Finocchiona salami 

Salami typical of Tuscany whose name derives from the intense and characteristic flavor that the fennel seeds release in the dough. It recently received recognition for Protected Geographical Indication, so manufacturers, only companies belonging to the homonymous Tuscan Consortium, following a product specification drawn up by themselves, which by providing their experiences have meant that the product follows a meticulous workmanship respectful tradition... the mix of meat gives a further guarantee of quality, coming from the spinneret of the product specification of the hams "D.O.P." relatively breeding and slaughtering of pigs. The Finocchiona at the recent International Food Awards in Brescia has been awarded the silver medal.

Facebook vs salami: finocchiona doesn't go away. It is an offense and therefore it is censored. What are we talking about? A large-diameter salami with a soft paste made with only pork meat and wild fennel that gives it a unique aroma. Finocchiona has been a Protected Geographical Indication (PGI) product since April 2015. But what happens if a salami with a funny and bizarre name meets a stupid and severe algorithm?

Facebook mistook the name of a salami, finocchiona, for an insult and sent a warning to the agency that made the post: "Your ad appears to insult or target specific groups of protected categories, so it doesn't meet our Community Standards." It's an absurd story, there's no doubt about it, and it's a bit perplexing and a bit funny. So I did a search and found a lot of strange names among the Italian recipes and products, all potentially offensive by Facebook's standards. In gastronomic Italy, it often happens to come across dishes and products with strange, uninviting names, also deriving from insults or swear words. In singular contrast with the taste and cultural value they express. It's fun. After all, in past centuries, marketing did not exist, and it was not a problem for farmers to call particularly fragrant or particularly familiar cheeses by their name. Marketing didn't exist, of course, but perhaps our ancestors had the long view. And some names appear far less anonymous than others. So, from north to south of Italy, there are 10 dishes with the strangest names.

Brandacujun * Brandacujun has been served for centuries. A dish closely related to the Provençal brandade: but if the latter is based on cod, for the brandacujun the protagonist is stockfish.

Puzzone di Moena * Another cheese with a curious and very fragrant name. Produced in Trentino, to be precise in Val di Fassa and Val di Fiemme, it is aged in cellars, where producers wet the rind from time to time with water and salt. This treatment creates a practically impermeable layer that favors, inside, fermentation that generates the typical smell, but also an extraordinary taste.

Bastardo del Grappa * is a typical cheese of the foothills. Where morlacco was produced, but when the climate and herbs changed, the cheesemaker had to make do and be inspired by the processing of Asiago d'allevo or montasio. Sometimes goat's milk was also used. In short, a real "crossover" that often made him seem like nobody's child.

Strozzapreti * Widespread in Central Italy, in the territories of the former Papal States and especially in Emilia-Romagna, strozzapreti are one of the most popular fresh egg-free pastas. 

Mule balls * The poor horse, in reality, has nothing to do with it. The coglioni di mulo are simple pork salami with a high quality. characteristic shape. With a small cube of lard inside as a "jewel". They are widespread in the mountain belt between Umbria, Marche, Lazio and Abruzzo, between the Sibillini mountains and the Gran Sasso.

Grandpa's Balls * Typical Umbrian cured meat (Norcia) similar to mule balls, but with a larger grind and a surface full of "bozzi". Poor Grandpa...

Cazzimperio * Don't get into sociological analyses of male chauvinist imperialism. In Roman cuisine, cazzimperio is synonymous with vegetables in dips and probably derives from the "cazza", an ancient Roman ladle. «Co ssale e ppepe e quattro gocce d'ojjo poderissimo facce er cazzimperio», wrote Giuseppe Gioacchino Belli in one of his sonnets in the nineteenth century.

Minnie of virgins * In Sicily they are the "breasts of the virgins", sweets whose name, however, had nothing erotic in the intentions of those who coined it. In fact, they were invented in 1725 by Sister Virginia Casale di Rocca Menna, of the Collegio di Maria di Sambuca di Sicilia (Agrigento), who wanted to emphasize their grace and candor. Similar stories are also given to the Neapolitan "zizze di monaca" and the "sise delle monache" of Abruzzo.