Difference between revisions of "Pork"

From Conservapedia
Jump to: navigation, search
Line 22: Line 22:
 
:'''Hand''' - Either cured on the bone to make a ham, or used in [[sausage]]s.
 
:'''Hand''' - Either cured on the bone to make a ham, or used in [[sausage]]s.
 
:'''Loin''' - This can be cured to give bacon or divided up into roasting joints and pork chops.
 
:'''Loin''' - This can be cured to give bacon or divided up into roasting joints and pork chops.
:'''Belly''' - Belly pork is used for steaks or diced as a frying meat. Belly pork may be rolled for roasting or cut for streaky [[bacon]].
+
:'''Chump''' - Similar to loin, chump comes in the form of chops and steaks.
 +
:'''Belly''' - Belly pork is used for steaks or diced as a frying meat. Belly pork may be rolled for roasting or cut for streaky bacon.
 +
:'''Shoulder''' - The shoulder joint of pork can be bought as smaller cuts or as a whole roasting joint. It is also used for diced cubes to make [[casserole]]s as well as being minced and made into sausages.
 
:'''Legs/Hams''' - Although any cut of pork can be cured, only the back leg is entitled to be called a ham. Ham is cured to preserve it either by dry curing with [[salt]] or wet-curing using brine (salt solution).
 
:'''Legs/Hams''' - Although any cut of pork can be cured, only the back leg is entitled to be called a ham. Ham is cured to preserve it either by dry curing with [[salt]] or wet-curing using brine (salt solution).
 
:'''Trotters''' - Both the front and hind trotters can be cooked and eaten or preserved by pickling.
 
:'''Trotters''' - Both the front and hind trotters can be cooked and eaten or preserved by pickling.

Revision as of 18:29, January 23, 2008

Pork is the name given to meat from a pig and is a commonly eaten meat throughout the world. It is sometimes known as the other white meat, the main white meat being poultry.

Pork is eaten both as a cooked fresh meat (e.g. pork chops) or as a cured meat. Cured or processed meat products include ham, salami, gammon and bacon. The pig may be used in many different ways for fresh meat cuts, with the popularity of certain cuts depending on local preference.

Most of the animal (colloquially "everything but the squeal") can be used to produce fresh meat. In the case of a suckling pig (piglet) the whole body can be spit roasted or oven roasted.

Nutritional information

As part of a healthy diet, pork provides:

  • Protein necessary for growth and an important constituent of a balanced, healthy diet
  • Minerals, particularly iron and zinc.
  • D and B vitamins, including B12 which is not found in foods of plant origin.
  • Thiamin
  • Omega 3 fatty acids which are thought to protect against heart disease

The fat content of pork has decreased by over a third on average in the past 20 years, and fully trimmed pork contains as little as 4% fat, compared to 5% for beef and 8% for lamb. Over 40% of this fat is monounsaturated.

Pork Cuts

Terminology for different cuts of pork varies by country. The American naming system is:

File:Bacon2.jpg
Uncooked bacon slices
Head - Boiled to make brawn, stocks and soups.
Spare Rib Roast - Either boned out and rolled up as a roasting joint, or cured as bacon.
Hand - Either cured on the bone to make a ham, or used in sausages.
Loin - This can be cured to give bacon or divided up into roasting joints and pork chops.
Chump - Similar to loin, chump comes in the form of chops and steaks.
Belly - Belly pork is used for steaks or diced as a frying meat. Belly pork may be rolled for roasting or cut for streaky bacon.
Shoulder - The shoulder joint of pork can be bought as smaller cuts or as a whole roasting joint. It is also used for diced cubes to make casseroles as well as being minced and made into sausages.
Legs/Hams - Although any cut of pork can be cured, only the back leg is entitled to be called a ham. Ham is cured to preserve it either by dry curing with salt or wet-curing using brine (salt solution).
Trotters - Both the front and hind trotters can be cooked and eaten or preserved by pickling.
Pork ribs - Called spare ribs, these are taken from the pig's ribcage and include the surrounding meat.
Bacon refers to those cuts of meat taken from the sides, belly or back.

Processed pork

Pork is particularly common as an ingredient in sausages. Ham, bacon and gammon are made by curing the meat with salt. Smoking the meat in a slow oven is another method of preservation. Ham and bacon are popular foods in the western world although non-western cultures also use preserved pork products. Salted pork or red roasted pork is used in Chinese cuisine.

Additionally, parts of the pig such as the knuckle and feet can be pickled and eaten. The skin and fat is often crisped up in an oven and eaten with a pork roast as "crackling" or as a savoury snack (pork scratchings). Black Pudding which is made from the blood, can also be made thus utilising almost all of the animal.

Despite the name, hamburgers contain beef, not pork as they are named after the German city of Hamburg.

The canned meat, Spam, is made of pork.

Biblical Prohibition

In Judaism, pork is considered an unclean meat (non-Kosher) and is not eaten. This is based on the following passage from the Bible:

Leviticus 11.4: And the swine, though he divide the hoof, and be cloven-footed, yet he cheweth not the cud; he is unclean to you.

Government Budgets

In Government, the term "pork" or "pork barrel" spending is used to refer to often unnecessary spending on a particular politician's pet projects, usually in his home district in order to curry votes. This practice is widely criticized by many people.