Prosciutto Crudo di Parma D.O.P. 

Since 2011, every year CNN Traveler, the American travel magazine of Condé Nast, draws up a ranking of the best foods in the world, chosen through a survey among its readers. And also this year the only cured meat to enter this special culinary ranking is Italian: Prosciutto di Parma DOP.

 Why Parma Prosciutto is appreciated all over the world

For Prosciutto Crudo di Parma the inclusion in the best culinary products in the world is not new, since already in previous editions of the vote the certified Emilian salami had managed to enter the ranking. In the new ranking of September 2020, however, Prosciutto di Parma has made a decisive leap forward, reaching thirty-first place: if we compare it with the 48th position of 2017, when it narrowly returned to the ranking of Americans' favorite foods we can identify a growing success and an increasing diffusion of Italian DOP Prosciutto in the United States.

Prosciutto di Parma DOP is one of the three Italian gastronomic excellences on CNN Traveler's list of world top food along with lasagna (in 23rd place) and Neapolitan pizza, which the Americans even place on the podium second only to Thai curry. In particular, the magazine emphasizes the ability of raw Prosciutto to combine with many foods, elevating its taste to a higher level: breadsticks, pizza, salad, melon. Among American consumers, Parma Prosciutto is particularly appreciated for its Italian origin, synonymous with culinary excellence and tradition, and for its unmistakably sweet taste.

Of course, Americans do not shine for their culinary culture and often this type of rankings are excessively all-encompassing and tend to overshadow the genuineness of the foods they classify; however, it is particularly significant that even in the States a typical product of the Italian tradition is recognized as excellence worldwide and manages to fit into the preferences of the interviewees alongside Thai, Indonesian and other culinary cultures very different from the Mediterranean. 

The US television station launched a survey among its readers and the responses were over 35 thousand: it is therefore a numerically relevant sample, even if not structured or representative. CNN asked users to vote for their most popular foods. In the ranking of the best 50 dishes in the world there are numerous typical specialties now widespread all over the planet but still considered peculiar to a certain country, such as Japanese sushi, hamburgers of German origin, Canadian maple syrup, Mexican fajitas and tacos, kebab from Turkey. CNN enhances the simplicity combined with taste, and precisely the Prosciutto Crudo di Parma D.O.P. readers have rewarded it for its versatility, remembering the combinations with pizza, melon, breadsticks and salad, and for its unmistakable flavor. Italian excellence in cured meats is increasingly finding positive responses overseas: good news for all agri-food producers.