One of the highlights of dining in Umbria is the cured meats. Many of them come from Norcia, a small village in the Valnerina that has become synonymous with great sausage and salami making (the Italian word for butcher shop is Norceria). These skilled sausage makers obviously also had a sense of humor when they started naming their creations — Coglioni di Mulo (Mule’s Testicles) are pork salamis that are always sold in pairs; Palle di Nonno (let’s just say Nonno is grandfather and Palle di neve are snowballs) are also pork salamis; and my favorite Prosciutto Tascabile (Pocket Prosciutto) is a smaller version of the traditional cured ham. These have become so famous (or infamous) that we often see Italian tourists from outside the region snapping photos and giggling at the butcher shop displays.
