Lonzu — Corsican Cured Pork Tenderloin AOP

Corsica, France — island-wide production zone. AOP 2012.

Lonzu is the cured pork tenderloin of Corsica — a lean cylinder of pale rose muscle that hangs in the cantina alongside prisuttu and coppa, completing the island's AOP charcuterie triad. The loin is trimmed of excess surface fat, rubbed with sea-mineral-salt and dried herbs of the maquis — principally nepita (Corsican calamint) and rosemary — then pressed and tied in natural casing before its five-month minimum hang. Because the tenderloin carries less intramuscular fat than coppa or prisuttu, the cure must be calibrated precisely: too much salt and the lean becomes chalky; too little and the centre fails to dry through. The finished lonzu is sliced almost paper-thin, revealing a gradient from ivory surface to blush-pink interior, with an aromatic profile dominated by the island herbs rather than the animal fat. On every Corsican plateau and in every village épicerie, lonzu is the introductory cut — the first thing a visitor is offered alongside a glass of Patrimonio rosé or Niellucciu. AOP since 2012.

• Lombo di maiale stagionato (Ligurian pork loin cure — Genoese cognate)
• Lomo embuchado (Spanish cured loin — parallel technique, different herb profile)

Pale rose lean, faint casing sweetness; nepita herb prominent on nose; clean, lightly saline finish with no residual fat coat on the palate.