With such a wide product offering, it is difficult to differentiate middle-quality products from the quality ones. Longaniza and salchichón are similar but not the same products. The difference? the quality of the raw material.
How to differentiate the longaniza and the “salchichón” (medium quality dried-sausage) in the supermarket
The longaniza is an elongated sausage with an approximate diameter of between 4 and 5 cm. In addition, its surface, apart from being covered with the characteristic white fungus, is never smooth and has irregularities, grooves and deformations, the product of its long curing and its artisanal treatment.
The salchichón is usually larger (longer) than the longaniza and also thicker, between 5 and 7 cm in diameter. In addition, you will differentiate it because its surface has no irregularities and it has a more cylindrical and homogeneous shape.
The reason for the difference
There are two variables that make a product have a higher cost: the time dedicated to making it and the quality of the ingredients that are used for it. In the case of longaniza and salchichón, both variables come into play.
The “salchichón” has a larger diameter, there is more meat and it requires a faster curing process to guarantee the final flavor of the product. This flavor tends to be slightly acidic due precisely to this quick drying process.
Our “longaniza“, on the other hand, requires a much slower drying process, and thanks to it achieves a bouquet that always attracts the most demanding palates.
Regarding the raw material, it is customary to use meat with a proportion of fairly high fat. The “longaniza”, on the other hand, is made with shoulder meat and pork belly and with a lower proportion of fat.
