The location of Friuli in the Northern Italian Province of Udine, where cold northern winds from the Alps and warm breezes from the Adriatic Sea meet, is the home of the air-cured Prosciutto di San Daniele.

In a tradition that can be traced back to ancient times, only pigs from ten Italian regions are used for the production of Prosciutto di San Daniele, being carefully selected by pedigree and weight.

The thighs are carefully chosen, and the meat salted by hand with coarse salt.

It is then pressed giving it its elongated violin shape, and after resting for three months is washed, brushed off and left to dry.

This is when the microclimate of San Daniele comes into play, with the breezes from the Adriatic Sea travelling up along the rivers and mixing with the cold Alpine mountain air creating a fairly dry climate with gentle winds ideal for ageing meat.

It then takes 13 months of this meticulous air-curing before the prosciutto is finally considered worthy of being controlled and then branded with the San Daniele mark.

Only now Prosciutto di San Daniele will be allowed to take its place in some of the finest food halls and discerning high street outlets in the world. Its creamy texture and sweet taste

making it a delicious antipasto, a succulent companion to fruit, or even fresh spring vegetables.