meat

Cinta Senese

What is the Cinta Senese?

Cinta Senese is the name of a breed of domestic pig ( Sus scrofa domesticus ), typical of the province of Siena (a Tuscan city located in central Italy).

Like the Nero dei Nebrodi, due to its dark color and tendency to live better in a semi-wild or wild state, Cinta Senese is also often associated with Pata Negra, a prized breed of pig, typical of the Iberian peninsula. On the other hand, the Cinta Senese is distinguished by the classic band (or band) of skin and light hair present on the chest, behind the shoulders of the animal.

Today, this breed is bred exclusively for food and for the conservation of the same breed (over 1, 000 years old).

The most famous foods based on Cinta Senese are preserved meats.

Cinta Senese DOP

In 2006, the Ministries of "Agricultural Food and Forestry Policies", "Agriculture" and "Forestry" attributed to six pig breeds in Tuscany (including the Cinta Senese) the Protected Designation of Origin, defining them in a more generic way "Suino Cinto Toscano DOP".

Note : only pigs born, raised and transformed in the Tuscany region according to tradition are PDOs.

Food

Description of Cinta Senese meat

The meat of Cinta Senese is slightly different from that of light pigs; it is in fact quite thin, dark, with pinkish fatty tissue.

As we have said, it is very suitable for the production of preserved meat, but the recipes of fresh cuts are also very famous; in particular, the recipe of the porchetta in the wood-burning oven is characteristic (based on young specimens weighing 40-60 kg).

The most famous products based on Cinta Senese are salami, cured or salted, to be cooked or raw sliced. In particular we mention: Tuscan ham, Tuscan salami, fresh sausages, buristo, salted shoulder, pancetta, capocollo, finocchiona and Colonnata lard.

Nutritional properties

Nutritional characteristics of the Cinta Senese

The nutritional properties of Cinta Senese are the same as those of other pig breeds bred in the semi-wild state:

  • Greater percentage of meat and lower percentage of fat
  • Greater percentage of unsaturated fats (with particular reference to omega 6 and omega 9) and lower percentage of saturated fats.

The meat of Cinta Senese belongs to the fundamental group of foods, as an important nutritional source of high biological value proteins. It also contains a significant amount of lipids, which varies according to the cut.

The most abundant vitamins are from group B, such as B1, B2, PP, B12 etc. Discrete percentages of vitamin A in the most fatty cuts.

The liver is very rich in many other vitamins, absent from the meat (vitamin D, folic acid, vitamin C, etc.), but also cholesterol.

The minerals most present in the meat are iron and potassium.

Fresh Cinta Senese meat can be taken in medium portions of 100 g, about once or twice a week, depending on the overall composition of the diet. In case of hypercholesterolemia it is advisable to prefer very thin cuts, such as the loin.

As for cured meats, the lean ones can be eaten in portions of 50 g, but with a lower frequency.

In the case of primary sodium sensitive hypertension, all salted meats should be limited to "one off"; the same applies, referring to the general population, for particularly fatty pork products.

The Cinta Senese is obviously excluded from the vegetarian, vegan, Muslim, kosher and Hindu diet.

It is not a particularly allergenic meat and does not contain nutrients often subject to food intolerance, such as gluten and lactose.

Description

Short morphological description

The Cinta Senese breed is rustic, resistant, and does not require special care.

The constitution of the Cinta Senese is typically thin, of medium size, with a light but solid skeleton. It has a cylindrical body, quite slender, not too wide; the thorax, not too deep, continues in a rather large abdomen.

The shoulders are muscular and well developed. The dorso-lumbar line is straight but slightly inclined towards the buttocks. The tail is curled. The limbs, although long, are still very robust.

The head is of medium size, with a straight front-nose profile, elongated shape and tapered snout. The ears are medium length and are facing forward and down. The neck is elongated and well harmonized in the trunk.

The Cinta Senese male has well developed testicles; the female has ten udders with normal and well pronounced nipples.

The coat is dark, tending to black, with a characteristic lighter band surrounding the chest, located just behind the animal's shoulders; the band, which can be shaded of beige-gray, up to pink and white, can contain black spots.

The weight of the adult specimens is about 300 kg for the boar and 250 kg for the sow.

Origin

Area of ​​origin of the Cinta Senese

The Cinta Senese is associated in particular with the area of ​​the "Montagnola Senese" and the municipalities of Casole d'Elsa, Castelnuovo Berardenga, Gaiole in Chianti, Monteriggioni, Siena and Sovicille, in the upper area between the Merse and Elsa rivers.

History

Historical notes of the Cinta Senese

The Cinta Senese is a very ancient breed; it was known and used already during the Roman period. However, the first written evidence of its presence in the Tuscan territory dates back to the late Middle Ages, when, in 1338, Ambrogio Lorenzetti represented the species on the fresco "Allegory and effects of Good and Bad Government", still preserved in the Palazzo Pubblico of Siena.

Population

Population of the Cinta Senese

After the Second World War, due to its poor reproductive capacity and the introduction of foreign breeds, the population of the Cinta Senese has dropped drastically almost to extinction. The genealogical book of the breed, born in the 1930s and interrupted in the 1960s, was reopened in 1997; currently it is kept by the National Swine Breeders Association.

The population of the Cinta Senese was saved when the specimens did not exceed 150 units; today it has increased almost 20 times but the population remains low. At the end of 2007 it was 2867 specimens, so much so that FAO called this breed potentially "at risk".

At the end of 2012, only 2543 pigs were registered, distributed in 111 farms.