FAQ

How Should I store my Dry-Cured Salamis?

• While salamis are perfectly safe to eat if not kept under refrigeration, we do recommend that you refrigerate them or store them in a cool temperature, in order to keep them in optimal condition.
  

What if there is white mold on my salamis?

• Is it ok to eat? White mold (penicillin nalviogense) and blue / green mold (penicillin glaucoma) often found on the surface of the salami is safe to eat and considered beneficial in the curing process.  It is harmless.
  

How long does salami last?

• Salami is considered shelf stable and is built to remain safe to eat for long periods of time.  For optimal quality, we recommend you eat our salamis as soon as possible.  That said,our salamis are safe to eat indefinitely, although we would not recommend eating after 8 months of purchase.

Do these salamis contain nitrates?

• The shorter answer is yes.  All cured salamis contain nitrites, albeit very few.  Even if the label says "no nitrates," if the salami has the characteristic reddish hue that it is supposed to have, it contains nitrates. That said, we do not use Sodium Nitrate.  We use celery juice powder instead. 
• While nitrites play an important role in the curing process, they are very unstable and, the very small amount we use, disappear after the first few days of curing, to the point at which a finished salami has a barely detectable level of nitrites.
• The nitrite question is one we get all the time. There is a great deal of information about nitrites in circulation- much of it misleading, which makes giving a short answer very difficult and, not entirely considerate of the person asking it. In short, the answer can be long. We encourage you to click on and read over the attachment below, entitled  Sodium Nitrite “Fact Sheet,” published by The American Meat Institute.  It is very helpful in clarifying and educating about the issue and explaining that, YES, NITRITES ARE NECESSARY IN SALAMI PRODUCTION AND ARE SAFE TO EAT.

What Is Charcuterie? 

• Charcuterie is the practice of transforming meat, often the less sought after cuts, with the help of salt, spices, temperature, humidity, and time, into something palatable, desirable, and longer lasting. The practice has evolved over thousands of years, largely out of necessity to not waste any part of the animal and to preserve meat for long periods of time.

Do you have a wholesale program?

• Yes, our wholesale program supplies distributors, retailers, and food service establishments with our full selection of charcuterie. We have retail ready formats (including small format salamis, individual pre-sliced units, and snack sticks), and food service ready formats (including large format charcuterie and bulk pre-sliced). We also offer end-to-end custom product development - from creating a recipe to producing a sellable product. And don't forget our super fun Charlito's Cocina Cured Meat Vending Machines. For wholesale inquiries, please email: info@charlitoscocina.com.