Capocollo

Lore & Background

The name capocollo is a compound of the Italian words capo ('head') and collo ('neck'). Regional terms include capicollo in Campania and Calabria, and capicollu in Corsica. Outside Europe, it is called bondiola or bondiola curada in Argentina, Paraguay, and Uruguay, and capicola or capicolla in North America. The pronunciation gabagool, based on the Neapolitan word capecuollo, has been used by some Italian Americans in the New York City area and elsewhere in the Northeast US, popularized by the television series The Sopranos.

Reader's Guide

Capocollo is significant as a traditional Italian cured meat with protected geographical indications under European Union law. Four varieties—coppa piacentina, capocollo di Calabria, coppa de Corse, and capocollo di Martina Franca—hold PDO or PGI status, ensuring that only products genuinely originating in those regions may be sold under those names. Four additional Italian regions produce capocollo designated as prodotti agroalimentari tradizionali (PAT) by the Italian Ministry of Agricultural, Food, and Forestry Policies: Basilicata, Lazio, Tuscany (where it is called capocollo tipico senese or finocchiata), and Umbria. In Slovenia, it enjoys an EU-protected designation of origin as kraški zašink. Outside Europe, capocollo was introduced to Argentina by Italian immigrants under the names bondiola or bondiola curada. Its legacy includes its role in Italian-American cuisine, where the pronunciation gabagool has become a stereotype, and its similarity to prosciutto as a pork-derived cold cut used in similar dishes.

Did You Know?

• Capocollo is made from the dry-cured muscle running from the neck to the fourth or fifth rib of the pig shoulder or neck.
• It is not brined as ham typically is.
• The pronunciation gabagool, used by some Italian Americans, is based on the Neapolitan word capecuollo.
• Four varieties have PDO or PGI status under European Union law.