'Nduja from Spilinga in a Jar, Artisan Calabrian
In Spilinga, a small Calabrian village in the province of Vibo Valentia, 'nduja (a soft, spicy spreadable salami) isn't a product. It's an identity. It's been made the same way for centuries, with the same hands, the same aromas, the same slow fire. Nobody invented it looking for a new recipe: it was born from what there was – the need to use the whole pig, to preserve with chilli, to make something that would last and taste of something at the same time.
The 'nduja you'll find here comes from there, from people who still make it following that tradition, with no shortcuts. Pork fat, pork, sweet and hot Calabrian chilli, salt. Nothing more, nothing less. The proportions have never been officially written down anywhere: they're known by heart, handed down and adjusted with the experience of those who have made it for years. It's the kind of knowledge you won't find in cookbooks.
The deep red colour isn't an aesthetic choice. It's the right amount of chilli doing its job: preserving, flavouring, giving character. The soft, creamy texture, even after curing, comes from that precise balance of fat and meat that Spilinga's makers achieve without weighing anything. Open the jar and you smell it at once – the smell that fills Calabrian kitchens and leaves no doubt about what's about to happen at the table.
On a crostino it's one thing. In a soffritto it's another. Either way it does what it always does: takes a simple dish and makes it unforgettable. It's not about heat for its own sake: it's flavour, depth – the kind of ingredient that changes the result even in small amounts. Anyone who has eaten it warm, spread on bread with the 'nduja warmer lit underneath, knows what we mean. Anyone who hasn't yet is about to find out.
How to use it
Bread is the starting point, not the limit. Spread on bruschetta while the bread is still warm, it's complete and needs nothing else. As a base for ragù and tomato sauce soffritto, it gives a depth no other ingredient can match: it melts into the oil, releases its red fat and carries all the chilli's flavour into the sauce with nothing else needed. On pizza, added raw after baking, it changes the result in a way you can see and taste. With a semi-aged cheese it rounds off an aperitivo on its own. With beans, eggs or durum wheat pasta: every pairing makes sense, and each stays true to what 'nduja has always been, wherever you use it.
Storage
Store in a cool, dry place, away from light and heat. Once opened, cover with a drizzle of oil and keep refrigerated. Consume within 2–3 weeks.
Ingredients
Pork fat (52%), pork (13%), sweet chilli, hot chilli (7.2%), sunflower oil, salt.
