Is it pork cheek or jowl? Guanciale or gota? They are the same thing! The Tuscan pork jowl is the cheek of the pork. We have selected this particular pork jowl, hand-made by Scarpaccia cured meats in Casentino. This cured meat, king of many Italian recipes, is cured - i.e. is flavoured with spices, in many different ways, depending on the region of Italy. This aged pork cheek, made with Italian pork meat, was salted according to an old tradition, flavoured with undergrowth scents and aged for long periods of time in cool rooms.

Do you know the difference between Italian bacon pancetta and pork cheek? One of many differences lies in the aging period. The flat pancetta ages for a short period of time, around twenty days, while the pork jowl ages between two to three months or even more. Moreover, for what concerns the difference in taste, the pork jowl has a high percentage of fat, much higher than that of the pancetta. That is why it is perfect both as a base for pasta sauces - such as carbonara pasta, gricia, amatriciana, and on its own, on a slice of hot unsalted bread.

However, the most important difference, as suggested by the name itself, it’s the fact that these two cured meats come from different parts of the pork: the pancetta comes from the belly, while the jowl comes from the cheek and the throat of the pork.

Forget about the cubes of pancetta wrapped in plastic that you see at the supermarket. They don’t even compare to the pork jowl! But be careful and try not to finish it all in one go, as it is very easy to slice away!
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We like to pair it with:

• pasta alla carbonara
• pasta alla amatriciana
• pasta alla gricia
• fried eggs