale e pepe.

Method

Grind pork, lean ham and loin; mix with pancetta fat, salt and pepper; stuff in natural casing; pierce to expel air during pressing; dry hanging from canes; smoke with forest wood; preserve under oil. Source-supported detail: L'impasto viene poi insaccato in budello naturale che viene bucato perché espella l'aria presente nell'impasto per pressatura, manuale o meccanica.

Ritual / calendar

In the province of Salerno, in the towns of Ricigliano and San Gregorio Magno, a tasty meat made of pig meat and bacon fat, is produced.

Why travel for it

Ricigliano gives TIFA a precise small-place salume rather than an anonymous cured meat.

Recreate-it pathway

Producer fieldwork needed before any technical curing recipe; document, do not instruct unsafe home production.

Editorial warning

Do not merge into Soppressata del Sannio or generic soppressata; this has a Ricigliano/San Gregorio Magno geography and forest-wood smoking identity.

Fieldwork questions

Which forest woods are used? Are canes still used in drying? Are village households and producers using the same process?

Photo brief

Cane-drying rack, oil-preserved slices, Ricigliano/San Gregorio Magno landscape, smoke room.