When Mortadella Was Different: Reconstructing a 17th-Century Bologna Recipe and Tracing Its Long-Term Microbiological and Technological Stability

Modern Mortadella Bologna is a cooked, finely comminuted sausage, whereas early descriptions indicate that products sold under the same name differed substantially in formulation, preservation, and consumption. Reconstructing them can clarify preservation before refrigeration and standardized heat processing. This study reproduced, under industrial conditions, the Mortadella described by Vincenzo Tanara in 1644, using pork lean meat and fat, a high salt concentration, spices, wine, and Parmigiano Reggiano cheese. Physicochemical parameters, culturable microbial groups, bacterial and fungal communities, and volatile organic compounds were monitored during ripening, and the effects of cooking before consumption were evaluated. Water activity decreased rapidly to levels restricting the growth of major foodborne pathogens, whereas pH showed no initial acidification. Lactobacilli remained marginal, while coagulase-negative staphylococci and yeasts increased during extended ripening and likely contributed to aroma development. Metataxonomic analysis identified Staphylococcus equorum as the dominant bacterial species and Penicillium, Debaryomyces, and Wallemia as the principal fungal genera. The volatile profile progressively stabilized, with ketones, terpenes, and phenylpropanoids characterizing the mature product. Tanara’s Mortadella was therefore a highly salted, spiced, and ripened product, technologically distinct from modern cooked Mortadella Bologna, illustrating how historical food reconstruction can inform both food science and contemporary innovation.