PORK

The iitle ‘‘pork’’ covers all the flesh, fresh or cured, of pigs, or swine, but in ordinary use it 1s not applied to the flesh when smoked, as ham and bacon. This is anolher example of the curious changes that have occurred in the English language, for ‘‘bacon’’ was formerly applied to all meat from the pig, of any part and whether fresh, salted, or smoked! A general division of the carca is shown in the accompanying diagram from a bulletin published by the United States Department of Agriculture. The back-eut designated is almost clear fat and is used for salting and pickling, or ‘‘eorning.’? The middle-cut may be converted into bacon or may be salted—it is sometimes termed ‘‘lean ends’’ salt pork. The. belly is generally used for bacon. From the ribs and loin (beneath the back-cut) come ‘‘spare ribs,’’ eaten both fresh and corned, chops, and ‘‘roasting pieces.’’ The tenderloin proper is a comparatively Nites Gomme = A - a de any A>;. we. ae 5 E ‘. - icy eT. Jean and very small strip of meat lying under the bones of the loin and usually weighing a fraction of a pound, A ‘‘smoked tenderloin,’’ weighing from 1! to 3 pounds, is the boned neck. The hams and shoulders are generally eured, but are also sold fresh as ‘‘pork steak’? and “fresh pork,’’ etc. The shoulder is in the South frequently sold entire, dyy-salted—being then known to many in the trade as the ‘English shoulder.’’ Throughout other parts of the country it is commonly eut into two parts—the ‘‘picnic.’ or or ‘‘California’’ ham) and the “bonele butt’? or ‘regular butt.”’ The ‘‘pienic shoulder,’’ plain cured or cured and smoked, is very popular because of its conveniently small size. The fat trimmed off the hams and shoulders may he rendered for lard or it may go, with all other trimmings, into the manufacture of sausages. The leaf fat which lies around the kidneys furnishes the finest quality lard. ‘Larding pork’? is very fat pork, from the Join and ribs, cured and preserved with ordinary cooking sal i, The head, feet, and tails are eaten both fresh and pickled. The annual consumption of pork is enormous, attributable partly to its high calorie value (see Foop Vatves), and partly to the fact that it lends itself more acceptably to ‘curing’? than any other form of animal food. It is not, though, an especially desirable food for delicate stomachs as the gastric response to it is considerably slower than to beef and similar meats. The United States is a long way in the lead as a pork-producer, consuming a high per capita amount at home and shipping vast quantities to Hurope and other parts of the world, both for private consumption and for the commi ary departments of armies and navies. Ireland is the next largest producer of cured pork. Pork should be smooth and cool to the touch. If it feels clammy and looks flabby, it is old and may not be fresh. If it has many enlarged glands or kernels in the fat or fine black spots in the belly strips, it may generally be regarded as from a diseased animal, and therefore unfit for human consumption. It should always be thoroughly cooked before eating (see Tricntnar). See also articles on Bacon, Ham, Savsacrs, and Smoxep Meats. “se =| §=PORPOISE, a title correctly applied ~ “ only to the genus Phocena. In pop- > $3; ular usage it has been extended to a: ny mee, large number of the smaller members of: nai:; on} «= the whale order, especially to the many CaS _ E kinds of dolphins. Py The common porpoise, is generally 2: Be about five feet in length, with a smooth, = ins 5 shiny, hairle skin, dark grey or nearly * f ay black on the upper part, shading to white - ~ pa on the belly. It usually travels in small yg y. a companies. The Japanese and Indian K, ae Ocean species resembles the common, al -, species in conformation but is smaller a ee eee and darker, and Jacks the dorsal fin. ton a | _Very few Americans have tasted porpoise flesh but it was formerly relished in Europe and is still highly esteemed in many other parts of the world. Its characteristic oily flavor can be largely avoided by stripping from the meat proper the ti ue which unites it to the thick laver of blubber.