Does Chocolate Salami Actually Contain Any Meat?

If you love salami and you love chocolate, then chocolate salami has to sound intriguing. Or maybe you've never even heard of it. Chocolate salami is a rather young (less than a century) Italian dessert, but its roots are both Italian and Portuguese. You'll find this unique treat on many Italian menus in Italy and served in homes when guests visit. With fabulous desserts like tiramisu, gelato, and cannoli, it's no surprise the Italians would enjoy yet another decadent, delicious, and unique dessert.

Chocolate salami is also perfect on your charcuterie board since it can be eaten with your fingers. The bittersweet chocolate flavor pairs well alongside nuts, cheeses, meats, and wine. Even so, there is still the question — what exactly is the stuff? Is it salami or is it chocolate? Or both? Let's dive in and discover the sweet treat you're going to want to get to know.

As mentioned, chocolate salami is considered both a Portuguese and Italian dessert. It's likely that it was originally created in Sicily. However, the chocolate treat has even more to its rich history as well. According to Russia Beyond, years ago in the Soviet Union, women in the kitchen worked hard to never waste any food. Sweets were and are an important part of their culture, so they turned to chocolate salami to use up things like leftover bread, cookies, or biscuits. Food wasn't wasted and a lovely dessert was created. This is common in many cultures since a dessert like chocolate salami only has a few ingredients and can be made with stale bread, cookies, or biscuits that would otherwise go to waste.

Today, chocolate salami is wildly popular all over Europe and is found in other areas as well, such as the United States, Asia, and South America. There are many variations and sometimes chocolate salami may have a different name in a different country. 

If you prefer low-maintenance recipes, this one's for you. One of the best things about chocolate salami is that it's a no bake recipe. The basic ingredients include cocoa powder, sugar, butter, and milk. After that, you'll add what you prefer but will need a good filler, such as dried biscuits or cookies you can easily crumble. Other things people add according to taste are nuts and splashes of rum or port wine. 

The ingredients of cocoa powder (you can also use chunks of dark chocolate), sugar, butter, and milk are all melted together, then any crushed nuts, cookies, bread, or biscuits as well as any other additions desired are mixed in. The complete mixture is then spread onto parchment paper or plastic wrap and rolled into a log shape, then wrapped and chilled. The end result is a chocolate log in the shape of a salami. Once chilled, it slices into easy-to-eat disks. 

As you can see and are probably relieved to know, there is no meat in chocolate salami. It gets its name from the fact that it's shaped like salami and the little chunks of bread and cookies look like the fat in salami when it's sliced.

Through the years there have been many variations of chocolate salami. Although it's most common in Italy, it's been enjoyed by several cultures, so variations are bound to happen. One variation is a vegan form that uses oil instead of butter and milk-free chocolate. You can also use gluten free cookies, bread, or biscuits for those with gluten sensitivities. Or how about a chocolate salami for the white chocolate fans? Just replace the chocolate with white chocolate. 

A dessert like chocolate salami is so fun because it's pretty tough to mess up and you can really add just about anything as long as it sets up with the chocolate. Consider your favorite nuts crushed into smaller pieces, different flavored cookies and breads, or maybe some dried fruit or raisins. Port and rum are common spirits to use but you could try other liquors, such bourbon, kahlua, or brandy. 

You can order chocolate salami online at Cacao, Delice, and Lick the Spoon, as well as other fine chocolate stores.