Bende Téli Szalámi Hungarian Style Winter Salami

Téli szalámi — "winter salami" — is the salami Hungary is known for: pork, paprika-free, lightly smoked, then hung for months under a bloom of white noble mould until it goes dense and faintly nutty. Bende have been making it to the original recipe since 1955.

• Whole stick, sold by the piece
• Pork, salt, spices — no paprika, which is what separates téli from kolbász
• Mould-ripened and dry-cured, ready to eat

The white coating is supposed to be there

That chalky white bloom on the outside is Penicillium nalgiovense, the noble mould the salami is ripened under. It is not spoilage. Wipe it with a dry cloth or peel the casing back as you cut — some people leave it on. A téli without it has not been made properly.

Eating it

Sliced thin with rye bread, mustard and pickled peppers. It is firm enough to cut paper-thin, which is how it should be eaten — a thick slice is all salt.

Ingredients

Pork, salt, spices, dextrose, ascorbic acid, lactic acid starter culture, sodium nitrite. Surface treated with potassium sorbate and ripening mould.

Keeping it

Cool and dry. Once cut, wrap the face and refrigerate; it will keep for weeks and go firmer as it dries.

Made in the USA by Bende & Son Salami Co.