Photo: BMLFUW/Rita Newman
Jauntaler Salami (Jauntaler Bauernsalami)
Record Number: 118
Disclosure Date
The method of processing Jauntaler Salami has been known for generations in farm households and can be traced back to the Middle Ages.
Photo: BMLFUW/A...
Jauntaler Salami
(Jaun Valley Salami)
Abstract or claim
Jauntaler Salami is produced in the geographical area of the Jauntal, or ‘Jaun Valley’. Jauntaler Salami is produced in accordance with traditional recipes using specific seasoning and curing, and subsequently by being smoked over beech wood.
The knowledge of production methods and use of spices to make the salami has been passed down from generation to generation in the Jaun Valley, which is rural and strongly influenced by farming.
The pigs used in the production of Jauntaler Salami are born, raised and slaughtered in the Jaun Valley.
Name of product, Product class
salami, sausage, meat products
Name of region
Jaun Valley, Carinthia, Austria
Field of search
Food and agriculture
Name of information provider
Stefan Pototschnig
Chairman of the Association of Jauntaler Salami Producers
Name of applicant for title
---
Holder of knowledge or associated resources
Numerous salami producers in the Jaun Valley region
Grantee(s), holder(s), assignee(s) or owner(s) of title, if any
---
Descriptors
- History:
The Lombards, a Germanic tribe from around the 3rd century BC to the 11th century AD, were probably already aware of the art of preserving meat. They are believed to have stuffed raw meat into intestines and cure it with salt.
Sausage was also a popular foodstuff amongst the Greeks and Romans.
Wall paintings at the grave of Egyptian Pharaoh Ramses III (1182 - 1151 BC) depicting sausages similar in appearance to salami would seem to suggest they were also known to the Egyptians.
In his tract De re rustica (“On Agriculture”), Marcus Terentius Varro (116 - 27 BC) wrote that the Gauls (French Celts) had wide experience of the conservation of pork, and that the Romans were importing large amounts of Gallic sausages.
In this context, it is interesting that Noreia, one of the largest Celtic centres of population at the heart of the Jaun Valley, lay on the Gracarca hill by the Klopeinersee lake.
The first evidence of the knowledge of the processing of sausages is the enactment “Capitulare de villis vel curtis imperii” of 802 by Charlemagne, which was also in force in the region we now call Carinthia. Among other things, the enactment dealt with the issue of observing rules of cleanliness when handling foods.
The word ‘salami’ originates in Italy (‘salami’ comes from the Italian word salame, meaning ‘salted sausage’ or ‘salted meat’), and was probably adopted, initially in Hungary and then in Austria, from there.
Pig farming played a secondary role in the Carinthia of the Middle Ages, with its importance outweighed by dairy and sheep farming. Despite this, most farms kept a few pigs for their own use, especially to be used in the preparation of cooking fat.
It is well known, however, that Italian pig farmers led whole herds of pigs into the ‘Dobrowa’ (roughly translated, the name means ‘oak forest’, and refers to one of the largest continuous wooded regions of Central Europe) and the Jaun Valley. Road names still bear witness to this period to this day.
This may also be the reason that pig-farming had a stronger presence in Lower Carinthia.
For farmers to have meat from pigs available to them throughout the year, they would usually preserve it in the form of ham and sausage goods.
In the past, Carinthian farmers slaughtered pigs twice per year, mainly between All Saints’ Day and the second week of Advent, or 3 - 4 weeks before Easter. It was thought to be crucial to slaughter the pigs while the moon was waning.
For reasons to do with hygiene and the technologies involved, raw sausage could only be produced in the cold seasons of the year, from October through to March.
During the winter, weekly markets were held in the towns of Klagenfurt, Völkermarkt, St. Veit and Friesach, where cooking fat and sausages were offered for sale as well as pork and bacon.
In the Jaun Valley, dried pork sausage is used as a popular seasoning throughout the year when it is boiled in soups.
There is a long tradition of producing pure pork sausages for own use in houses and on farms in the Jaun Valley. Many different factors play a role in the production of high-quality speciality sausages, suggesting the processes are based on knowledge handed down over generations. This ranges from the correct working methods, to curing and a sure instinct for maturing or drying the sausage, and careful storage. The regional climate also defines the aroma and taste, giving Jaun Valley speciality sausages a refined, delicate touch.
It was not until after the Second World War that production and marketing of the salami along more commercial lines began in the region.
In 1997 the Jaun Valley farmers and direct marketers in the municipality of Globasnitz founded the “Juenna” community of Farant farmers (direct marketers of farming produce in the region who produce according to ancient traditions and on a small scale).
The community aims to keep alive agricultural methods that are in touch with nature, market high-quality farming products regionally and cross-regionally, and cultivate ancient farming skills.
The Association of Jaun Valley Salami Producers was founded in 2001 with the aim of defining production guidelines for farmers’ salami from the Jaun Valley and operating a system of quality assurance.
- Region:
The Jaun Valley is the name given to the region of the Drau Valley stretching from the confluence of the River Vellach and the River Drau/Drava near Goritschach (405 m above sea level) as far as Schwabegg (462 m) in the south-eastern part of the Klagenfurt Basin in Carinthia. It ranges to the Karawanken in the south, takes in the southern slope of the Saualm mountain pasture in the north, and widens in the centre to the flat Jaunfeld region.
Much of the Jaun Valley lies in the municipality of Völkermarkt.
The name ‘Jaun Valley’ has its origins in the name of the Celtic god ‘Jouenat’, to whom a shrine was built on the Hemmaberg mountain (842 metres above sea level).
The name of the ancient Roman settlement that was located near Globasnitz, ‘Juenna’, is derived from this god, and from this the mediaeval name of the mountain ‘Iunberch’ or ‘Jaunberg’, and that of the Jaun Valley as a whole.
As well as the Rivers Drau and Vellach, the River Gurk flows through the valley. The Klopeinersee and Turnersee lakes lie in the Jaun Valley, as do the towns of Völkermarkt and Bleiburg.
Climatic conditions:
The Jaun Valley is dominated by a continental climate characterised by warm summers and cold winters. During the winter, the region experiences pronounced temperature inversions and extremely low temperatures.
The annual average temperature is 7.5 °C. The average summer temperature is 17.9 °C; the average winter temperature is -4 °C.
The climate is humid year-round. The annual average precipitation is about 750 mm, with the peak in summer.
- Jauntaler Salami:
Photo: BMLFUW/Rita Newman
Around 400 salami farmers in the region produce Jauntaler Salami, although the majority of these do so for their own use. 150 farmers in the region produce the salami for sale.
Feedstock:
All the parts of meat and pork fat used must originate in the Jaun Valley region. The animal must be slaughtered in the Jaun Valley.
Most of the feedstock used to make Jauntaler Salami comes from sows (F1 sows, a cross of the Large White and German Landrace breeds) and from specially fed fattened pigs (a cross of the F1 sow and the Pietrain meat breed boar) kept on local farms in the Jaun Valley region.
To produce Jauntaler Salami, “old sows” (mother sows which have produced at least one litter and are between 18 months and 4 years old) are slaughtered at a weight of 250 to 300 kg. The fattened pigs are slaughtered at the age of around 9 months, at a weight of around 150 kg.
Photo: BMLFUW/Rita Newman
Meat from older animals is darker in colour, more compact and drier than that from young animals, and therefore better suited to the production of salami.
Farming and feeding:
The majority of the feed comes from the Jaun Valley region.
The feed consists overwhelmingly of corn silage (around 80 %), together with peas, wholemeal barley and hay from the farm’s own production.
Soya is bought in to add as protein feed, as well as natural mineral mixes for pigs.
Feeding the pigs with corn from the Jaun Valley gives the meat its distinct taste, and makes the fat gentle and refined, which is essential for the special meat aroma of the salami to develop.
Pigs used in the production of Jauntaler Salami are farmed in accordance with the guidelines of the Animal Protection Act.
Transport and slaughter:
The transport route from the pig breeding operations to the private and communal slaughterhouses in the region are short (max. 10 km), and the journey should be as stress-free for the pigs as possible.
Attention should be paid to the phase of the moon in the slaughter. The period when the moon is waning is the best time for the pigs to be slaughtered, as that is when the juice remains in the meat, later producing the aroma.
After the pigs have been slaughtered, the meat is stored for one day in cooling rooms directly next to the slaughterhouses at a temperature of 4 °C, enabling the meat to mature and the pH-value of the meat to fall to below 6.0.
Salami production:
Jauntaler Salami is produced and processed in the geographical area of the Jaun Valley.
After the slaughtering and cooling processes are complete, sinews and fat can be removed from the meat. The classes of meat are divided into batches.
The cooled pork is minced with a meat grinder, partly using a rough slice and partly using a fine one. A cutter may not be used in the mincing.
Depending on the type of meat, the degree of shredding should be between 3 - 4 mm and 8 - 10 mm.
The bacon to be used is frozen and shredded either by hand or using a bacon cutter. Only back bacon may be used as bacon.
Jauntaler Salami contains 80 - 85 parts of pork, and 15 - 20 parts of back bacon.
Cooking salt, nitrite and nitrate are used for the curing. In addition to salt, pepper and garlic or garlic water, sugar is added to Jauntaler Salami.
The individual component parts are subsequently blended into a mass with a light binding agent. The salami mass is stuffed, tautly and free from air, into naturin- or cutisin-type guts and bound together with string.
Curing storage:
After this, the meat is stored for two to three days in cooling rooms with 100 % humidity levels and at a temperature of 1 °C. As a result, the salt soaks into the meat and reddens it (curing).
Smoking:
The salami is then smoked, traditionally over beech woodchips or beech wood, causing it to gain its distinctive colour and aroma. The smokehouses used to do this (which are brick-built with vents) are a special feature of the region.
Maturing:
Traditionally in the Jaun Valley, Jauntaler Salami is then matured in two phases (from a damp to a dry climate), and nowadays also with a degree of technical support from a climatised room.
The first step in the maturing takes place at high humidity (95 - 90 % humidity and 9 - 12 °C). As soon as a mould begins to form on the sausage due to the damp climate around it, it is washed by hand with clean water, also referred to as a “salami shower”.
The salami shower provides the introduction of the dry phase, and ensures the uncooked sausage is not contaminated (mould). The second phase then takes place in a dry climate with 75 - 80 % humidity and at around 10 °C.
After around 8 weeks, the maturing process is complete. The meat loses 40 - 45 % of its dryness.
Storage and post-maturing:
The Jauntaler Salami is then vacuum-packed and labelled directly by the farmer, and post-matured for a maximum of 1 week at a temperature of 8 - 10 °C.
Because it is vacuum-packed, the Jauntaler Salami can be stored for up to half-a-year.
Taste and appearance:
The Jauntaler Salami has a harmoniously rounded aroma, and a mature meaty taste. The addition of garlic water and smoking over beech wood from woods in the region lends the salami an unmistakable aroma. Due to the regional climate, the taste of the speciality sausage from the Jaun Valley is described as refined and delicate.
Jauntaler Salami is a firm, coarse grained uncooked sausage without covering which contains uncooked pork and tasty cubes of bacon.
The cubes of bacon are highly characteristic of Jauntaler Salami. The proportion of the sausage made up of these is up to 20 %.
A cross-section of the Jauntaler Salami shows fine, square cubes of bacon fat with a diameter of 6 mm.
Quality control:
Living pigs and half-carcasses are checked by veterinary surgeons on the basis of legal regulations.
Checks on all stages in the production process are carried out in accordance with legal regulations, by groups and individuals including the Food Inspection Agency, the official veterinary officer, the inspecting veterinary officer, Agrarmarkt Austria (AMA) and the market supervisory body, as well as by the competitor and a quality assurance officer within the association.
Jauntaler Salami is also produced subject to the ‘Farant Code of Honour’. This states that farmers from the Farant region are committed by tradition to producing their entire product range exclusively according to handed-down home recipes. The raw products processed must originate in their entirety from the user’s own farm, which must lie in the Farant region of Juenna.
Every farmer is committed to observe the legal regulations, labelling requirements, general market guidelines and quality norms when producing their goods.
All steps in the production process must be recorded in the salami protocol and laid out in the quality manual in such a way that they are completely comprehensible.
Members of the Association of Jaun Valley Salami Producers must take part in the regional salami tasting (the ‘Jaun Valley Salami Crown’) every year, and submit at least one salami for testing. A sensory evaluation of the tests is to be carried out by the Farming Section of the Chamber of Agriculture and Forestry, Völkermarkt Branch, in cooperation with the Farant farmers.
At least once every four years, an unannounced check is to be carried out, to include both a sensory test by a quality assurance officer determined by the society and an analytical test (inspection for listeria and determination of the nitrate/nitrite content) by the Food Inspection Agency in Klagenfurt.
- Marketing:
Photo: BMLFUW/Rita Newman
At the beginning of August, the annual ‘Salami Festival’ is held at Eberndorf Monastery, where salami famers from the region can offer their specialities for sale.
- Proof of origin:
Pigs are identified by means of official ear-tags or tattoo stamps. Pig stock and operators (breeders, slaughterhouses, traders, etc.) are registered in the Austrian Veterinary Information System (VIS) of Statistics Austria.
Each Jauntaler Salami is to be traceable in practice to the individual animal, from its feeding to its sty and production, and this information is to be recorded in the quality manual.
The check is to be carried out in accordance with legal regulations, as well as by the competitor and a quality assurance officer within the society.
Connection with the geographic area and traditional knowledge:
- In harmony with the native soil: the animals are fed first and foremost
with corn silage and peas, wholemeal barley and hay from the farm’s
own production.
- The unique taste and aroma of the salami are directly related to the
breeds of pigs used, farming methods and traditional production processes,
and subsequent traditional smoking.
- Production of Jauntaler Salami is the result of traditional knowledge which
has been handed down to those active in this field: traditional knowledge
and experience of the pig farmers (adjustment of farming methods to the
needs of the breed and the know-how of farmers and butchers in the
production of salami).
- Utilisation:
Other types of salami are produced in the Jauntaler Salami Region of Delight as well as the traditional Jauntaler Bauernsalami. These include Jauntaler Salami with Pork (without a proportion of meat coming from old sows), Jauntaler Easter Salami (freshly-cooked Jauntaler Bauernsalami), Jauntaler Salami with Beef (containing at least 25 % beef), Jauntaler Venison Salami (at least 25 % venison), Jauntaler Lamb Salami (at least 25 % lamb), Jauntaler Game Salami (at least 25 % game), Jauntaler Goose Salami (at least 25 % goose), Jauntaler Horse Salami (at least 25 % horsemeat) and Jauntaler Wild Boar Salami (at least 25 % wild boar meat), in which case the proportion of special meat does not always come from the region, and Jauntaler Beef Salami (beef and bacon fat).
In addition to this, farmers in the region produce “home salami” according to availability, which is produced from meat from various different animals (pork, beef, game, lamb and horsemeat) without specific details.
Jauntaler Salami is not just perfectly suited to a hearty Jaun Valley breakfast or cold platter, but also to preparing traditional recipes from the Jaun Valley such as ‘Lauch-Schöberl’ (leek soup with a rusk inlay) and ‘Kartoffelreinkerl’ (Reinkerl is a savoury cake baked in a special cake tin, in this case cooked with potato).
- Protection:
-
Key Words
Food and agriculture, traditional knowledge, Austria, Carinthia, region, Jauntal, meat products, sausage, salami, Jauntaler Salami, Jaun Valley salami, Jauntaler Bauernsalami
Bibliography / References
- Das kontinentale Klima
http://www.hh.schule.de/abg-stgeorg/BS_AG/Erdkunde/Klima/KontinentalesKlima.htm
- Die forstlichen Wuchsgebiete Österreichs – Wuchsgebiet
6.2: Klagenfurter Becken
http://bfw.ac.at/300/pdf/1027.pdf
- Die Jauntaler Salamikrone
http://globasnitz.com/index.php?module=ContentExpress&func=display&ceid=66
- Farantbauern
http://www.salamigenuss.at/farantbauern_ehrenkodex.htm
- Hemmaberg
http://www.museumonline.at/2006/sine_fine/sinefine/hemmaberg.htm
- Hemmaberg
http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hemmaberg
- Jauntal
http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jauntal
- Jauntaler Bauernsalami
http://www.genusslandkaernten.at/genussregionen/?state=01-0&id=5&detail=true
- Jauntaler Salami
http://www.genuss-region.at/article/archive/15113
- Jauntaler Salamispezialitäten
http://kaernten.orf.at/magazin/magazin/freizeit/stories/127920/
- Klimadaten von Österreich 1971 – 2000
St.Michael/Bleiburg
http://www.zamg.ac.at/fix/klima/oe71-00/klima2000/klimadaten_oesterreich_1971_frame1.htm
- Landwirtschaftliche Erwerbskombinationen
ARGE Farantbauern
http://www.verwaltung.ktn.gv.at/31796_DE-Gruener_Bericht_2006-GB_9.pdf
- Jauntal
www.aeiou.at
- MAIER-BRUCK F. Kärnten: Fleischgerichte. In: Vom Essen auf dem Lande,
2. Auflage, Verlag Kremayr & Scheriau, Wien, 1995, 84ff; 331f.
- SIEVERS, G.W. (2007): Kärntner Speck, Hauswürste und Haussalami.
In: Genussland Österreich – Was Küche und Keller zu bieten haben, Leopold
Stocker Verlag, Graz, 501.
All internet references last accessed on 25 February 2009.
Language Code
German
Product of www.genuss-region.at
Yes
Regional contact
Stefan Pototschnig
Chairman of the Association of Jauntaler Salami Producers
Pribelsdorf 87
9125 Kühnsdorf
Phone.: 0664 1056641
Email: salamigenuss@aon.at
www.salamigenuss.at
Authors: Eva Sommer, Doris Reinthaler, Erhard Höbaus
24.11.2011, Lebensministerium III/4