Salume

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A collection of cured meats, often associated with Italian culinary traditions, is made using preservation techniques to maximize flavor while improving longevity
2. The term refers to an assortment of dried and salted meats that are commonly featured in Italian cuisine and are crafted through methods that elevate taste and durability
3. A variety of salted and air-dried meats from Italy, prepared to develop rich flavors and extended shelf life

Etymology: "Salume" is the Italian word for a cured or salted meat product, and in English it is used for the same range of air-dried and salted sausages and hams. The word is simply the Italian term carried over into English, so its story is largely the story of how the Italian word itself was formed. The Italian "salume" is a collective noun built from "sale," meaning salt, the same root that gives English "salt" and "salary." Salting was the old method of preserving meat, so the word names the products made by that process: the root names the preservative, and the ending gives the sense of a group of such goods. Italian has many similar collective nouns, such as "fogliame" for foliage, drawn from a base word with a suffix that gathers things together.