Valle d'Aosta Lard d'Arnad

Valle d'Aosta Lard d'Arnad is a PDO-protected cured lard obtained from the shoulder and back of pigs at least nine months old, brined with crystallised sodium chloride, garlic, bay leaf, rosemary, and sage in wooden containers called doils, and produced exclusively within the municipality of Arnad in the Autonomous Region of Valle d'Aosta.

About this designation

Registered as a PDO under file number PDO-IT-1493, with EU protection dating from 2 July 1996 and eAmbrosia identifier EUGI00000013373, Valle d'Aosta Lard d'Arnad — also protected in its French form Vallée d'Aoste Lard d'Arnad — is classified as a meat product under Class 1.2. The designation covers lard obtained from the shoulder and back of pigs at least nine months old, weighing at least 160 kg with a 10 % margin of tolerance, raised in Valle d'Aosta, Piedmont, Lombardy, Veneto, or Emilia-Romagna. Processing takes place exclusively within the municipality of Arnad. The lard must be cut and placed in doils — wooden containers constructed from chestnut, oak, or larch — no later than 48 hours after the day following slaughter, layered with salt, garlic, bay leaf, rosemary, sage, and optionally other aromatic herbs and non-ground spices, then covered with salted water brought to the boil and cooled. The product must remain in the doil for at least three months. When released for consumption, the lard itself must be no less than 3 cm thick and is white in colour with a possible thin layer of meat. Labelling must carry the words Denominazione di Origine Protetta. The inspection body is Istituto Nord Est Qualità — INEQ, based in San Daniele del Friuli.

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-1493 (eAmbrosia identifier EUGI00000013373).
• Processing is permitted exclusively within the municipality of Arnad in the Autonomous Region of Valle d'Aosta.
• The doils in which the lard is brined must be constructed from chestnut, oak, or larch; no other wood is permitted.
• The product must remain in the doil for at least three months and must be no less than 3 cm thick when released for consumption.

Tasting notes

Pure cured pork back-fat from Arnad village, brined with rosemary, sage, garlic, juniper berries. Translucent ivory color, intensely aromatic mountain-herb flavor, silky cool melt-in-mouth texture distinct from Lardo di Colonnata.

HoReCa use

Sliced thin laid on warm rye bread or Valdostan focaccia; paired with chestnut honey; rolled around grilled mountain trout.

Packaging

• slab-vacuum-400g-1kg
• deli-sliced-vacuum-80g
• pre-sliced-tray-100g