Let’s make this simple: Today I finally gave in and decided I ought to give domestic prosciutto a second chance. This was my first mistake.

My second mistake was buying into the blerb on the back of the pre-cut (but very fresh, moist looking) proscuitto container at my high quality local butcher: it talked about how it was from a small farm in Iowa, blah blah, the land, blah blah. Unfortunately, Iowa is NOT Parma.

And so, $6.50, a pecorino & “proscuitto” sandwich later, I sat, angry at myself. Actually, I was working. But I was angry at myself for being so lazy, for getting the domestic because the imported wasn’t available where I was at the time.

The domestic stuff was gamey (in a bad way), oily (too oily), and not sweet at all like Parma’s prosciutto. I’ve tried a couple other domestic prosciuttos in my life and none of them really lived up to the name prosciutto. They all made me want to say I ate a ham & cheese sandwich–not pecorino and prosciutto.

I’m sorry that the imported prosciutto is so much more expensive than the domestic, but people, keep it real, don’t give in, it’s ‘just not worth it.