prosciutto

The word comes from the Latin prae exuctus 'very dry' and technically, what we know as prosciutto is prosciutto crudo, or 'raw' ham that has been air dried. Cooked ham is prosciutto cotto. Smoked ham is usually called speck, but there are other kinds as well, such as Friuli's Prosciutto di Sauris.

Prosciutto crudo has been one of the stars of the Italian kitchen at least since Etruscan times. World-famous dry-cured hams such as Parma, San Daniele (from Friuli) and Norcia (Umbria), as well as lesser-known local hams such as Jambon de Bosses (Valle d'Aosta), Toscano, Carpegna (Marche), Modena (Emilia), Cinta Senese (Tuscany) and Veneto Berico-Euganeo—all have DOP status.

Several rather rare kinds are in the Slow Food Presidium:

Bazzone 'protruding chin' ham of the Garfagnana (Tuscany) made from semi-wild pigs fed on spelt, fruit, chestnuts and acorns