Culatello di Zibello

Culatello di Zibello is a naturally cured, uncooked pork product made from the crural muscles and inner thigh of fresh pig hindquarters. Animals must be born, raised, and slaughtered in Lombardy or Emilia-Romagna. Production is confined to eight named communes in the Bassa Parmense area of Emilia-Romagna, where the particular climatic conditions of the Po river plain are held to be irreproducible elsewhere.

About this designation

Registered as a PDO on 2 July 1996 under file number PDO-IT-1492 (eAmbrosia identifier EUGI00000013372), Culatello di Zibello is produced exclusively in the communes of Polesine, Busseto, Zibello, Soragna, Roccabianca, San Secondo, Sissa, and Colorno, all within the Region of Emilia-Romagna. The raw material is restricted to the crural muscles and inner thigh of fresh pig hindquarters from animals born, raised, and slaughtered in Lombardy and Emilia-Romagna. The specification identifies the following production stages in sequence: preparation of the muscle bundle, salting, resting, filling of casings and/or covering, tying, and ageing. The link between the product and its geographical area is attributed to the very humid climatic conditions characteristic of the zones near the Po river historically involved in its production, conditions the specification describes as irreproducible elsewhere. The applicant group named in the original registration dossier was the Associazione Produttori per la Tutela del Culatello di Zibello; the current registered producer group is the Consorzio di Tutela del Culatello di Zibello. Products placed on the market must bear the designation name followed by the wording "Denominazione di Origine Controllata" and any applicable distinguishing mark. Oversight is exercised by the Ministero delle Risorse Agricole, Alimentari e Forestali.

Source: The register document this entry was written from · retrieved August 26, 2026

Distinctive facts

• Registered as a PDO on 2 July 1996 under file number PDO-IT-1492, eAmbrosia identifier EUGI00000013372.
• Production is confined to eight named communes in Emilia-Romagna: Polesine, Busseto, Zibello, Soragna, Roccabianca, San Secondo, Sissa, and Colorno.
• Raw material is restricted to pigs born, raised, and slaughtered exclusively in Lombardy or Emilia-Romagna.
• The specification describes the climatic conditions of the defined Po river microzone as irreproducible elsewhere.

Tasting notes

Pear-shaped pressed cured pork hindquarter aged in fog of lower Po valley, deep ruby color, intense aroma of dried fruit and cellar must, silky melt-in-mouth texture, complex sweet-savory finish — the most prized Italian cured pork.

HoReCa use

Premium antipasto served minimally, on its own or with butter and bread; paired with aged Parmigiano and Lambrusco; a centrepiece of high-end Emilian dégustation menus.

Packaging

• whole-piece-netted-3-5kg
• half-piece-vacuum-1.5kg
• deli-sliced-vacuum-80g
• deli-sliced-tray-100g