Pork is the meat from pigs. It is one of the most common meats consumed by people. Like beef, it is taboo in some cultures.

History of pork

The pig is one of the oldest forms of livestock, having been domesticated as early as 5000 BC [1]. 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. 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 than they would otherwise have been.

Prior to the mass-production and re-engineering of pork in the 20th Century, pork in Europe and North America was traditionally a fall dish; pigs and other livestock coming to the slaughter in the autumn after growing in the spring and fattening during the summer. Due to the seasonal nature of the meat in Western culinary history, apples (harvested in late summer and autumn) have been a staple pairing to fresh pork. The year-round availability of meat and fruits has not diminished the popularity of this combination on Western plates.

Cuts of pork

There are different systems of naming for cuts in America, Britain and France.

• Head - This can be used to make brawn, stocks and soups. After boiling the ears can be fried or baked and eaten separately.
• Spare Rib Roast/Spare Rib Joint /Blade shoulder - This is the shoulder and contains the shoulder blade. It can be boned out and rolled up as a roasting joint, or cured as "collar bacon". Not to be confused with the rack of spare ribs from the front belly.
• Hand - This can be cured on the bone to make a ham, or used in sausages.

• Loin - This can be cured to give back bacon. The loin and belly can be cured together to give a side of bacon. The loin can also be divided up into roasting joints and pork chops.
• Belly/Side - The belly, although a fattier meat, can be used for steaks or diced stir-fry meat. Belly pork may be rolled for roasting or cut for streaky bacon.
• 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.
• Trotters - Both the front and hind trotters can be cooked and eaten, as can the tail[1]
• Pork ribs are taken from the pig's ribs and the meat surrounding the bones.

[edit] Processed pork

Pork is particularly common as an ingredient of sausages. Many traditional European sausages are made with pork, including chorizo, fuet, and salami. Pork may also be used as a cheap ingredient in supermarket sausages.

Ham and bacon are made from fresh pork by curing with salt (pickling) and/or smoking. Shoulders and legs are most commonly cured in this manner for ham whereas streaky and round bacon usually comes from the loin, although it may also come from the side and belly.

Ham and bacon are popular foods in the west, and their consumption has increased with industrialisation. Non-western cuisines also use preserved meat products. For example, salted preserved pork or red roasted pork is used in Chinese and Asian cuisine.