Midwest Italian-American
Chicago-and-St-Louis Italian-American charcuterie. Volpi Foods (1902) is the historical anchor; Tempesta is the modern small-batch operator.
The Italian-American charcuterie tradition in the Midwest is distinct from European Italian work in meaningful ways. Italian immigrants to Chicago, St. Louis, Milwaukee, and surrounding cities (peaking 1880s-1920s) brought regional Italian salumi-making practices but adapted them to American pork supply, American chemistry-and-food-safety constraints, and the multi-generational evolution that produced a uniquely Italian-American result.
Volpi Foods in St. Louis (founded 1902) is the historical anchor — the oldest continuously operated Italian-style charcuterie producer in America, with 120+ years of recipe evolution producing distinctive products like the small-format 'Roltini' dry salami that became a 1990s-2000s American antipasto staple. Modern small-batch producers (Tempesta in Chicago, founded 2010) work in a similar tradition but with European-quality sourcing — heritage pork, traditional fermentation, no chemical-preservative shortcuts.
The Sicilian-influenced spice profiles (fennel, chile) distinguish Tempesta's work from northern-Italian-style American producers.
Typical products
- Italian-American dry salami
- Calabrian-style soppressata
- Finocchiona American-style