Corsica, France — island-wide. IGP 2023. Techniques

Panzetta is Corsica's cured pork belly — the island's pancetta equivalent, though its herb profile and the pasture diet of the Porcu Nustrale distinguish it from any Italian cognate. The belly slab is rubbed with sea-mineral-salt, maquis-dried herbs (nepita, rosemary, myrtle), and coarsely cracked black-pepper, then weighted for two to three weeks before rolling and tying. The IGP specification approved in July 2023 mandates Corsican-origin pigs and a minimum four-month hang. At full cure the fat layers have hardened slightly at the surface but remain yielding at the core, with the herb rub embedded in the outer fat cap. Panzetta is used primarily as a cooking fat and flavour base in Corsican minestra, soupe corse, and bean stews — rendering into the soup base alongside onion and maquis-herb aromatics — rather than sliced and eaten raw as a board item. Its flavour contribution is deeper and more aromatic than lardo or plain pancetta because the Porcu Nustrale fat carries the island's botanical character.

Salamu is Corsica's dried collar-and-belly sausage — a coarser grind than salciccia, packed into natural pork middles and hung for a minimum six weeks to three months depending on diameter. The forcemeat is hand-chopped rather than machine-minced, giving salamu a characteristic chunky cross-section with visible fat deposits the size of a hazelnut. Sea-mineral-salt, garlic, cracked black-pepper, and Corsican red wine are the standard aromatics; some producers in the Alta Rocca add dried myrtle berry. IGP approved July 2023, the designation formalises a product that has been made identically in the Corsican interior for centuries. Salamu is the everyday charcuterie of the island — less prestigious than prisuttu, less season-bound than figatellu, and more consistently available than lonzu. It appears in pasta sauces, on charcuterie boards, and tucked into bread alongside brocciu for the midday meal of shepherds and agricultural workers throughout the upland villages.