Eating in Parma is a serious matter, Maria Luigia of Austria also said in one of her most famous quotes: “In Parma it is not difficult to live, as long as you know how to agree with the interlocutor in a discussion of musical or gastronomic nature”.

Seen the great importance that is given to food, typical products and conviviality, there are some culinary aspects on which the Parma citizens are really uncompromising, real dogmas of good food and good cooking. Let’s find out what they are:

1. It is called torta fritta.
Not gnocco fritto, nor crescentina, nor chisulèn (these are the ways in which it is called in other Emilian cities). Do not try to order gnocco fritto at the restaurant if you do not want to unleash the ire of the host and the chef.

2. Do not remove the fat from the ham.
Nor from any other cured meat, on pain of being accused of heresy: removing it will ruin the perfect balance of our beloved Prosciutto di Parma given precisely by the ratio between the fat and the lean part.

3. Tortelli d’erbetta must be “foghè in tal buter e sughè col formaj”.
That means “drowned in butter and dried with cheese”, there is no diet that fits.

4. Anolini also in mid-August.
Summers in the Po Valley are almost hellish: hot, humid, sultry. But there is no heat that can discourage the Parmesan: broth is not given up even in August.

5. Salame must be cut into thick slices.
Thin slices are for starters – the perfect slice needs to stand on its own. And the Salame is strictly the Feline one, which is made with pork and not cat.

And you? Do you agree with our “dogmas” or do you know other essential and unavoidable ones? Follow us on our Facebook and Instagram channels to find out the opinions of our fellow citizens and others: because, let’s remember, the beauty of cooking is sharing, listening, trying and experimenting.