10 Typical Sardinian Products to Discover (and Taste)

Sardinia! A land of unique scents, fresh air and animals raised in the wild. You will not infrequently find cows, sheep, wild boar... and often bulls, practically everywhere. Sometimes even on the beach, relaxing.
And with this in mind, you will have understood that typical Sardinian products start or at least go from the land.

Making a list doesn't make me enthusiastic because I always have the feeling that I'm forgetting some or otherwise not giving proper attention to some of the products Sardinia has to offer.

But one thing is certain.

You cannot leave Sardinia without having tasted each of these 10 typical products.

Read more: 10 Prodotti Tipici Sardi da scoprire (e assaggiare)

Here are the Top 10 Typical Sardinian Products:

DRIED SAUSAGE

Salumi (cured meats) are all definitely worth tasting, but among all the typical Sardinian products, dry sausage has a truly prominent place.

Here I first want to clarify a doubt.

In Sardinia, when you talk about sausage, you touch on a delicate subject. In fact, this is not to be confused with salami and it is not to be confused with fresh sausage.

Each of these three elements has its place in the Sardinian culinary world and mixing them up could lead to confusion.

Let me give you an extremely practical example.

If you order a sausage and potato pizza, you will get 101% dry sausage and potato pizza in Sardinia. If you were expecting fresh sausage (the soft kind) here you would have to ask for 'purpuzza'.

For the Sardinians, moreover, the salami is 'the big one', the Milanese one for instance, soft in places.

The dry sausage, on the other hand, has its own treatment, its own spices, its own specific percentage of fat and its own exact seasoning to be truly delicious and to be sliced strictly on a wooden cutting board and with the Leppa (a typical Sardinian knife).

But as always, there is dry sausage and dry sausage.

And personally, the best sausage I have ever eaten in my entire life is only made in the butcher's shop in Bitti. A village not far from La Caletta.

PECORINO CREAM

Obviously from what we have said so far, you will have realised that it was impossible that among the 10 best typical Sardinian products , there should be any missing from the world of cheese.

Here the choice is truly vast.

From simple fresh cow's milk ricotta, through cheese made directly by the shepherd, to Casu Marzu.

But of all of them, if there is one product that you absolutely must try and that I have never found elsewhere, it is absolutely Sardinian Pecorino Cream.

You will thank me later.

You can find it in both normal and peppery formats, and honestly, I don't know how to choose.

In this case, to taste a really good one, the solution is very simple: don't take a commercial one, but buy it at the cheese factory (in this case, I recommend the Caseificio di Siniscola). You won't regret it.

CARASAU BREAD

Nothing is probably more typical for Sardinia than pane carasau. A very thin and crispy disc-shaped bread, suitable for long storage.

An element that has always distinguished it and directly links it to the pastoral figure, typical of Sardinian history.

The shepherds, in fact, during the long periods of transhumance, needed to carry bread that would keep for a long time and carasau was perfect for this purpose as it could keep for up to a year if kept dry.

When it was time to eat it, all the shepherds had to do was soak it a little, with water, wine or oil, to make it regain its original crunchiness, a habit maintained to this day.

On every Sardinian's table, this is a product that will never be missing (unlike soft bread, which you will find less often).

A truly delicious alternative is Pane Guttiau.This is Carasau bread sprinkled with natural oil and grains of salt and baked in the oven.

A mouth-watering delight.

Fregola

Among the main typical Sardinian products is Fregula (its name in Sardinian).

But what is it? It is irregular 'crumbs' of pasta, of more or less size, which are made by kneading semolina and water for a long time.

This dough is then toasted in the oven, taking on a darker colour and an inimitable flavour.

Preserved as Sardinian Traditional Heritage, the preparation of fregola is a purely homemade 'ritual':

• The bran, placed on a large, deep plate, is kneaded and worked with warm, salted water.
• Then, through a skilful circular movement of the hands, a 'rubbing' in fact, the typical grains of fregola are obtained.
• These are then left to dry on a cloth and, after a roasting process in the oven for about 15 minutes, take on the characteristic golden colour and special flavour that make this type of pasta unique.

The most famous Sardinian recipe with this type of pasta is Fregola con arselle. In general, throughout Sardinia, it is the custom to season Fregola with fish-based sauces, tomato or white.

Malloreddus

Every Sardinian who travels always carries at least one packet of Malloreddus, also known as Sardinian Gnocchetti.

Although they actually look more like cavatelli as they are elongated, ridged shells to better hold the sauce.

Now also popular in a 'mini' version, the originals are the elongated ones.

The classic dish of Sardinian cuisine is malloreddus alla campidanese..

In this dish, a ragout is made by cutting Sardinian sausage into small pieces;

I pezzetti vengono soffritti in olio con cipolla tritata e poi lessati per circa un’ora con salsa di pomodoro; si aggiungono quindi alcuni fili di zafferano, dieci minuti prima della fine della cottura.

Gli gnocchetti lessati vengono conditi con questo ragù e con pecorino sardo grattugiato.

Culurgiones

Like the other typical products, Culurgiones (depending on the area, the term changes vowels, consonants and sounds) also have an all-Sardinian soul, and consist of a particular fresh filled pasta (be careful not to confuse it with ravioli!) originating in a specific area of the island, Ogliastra, from where it then spread to other areas with different variants.

Typical is its closure, called sa spighitta because it recalls the ear of wheat. And it is this aesthetically elegant and sometimes demanding closure that once linked Culurgiones to a real 'good', prepared only on very important occasions..

The traditional filling consists of potatoes, cheese, lard (or extra virgin olive oil) and mint.

Its particularity lies in the cheese: it is a special and tasty mix. Some recipes only call for fiscidu cheese (a local salted pecorino), while others call for the addition of other types of pecorino and goat cheese.

According to tradition, they should be served with tomato puree and grated pecorino cheese.

PIGLET (maialetto): A must AMONG TYPICAL SARDINIAN PRODUCTS

Maialetto is the island's most famous and well-known dish, a kind of 'national' recipe characterised by a strong identity and sense of belonging. It is the dish of festivities for Sardinians as well as the one that any tourist longs to try at least once during their holidays in Sardinia. 

First of all, a piglet of no more than 6-7 kg must be chosen from one of the many small farmers in the area and, once cleaned, it is put on the spit.

The traditional cooking of suckling pig 'as Sardinians' takes place in front of a good fire: vertical cooking is still typical of many areas in central Sardinia. However, today, the electric rotisserie is used in most parts of the island..

La cottura deve essere fatta rigorosamente alla brace, con fuoco lento,  almeno 2 ore e mezzo, la cotenna deve avere un colore bruno-dorato e deve essere croccante, la carne invece deve essere morbida. A cottura ultimata, si sfila dallo spiedo e si lascia riposare sul mirto, affinché si insaporisca prima di servirlo.

Per un’esperienza più tradizionale è possibile gustare il porceddu ad una sagra: nella seconda metà di agosto di ogni anno c’è la Sagra Del Maialetto in Santa Lucia.

Per una lettura dettagliata su questa meravigliosa specialità dell’isola, leggi l’articolo completo Porceddu: storia, curiosità e dove mangiarlo a Siniscola. 

SEADAS: THE SWEETEST OF TYPICAL SARDINIAN PRODUCTS

Seada, sebada, seatta, sevada: when in Rome, find a name!: when in Rome, find a name!

Incidentally, common usage has slowly (and incorrectly) transformed seada (or sebada) into its invariable plural, 'seadas' (or 'sebadas'), and on menu cards we usually find the latter two versions written.

Sardinian seada is a dish that was prepared by women to celebrate special occasions, such as Christmas or Easter, when their shepherd husbands returned from long periods of transhumance.

But surprise... it is not a dessert!

In fact, seadas were savoury e, soprattutto, erano un saporito e nutriente piatto unico (o comunque un secondo): un tempo, erano “mannas cantu su prattu“, ossia “as big as the plate in which they were served', because, with little, it was necessary to satisfy the shepherds who had been away for a long time.

With the passing of time, it was thought to make it into a dessert by adding a garnish of strawberry or chestnut honey al corbezzolo oppure al castagno e riducendo la dimensione delle forme: così è nata la seada come la conosciamo noi.

For the cheese (mainly unsalted Sardinian pecorino non salato), invece, il segreto è che deve essere fresh and sour to the point of stringy after cooking: in the past, to make it sour, Sardinian women would wrap it in a damp cloth and let it sit for at least two days.

It is acid to the right point when, heated, it spins.

Mirto

After a feast of typical Sardinian products, from appetiser to dessert, it could not be missed: Myrtle. Probably the most famous and commercialised Sardinian liqueur today.

Even today, Sardinians, almost all of them, still self-produce it; but above all, they pass on the traditional recipe from generation to generation so as never to lose the roots and original flavours of this unique product.

In almost every farmhouse and many restaurants you will find homemade Mirto..

A different, lesser-known but very delicious type is white myrtle, termine generico con cui si indica sia il liquore ottenuto dalla macerazione di bacche depigmentate sia quello meno comune ottenuto dalla macerazione delle foglie di giovani germogli.

The latter liqueur has distinctly different organoleptic characteristics from myrtle liqueur proper and is a variant that I absolutely recommend you try.

Sa Pompia

If you are in the Siniscola area or are staying in my Charming House in La Caletta, you are in the right place to try this wonderful product.

In this case, in fact, rather than being Sardinian, it is a product that you can only find in the Siniscola area because it is a fruit that 'does not take root' in territories other than this one.

The Pompia is a hybrid between the Grapefruit and the Citron and its fruit is used to make jams, caramelised fruit, sweets... and a liqueur with an extremely exceptional taste.

Sweet, delicate, good...

The perfect conclusion to this culinary journey of typical Sardinian products.

P.S. If you want to know more about pompia and its uses, I tell you about it at length in the article POMPÌA, GOLD OF SYNISCOLA: WHAT IT IS AND WHERE TO BUY IT..

Wondering where you can taste all or most of these fantastic typical Sardinian products?

Here is a list of the restaurants you absolutely must try in La Caletta di Siniscola..

Word of a Sardinian.

 

PPS. lo so, dovrei fare una lista infinita di tutti i deliziosi prodotti tipici sardi, ma nel frattempo ti invito a leggere i miei articoli su due dolci speciali: i Papassini (è tradizione prepararli per la festa di Ognissanti) e le Origliette (si è soliti prepararle durante il Carnevale). Fammi sapere se li assaggerai o se li preparerai tu stesso in casa 😉