The Tilsiter makes up for the lack of fat, up to 60% of dry weight, pecorino tends to be way more lean. Speck Alto Adige is, in German taxonomy, not actually Speck but Schinken: Speck is a cut of skin with underlying tissue, both pancetta and guanciale qualify, while Schinken is prosciutto: Hind leg. Someone must’ve hit the Tyrolians over the head.

Taste-wise Katenschinken is quite different from anything you get in Italy, it’s not really about spices (which aren’t set but tend to include pepper and juniper) but cold smoking in a cold and wet climate.

I forgot pepper in the traditional recipe, the Schinken already comes with it and with its strong flavour combined with the strong flavour from Tilsiter adding more really isn’t necessary, but I also wouldn’t complain. A bit of thyme can make the whole thing a bit less heavy but definitely don’t overdo it. Also the butcher might’ve used it in his spice mix.

And yes I’m completely fine with calling it Carbonara allo Holstein, and Latium gets the privilege of using “del”. But it is a carbonara and I’m winning to die on that mountain. Oh, another argument in favour: Making it with cream instead of egg turns out way worse, unlike with the cheeses Tyrolians to at least Swabians produce which work better with cream. As such calling it carbonara is a necessity: So that you can complain when people use cream :)