Vasto and the surrounding Vastese hills in southern Abruzzo. The peperoncino cultivation tradition of the Abruzzo and Molise borderlands created the specific spice profile of ventricina.
Ventricina del Vastese is one of the most distinctive salumi of southern-central Italy: a coarsely ground pork shoulder and belly mixed with generous quantities of dried sweet and hot peperoncino, fennel seeds, and rosemary, packed into the pig's stomach (ventricolo — hence ventricina) or large intestine and cured for 3-6 months. Unlike most salumi which are sliced at table, ventricina is often spread — the fat and soft meat at the centre of the cured form is spreadable and intensely flavoured. It is the salume of the Vastese coast and the Abruzzo interior.
The sweet peperoncino provides an orange fragrance and warm depth rather than heat; the hot peperoncino adds sharpness. The rosemary and fennel give an herbal complexity. The coarse-ground pork fat, when spread at room temperature, melts with a sweet, pork richness. Together the flavour is bold, aromatic, and deeply savoury — this is not a background salume.
The meat is ground coarsely — the large pieces (2cm) of shoulder are the structural element; the finer belly fat distributes through and provides the spreadable body. The peperoncino ratio is high: both sweet (dolce) and hot (piccante) varieties, dried and powdered, form the dominant seasoning alongside sea salt. The stuffed stomach is hung and cured in a cool, well-ventilated space (a mountain cellar). The natural casings and the stomach environment create the specific microflora that drives the flavour development. As it ages, the exterior firms; the interior remains spreadable.
The spreadable section of an aged ventricina — the inside is scooped out onto toasted bread or mixed into pasta sauces — is one of the great flavour experiences of southern Italian salumi. The hot version (with more piccante peperoncino) is made specifically for use as a sauce ingredient: dissolved in warm olive oil, it becomes an instant, deeply seasoned pasta sauce base.
Using a commercial casing instead of stomach — changes the curing environment and the eventual texture. Insufficient peperoncino — ventricina should be visibly orange-red from the sweet pepper. Under-curing — 3 months is minimum; under-cured ventricina has insufficient flavour development. Grinding too fine — it should remain chunky, not become a paste during grinding.
Paul Bertolli, Cooking by Hand; Slow Food Editore, Abruzzo in Cucina