Physical Description
The word pork denotes specifically the fresh meat of the pig, but it is often mistakenly used as an all-inclusive term which includes cured, smoked, or processed meats (ham, bacon, prosciutto, etc.)
Colors: lightly pink to dark golden
Tasting Notes
Flavors: sweet
Mouthfeel: Meaty, Juicy
Food complements: Apples, Potatoes, Butter, Fennel, Sage, Oranges, Chilies, Tomatillas, Garlic, Pineapple
Wine complements: Reisling, Sparkiling wine
Beverage complements: Sangria, Tequila
Substitutes: Chicken
Selecting and Buying
Seasonality: january, february, march, april, may, june, july, august, september, opctober, november, december
Choosing: Head - This can be used to make brawn, stocks and soups.Spare Rib Roast/Spare Rib Joint/Blade Shoulder/Shoulder Butt.Hand/Arm Shoulder/Arm Picnic- This can be cured on the bone to make a ham-like product, or used in sausages. Loin - This can be cured to give back bacon or Canadian-style bacon. The loin and belly can be cured together to give a side of bacon.Belly/Side/Side Pork - The belly, although a fattier meat, can be used for steaks or diced stir-fry meat. Legs/Hams - Although any cut of pork can be cured, technically speaking only the back leg is entitled to be called a ham. Legs and shoulders, when used fresh, are usually cut bone-in for roasting, or leg steaks can be cut from the bone. Spare ribs, or spareribs, are taken from the pig's ribs and the meat surrounding the bones. Knuckles, intestines, jowls and all other parts of the pig may also be eaten
Buying: Pork is available in all grocers. Look for the freshest cuts possible and organic if available.
Procuring: Pigs have other roles within the human economy: their feeding behaviour in searching for roots churns up the ground and makes it easier to plough; their sensitive noses lead them to truffles, an underground fungus highly valued by humans; and their omnivorous nature enables them to eat human rubbish, keeping settlements cleaner.
Preparation and Use
Pork is eaten in various forms, including cooked (as roast pork), cured (some hams, including the Italian prosciutto) or smoked or a combination of these methods (other hams, gammon, bacon or Pancetta). It is also a common ingredient of sausages. Charcuterie is the branch of cooking devoted to prepared meat products, many from pork
Ground pork can vary in fat content and can be seasoned to provide different products, i.e. porkburger or sausage.
Conserving and Storing
Altho fresh pork can only be kept in the refrigerator for a few days. it freezes well for later use. Wrap, label, and freeze.
Social/Political
Pork is popular throughout eastern Asia and the Pacific, where whole roast pig is a popular item in Pacific Island cuisine. It is consumed in a great many ways and highly esteemed in Chinese cuisine.[8] There, pork is preferred over beef due to economic and aesthetic reasons; the pig is easy to feed and is not used for labour. The colours of the meat and the fat of pork are regarded as more appetizing, while the taste and smell are described as sweeter and cleaner. It is also considered easier to digest.Pork is prohibited by the Islamic dietary laws. Throughout the Islamic world many countries severely restrict the importation or consumption of pork products
History: The pig is one of the oldest forms of livestock, having been domesticated as early as 5000 BC.[4] It is believed to have been domesticated either in the Near East or in China from the wild boar. The adaptable nature and omnivorous diet of this creature allowed early humans to domesticate it much earlier than many other forms of livestock, such as cattle. Pigs were mostly used for food, but people also used their hide for shields and shoes, their bones for tools and weapons, and their bristles for brushes.
Internal organs were traditionally used as food (heart, liver, "chitlins") or had other uses such as the cleaned intestines used for sausage casings. Many used the entire hog for some purpose, thus the old saying that "everything was used but the squeal".
