Cotechino has very old origins. In fact it was a much appreciated court dish in the Middle Ages. Like Zampone, choice minced pork and fat parts, pigskin and spices are put into an intestine casing without preservatives. Cotechino is precooked in its foil package so that it keeps for a long time out of the fridge. Recently Modena Cotechino has been given the IGP (Protected geographic area) certification for typical food specialties by EU regulation n. 509/1999. The IGP certification guarantees that products are made in the traditional place of origin, according to the “traditional” recipe (controlled by specific regulations) and have special, quality characteristics.