What is the difference between Italian mortadella and Russian boiled sausage? Homemade mortadella What goes with it

When the average tourist from Russia is offered to try mortadella for the first time, he often falls into a stupor at the mere sight of it. “Fathers and mothers! Yes, this is our boiled sausage!” – the Russian exclaims.

Then he tries and concludes: “Only better. Much better." So, let's figure out how Italian mortadella differs from the boiled sausage familiar to all of us from childhood, which was eaten, for example, by the same Uncle Fyodor in the cartoon “Prostokvashino”.

1. Let's start with the composition of the products. Although it is similar, it is not identical. Mortadella is made exclusively from pork interspersed with fat (on average, each loaf of sausage costs 15% of it). If we compare mortadella with the products of our domestic manufacturer, then the closest thing to Italian sausage is the Soviet “Doctorskaya”. It contains not only pork, but also beef, plus, according to GOST, chicken eggs, powdered cow's milk, nutmeg, spices, sugar, salt, glucose and sodium nitrite must be added there. That is, in terms of composition, “Doctor’s” sausage cannot be called a 100% copy of the Italian specialty.

2. It is known that the Mikoyanovsky meat processing plant produced the first batch of “Doctor’s” sausage in 1936. The recipe was developed separately, without focusing on the Italians. Mortadella’s history is many times more ancient. It was made back in the days of the ancient Romans. This is evidenced, for example, by the artifacts exhibited today in the Bologna Museum - these are devices and utensils for making sausage. In addition, a detailed description of the recipe for preparing mortadella is found in a document on meat dishes from 1376.

3. “Doctor’s” sausage got its name due to the fact that the product was developed as one of the components of therapeutic nutrition for people whose health had deteriorated due to hunger or poor nutrition for a long period - do not forget, the sausage was invented in the second half of the 30s . But the name mortadella comes from the Latin word “mortarium”. It was used to designate ceramic kitchen utensils - conical bowls in which food was crushed using a mortar or various foods were mixed. Actually, the meat was ground in the “mortarium”. By the way, this is the direct ancestor of the utensils for making pesto sauce.

4. It is curious that initially only myrtle berries were used as a seasoning to prepare mortadella. Today the product is also seasoned with pepper, but in the past it was too expensive. If we talk about the “Doctor’s” sausage, then when preparing it, according to GOST, coriander and nutmeg ground into flour were supposed to be used as spices.

5. It is customary to cut mortadella into very thin pieces, as they say, through the light. Eat - on its own, as an appetizer for an aperitif, as one of the components of canapés, for example, with pickled onions or cucumbers, and also as a filling for sandwiches. But according to Russian traditions, the sausage should be chopped into thick pieces and placed on top of a piece of bread, although the same cat Matroskin said that the sandwich turns out tastier if the sausage is on the bottom and the bread is on top.

A couple more facts about mortadella that are worth knowing. Today, its variety with pistachios as a filling is widespread all over the world. Residents of Bologna are unfavorable to this version of their specialist. They say it’s not ours, it’s not ours. Although Jamie Oliver likes to use this particular variety of mortadella, it is invariably present on the menu of his restaurants.

There are no restrictions regarding the size of the product. As they say, the larger and more voluminous the mortadella, the more interesting it is, so sometimes it is almost the size of a log.

Mortadella (Bolognese sausage) is a traditional Italian meat delicacy. It is a boiled sausage made from minced pork and lard, which gives it a characteristic spotted texture.

Manufacturing

Italian mortadella sausage is traditionally made from ground pork and lard. Various spices are added to the resulting mixture. As a rule, these are black peppercorns, wine, pistachios, garlic and, without fail, dried myrtle berries. It is then boiled at a temperature of about 80 degrees Celsius, after which it is placed in a protein (edible) shell.

Calorie content

100 grams of Italian mortadella sausage contains about 311 kcal.

Compound

The traditional recipe for Italian mortadella sausage involves the use of minced pork and lard, as well as a number of spices - garlic, black peppercorns, wine, pistachios and dried myrtle berries. The chemical composition of this meat delicacy is characterized by a high content of saturated fats, proteins, lipids, poly- and monounsaturated fatty acids, cholesterol, vitamins (B6, B12, D) and minerals (iron, calcium, potassium, magnesium).

How to cook and serve

In Italian cuisine, mortadella sausage is one of the most popular ingredients. It is used not only in the preparation of sandwiches, but also in a number of traditional dishes, for example, in omelette fritatta. Very often, mortadella is used in salads, cold appetizers and pastas, being an excellent “companion” for walnuts, sour berries, cheeses, chicken and quail eggs.

Mortadella is no less popular in the national cuisines of a number of Eastern European countries, primarily Romania, Hungary, Croatia, Macedonia, Slovenia and Poland. As a rule, this meat delicacy is an inexpensive alternative to fried and stewed pork dishes. Having previously been fried in batter, mortadella is served with potatoes or salads. In turn, in Vietnam this meat delicacy, known as Cha Lua, is often used to prepare one of the versions of the traditional dish Banh Cuon.

What goes with it?

Italian mortadella sausage goes well with most popular foods, primarily walnuts, berries, cheese, eggs, vegetables, mushrooms, bakery and pasta products, and dairy products.

How to choose

There are a number of factors to consider when choosing Italian mortadella sausage. First of all, this is the appearance of the shell. In high-quality sausages, it is clean, smooth, tightly adjacent to the contents, without any damage. Another factor of choice is the color and uniformity of coloring of the sausage cut. It should be colored in soft shades of pink or red, and fatty inclusions should be white. In addition, high-quality mortadella has a characteristic “meaty” smell, without foreign inclusions.

Storage

The shelf life of this meat delicacy can vary significantly depending on the technology used in production, ingredients and quality of packaging. This sausage product should be stored in the refrigerator at a temperature of 0 to 6 degrees Celsius. If there is no damage to the shell, it can retain all its original properties for 10-14 days. If it is necessary to store for a longer time (up to 30 days), Italian mortadella sausage can be frozen, ensuring a certain temperature regime (not higher than minus 18 degrees Celsius).

Useful properties

The specific features of production technology and chemical composition make Italian mortadella sausage beneficial for the human body only when consumed in moderation. In particular, this meat delicacy stimulates the processes of hematopoiesis, metabolism and the formation of muscle and bone tissue, reduces nervous excitability, improves the functioning of the gastrointestinal tract, and also increases immunity and has an immunostimulating, antioxidant, and anti-inflammatory effect.

Restrictions on use

Individual intolerance, excess weight, diseases of the cardiovascular system.

Meat products similar in organoleptic qualities to this traditional Italian delicacy are produced in many countries, including Russia. In our country, mortadella is better known as “Russian”, “Stolichnaya” or “Lyubitelskaya” sausage. They differ from the “original” primarily in their recipe - minced meat is made from a mixture of pork and beef with the addition of lard, as well as eggs and milk. And the spices used are salt, coriander and nutmeg.

Meat and lard

Description

Ingredients

Steps

First of all, you need to take out the natural casing, place it in a container and soak in warm water for two hours.





Grind the chopped pork with a meat grinder on a 4.5 mm grid. Place the resulting minced meat in the freezer and freeze slightly.



After this, twist the pork mass through the meat grinder again, only now you should first install a grid with 2 mm holes on the device.



The finished minced meat should have approximately the same consistency as in the photo below.



Now take fresh lard and separate one hundred and ninety grams. Chop the separated part of the bacon into uniform large cubes. You will need to chop the second part of the lard thoroughly in the future.



Weigh all the spices in a separate container. Try to take these ingredients in the quantities suggested for use in this recipe, since this volume of spices is designed for exactly one kilogram of pork.



Place the weighed ingredients in a blender bowl and grind until powdery.



Lightly freeze the remaining piece of bacon and twist through a meat grinder with large holes.



Add the resulting lard mixture to the previously prepared minced pork along with chopped spices. Next, stir the mixture thoroughly until protein threads appear. This usually takes no more than ten minutes..



After this, take the previously diced lard, place it in boiling water and blanch for five minutes. This will allow the pieces of bacon to retain their original shape during baking, since baked lard usually shrinks.



Meanwhile, prepare the required amount of shelled pistachios. Next, be sure to pour boiling water over the nuts and carefully separate the thin skin.



When the minced pork is kneaded to the required consistency, add blanched chopped bacon to it.



Next, add the prepared pistachios to the mixture.



Mix the resulting mass very well, and then knead with your hands until you get the same result as in the photo below.



When the minced meat is completely ready, remove the natural casing from the water and rinse it well. Clean it if necessary.



Then fill the prepared bag with meat and tie it tightly with thread. You can immediately weigh the semi-finished product so that you can compare its weight when cooked..



Now it's time to bake the future delicacy. It is recommended to bake it suspended at a temperature of fifty degrees for the first one hundred and twenty minutes. You should not immediately set the oven temperature to high, since the meat product will be cooked on the outside but raw on the inside.



After this, the oven temperature must be increased to eighty degrees. At this temperature, the sausage needs to be baked for another seven hours. If necessary, the baking time can be increased.



When the temperature of the delicacy reaches seventy-one degrees, it can be removed from the oven. The temperature of a dish can easily be measured with this unique device.




Remove the finished sausage from the oven and cool. It is recommended to consume Italian mortadella chilled..



Bon appetit!

Today, mortadella can be found in almost any large supermarket, anywhere in the world.

Even many sausage producers in the CIS countries are trying to figure out its recipe and produce, to put it mildly, a parody of mortadella, the same can be said about other typical Italian products. But any Italian will say without hesitation that the best mortadella produced in its homeland in the region.

Mortadella is produced according to a strictly established recipe. To do this, use chilled or frozen meat, which is thoroughly chopped before mixing with other ingredients. After which pieces of high-quality pork fat are added to the minced meat(cut into approximately 1 cubic centimeter) and a mixture of spices (salt, white pepper, coriander, anise, pistachios and wine).

After which, the resulting mixture is packaged. Mortadella casings can be either natural or artificial. This doesn't really affect the quality.

After packaging, mortadella is processed using special heaters at a temperature of 75 °C. Cooking time depends on the size (diameter) of the sausage, and can last from one to several hours. Mortadella is considered ready when its core temperature reaches 70 °C. And only after this, the sausage is quickly cooled.

Mortadella sausage can be completely different sizes, usually from 500 grams to 100 kilograms.

Ideally, real mortadella should not contain various fillers, flavors, artificial colors, and preservatives.

But some manufacturers add sodium caseinate to a product of low or average quality to improve taste.

How to eat mortadella

If you have already been to Italy, then you most likely know that almost everything is cut very thinly on a special machine. Mortadella is one of those sausages, about which one can say - the thinner the tastier. Although you can serve it in any form - cut with a regular knife, cubes, etc.

Because this perishable product, Italians prefer to buy it little by little, let’s say, so that it’s only enough for a sandwich or for preparing some dish (for one time). In my practice (when I worked in an Italian store), one lady asked to cut only 30 grams. This is normal in Italy.

Mortadella is used to prepare many dishes, but in my opinion the most common is an ordinary fresh bun (panino) with several pieces of sausage placed inside. Favorite food for people who do not have the opportunity to dine at home.

The average cost of good quality mortadella (in specialized stores - “salumeria”) is 12 €. In supermarkets you can find it cheaper, but of worse quality. .

1343

There is a city in Italy called Bologna, founded in 510 BC. e. - the culinary capital of the country. Behind the scenes, Bologna is called “fat”. If you look at grocery store windows filled to the brim with cheeses and sausages, it immediately becomes clear why. The names of the sausage alone are worth it. See for yourself - cotecchino (boiled pork sausage), zampone (stuffed pork leg), pancetta (pork belly), cappello del prete oder Cappelletto (boiled pork sausage). Bolognese sauce and some types of pasta were born here, but the biggest celebrity is the sausage - mortadella.

Real Italian mortadella is the real child and pride of Bologna, which is why outside the city it is even called “Bologna”. This is certainly one of the most famous Italian delicacies. Currently, it is produced not only in the provinces of Parma and Bologna, but also in many other regions.

Mortadella has been made for at least five hundred years, and the recipe may have its roots in ancient Rome. The Romans' favorite sausage was farcimen mirtatum. They were flavored with myrtle berries and prepared using a pestle and mortar. The name mortadella comes from the Latin words mirtatum (myrtle) and mortario (mortar), and the recipe for the sausage remained unchanged until the Middle Ages.
Mortadella has the status of a product whose origin is controlled - the sausage, called mortadella, can only be produced in certain northern regions of Italy.
Today, the cooking method and ingredients are slightly different, as Italian cuisine, like many others, has evolved over several centuries.

Mortadella is made from ground pork and lard, which creates the characteristic mottled texture. Minced pork is often mixed with other types of meat: beef, veal, horse meat. Sometimes giblets and greaves are added to the minced meat. Garlic, peppercorns, wine, and pistachios are used as spices when making mortadella. All this is then stuffed into a beef or pork casing, depending on the intended size of the sausage, and cooked depending on its weight. After cooking, the mortadella is left in a cool place to stabilize the sausage and give it body.

A mandatory requirement for classic Bolognese mortadella is the presence of dry myrtle berries as the main seasoning. Each manufacturer has its own recipe. In order for the final product to be called mortadella di Bologna, it must meet certain criteria, for example: the ratio of pork to fat must be seven to three. The texture of the sausage should be dense, with pieces of lard evenly distributed in each slice. These characteristic pieces should be tightly surrounded by the sausage mass and should not separate during slicing. Real mortadella is a dense, pink sausage with white pieces of lard. It should be slightly spicy, but its taste should be softened by lard, and there should be a characteristic aroma. A loaf of mortadella sausage can weigh from half a kilogram to two centners.

Serving and storing mortadella

Mortadella can be bought in almost all butcher shops in Bologna. There, on the spot, you can ask the butcher to cut the Mrrtadella, he knows a lot about it.
As with other types of Italian sausage, the thinner the piece, the better. Thin slices of mortadella are more pleasant and allow you to taste subtle notes of meat and spices. Thin slices also bring out the sausage's unique flavor, but mortadella can also be served cut into small cubes, like ham. Mortadella is served warmed to room temperature; Italians believe that this is the only way to feel the taste and aroma of thin slices. And when eating, they adhere to one principle - cut it very thin, eat it very quickly!

Mortadella is a very versatile dish that can be used in all types of dishes - from appetizers to main courses. Served with walnuts, cheeses and tart berries, or as a base for a delicious pasta, mortadella makes a great addition to a variety of appetizers. Mortadella is also good with eggs, as an ingredient for the Italian omelette known as fritatta. As far as pasta dishes go, mortadella is a wonderful filling in another Bolognese masterpiece, tortellini. However, true lovers of this famous sausage often simply slice it and serve it with good bread and a light, fruity red wine.

Popularity of mortadella

Mortadella is very popular in Spain and Portugal, where it is served with peppers and olives, but the sausage is especially popular in sandwiches.
Mortadella is also very popular in Argentina, Peru, Brazil, Ecuador, Chile and Uruguay, thanks to the Italian immigrants who settled in these countries in the early 20th century.

This is interesting!