Prosciutto di San Daniele is the result of a simple promise: we let the raw ingredients and time do all the work. In our case, the concept of a ‘natural product’ is more than just a marketing slogan: it’s the true reflection of a method that has always had just two key ingredients – pork leg and sea salt – and one specific location – San Daniele del Friuli. All the rest is careful attention, monitoring, circulating air and passing time. This is the essentiality that gives rise to the identity of San Daniele.
The recipe is beautifully minimal: pork legs deriving from pigs that are born, reared and slaughtered in Italy, and sea salt from southern Italy. No preservatives, no nitrites or nitrates. This means that we don’t go in for chemical shortcuts: our curing process is a slow and transparent one, monitored by Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) standards.
So the naturalness of the product is the result of clear rules and a tradition that has learned to understand how meat behaves and the effect of salt over time.
No preservatives: all Prosciutto di San Daniele needs is salt, time and a favourable microclimate
The path to natural healthiness involves using just a few high-quality ingredients, and for Prosciutto di San Daniele, geography is a key ally. In San Daniele, cool currents descending from the Alps meet milder ones rising from the Adriatic, creating aeration that is natural, continuous and balanced. The Tagliamento is a ‘living’ river and not rigidly dammed: it acts as a regulator, absorbing excess humidity, mitigating temperature and accompanying the air masses as they move. This rare balance of air is one of the reasons why our curing process takes place here and nowhere else: the unmistakable aroma of San Daniele matures in this unique dialogue between wind and morainic stone.
The Tagliamento River, with its gravelly bed and free-flowing dynamics, functions as a lung that breathes in unison with the valley. Alpine and sea breezes create an airflow that passes through the ham factories, drying the ham to just the right degree, helping the curing process along without subjecting it to stress. This combination limits the need for external intervention: nature provides the rhythm and we humans follow its movement. The result is a curing process that favours balance and purity of taste, making preservatives and additives completely unnecessary.
Respecting tradition
In everyday work, ‘naturalness’ also means understanding the raw ingredients. Each pork leg is unique in terms of weight, fat coverage and fibre structure. The skill of master ham makers lies in modulating the salt and timing according to these differences, without straying from common guidelines. This measured care combines experience with the parameters set by the Product Specification. The consistency of the final result is thanks to the many small decisions carefully made along the way.
Prosciutto di San Daniele: where time stands in for additives and preservatives
When territory, raw material, and processing expertise come to an end… patience begins. The Product Specification is explicit: the curing period must never be less than 400 days, counting from the start of processing. For a period of a year or more, the pork leg slowly dries, salt works by osmosis, aromas concentrate, fibres transform. Time, even more than tools, eliminates the need for additives: water evaporates, texture settles and flavour deepens. Each stage is carefully monitored: only in this way can the essentiality of the ingredients be translated into consistent quality.
So the absence of preservatives in Prosciutto di San Daniele is not the final goal, but the result of a sequence of consistent decisions. A balance is built up day after day: salt attracts moisture, natural ventilation promotes drying and the microclimate keeps the conditions stable. In this context, the technique is above all about knowing how to make small adjustments: how many times the ham factory windows are opened and closed, how long the hams are left to rest. Everything contributes to one goal: preserving the natural sweetness of the meat and guiding it towards a clean, recognisable and elegant sensory profile.
If you want to try the San Daniele tasting experience at home, read the guide here.
The guarantees of Product Specification and branding
In order for this method to remain intact over time, a system of shared rules is needed — this is where the Product Specification comes into play. The Product Specification not only defines a geographical area, but also establishes the permitted pig breeds, their origin, the characteristics of the leg, the processing stages and the controls. The Product Specification provides legal, economic and cultural protection by linking the product to a community and a body of knowledge passed down through the years. The link between method, location and final result thus becomes measurable, verifiable and traceable. This gives consumers a concrete reference point rather than a generic statement.
At the end of the process, a final touch is added that tells the story of each ham: the fire brand. This is only applied to hams that have passed the checks, completed the curing process, and met the requirements for the designation. It’s a simple mark in itself, but one that is rich in meaning: it indicates the origin, certifies conformity and distinguishes Prosciutto di San Daniele from many others. Together with the mark, consumers will find useful information about the product and its journey through the supply chain on the label. Transparency is part of the experience: knowing exactly what is on your plate makes the pleasure of tasting all the more complete.
Goodbye preservatives. Welcome authentic flavour
The sensory profile of Prosciutto di San Daniele is what you would expect from a long curing process: natural sweetness, well-integrated flavour, clear and persistent aromas. Cutting into the texture reveals the degree of drying; the colour, between pink and bright red, declares that the product is the result of slow processing. These are the indications that confirm the centrality of time. Month by month – no rush, no shortcuts – the meat gradually transforms, developing those notes that make Prosciutto di San Daniele immediately identifiable even with your eyes closed, and with no additives required! This is where the naturalness of preservative-free Prosciutto di San Daniele is truly recognised on the palate.
The recipe’s essential nature is also culturally significant. Over the years, San Daniele has been able to maintain a dialogue with a tradition that has no fear of control. Quality is measured in the number of days, in the procedures, in the checks that accompany each step. This collective responsibility — of the Consortium, the ham factories, the local communities — is the real and invisible “third ingredient”: the shared safeguarding of an Italian food heritage.
Prosciutto di San Daniele PDO has a clean sensory profile
If we had to sum up the philosophy behind San Daniele ham in a single phrase, it would be this: ‘less is more’… as long as the ‘less’ involves expert handling! Few ingredients, one unique location, clear rules, plenty of time. No preservatives, no nitrites or nitrates.
This approach requires commitment and consistency, but the result is a product that speaks for itself: a naturally sweet and aromatically clean ham that is perfect for everyday occasions and memorable when seeking a taste of Italian excellence. Here, naturalness is a fact: you can read about it in official documents, see it in the landscape and taste it in the flavour.
