Buy Guanciale?

To buy guanciale in the Nederlands is always a challenge. Even though guanciale is a common commodity in Italy, we are not yet generally familiar with it in the Netherlands.

Guanciale is the pig's cheek. The word is derived from the Italian word for cheek, Guancia. The pork cheek is put in a marinade of boiled wine with spices. The guanciale is then rubbed with salt and black pepper and dried.

This piece of meat is ideally suited for spaghetti alla carbonara, a famous Italian dish originating from Rome and the surrounding areas. Guanciale has a stronger flavor than other similar pork products such as pancetta (pork belly) and the texture of the meat is more delicate. When you bake it, the fat melts away to be absorbed by the pasta later. This is how you create the perfect sauce!

The Caroli family's exceptional Guanciale

The Caroli family's guanciale is extra special. Their salumificio (production facility for Italian charcuterie) is known in the area as the best in Puglia and perhaps far beyond. They are best known for their melt-in-your-mouth capocollo, the neck and shoulder piece of the pig that is preserved in the same way. But what really matters is the love and attention that go out to all products by de salumificio.

Attention to animals, people and the environment

The Carolis do everything with extra attention to quality, animal welfare and biodiversity. Careful handwork is done under the watchful eye of the patriarch of the family, Stefano Caroli. Only pigs with a good life, which had plenty of room to move between the olive trees of the Valle d'Itria valley, are used. That's why the Caroli's are part of the Italian Slow Food movement. Shreds of oak bark and almond peel provide a pleasant, but not all-pervasive smoky flavour to the meat. Finally, the guanciale is dried for another four to five months. This is anything but everyday guanciale. So are you going to buy guanciale? With us, you will not only find it easy to buy a delicious piece of guanciale for a very good price, it is also the very best quality!

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