|
Pork and Ham Recipes
From
Thom's Recipe File
History
The pig is one of the oldest forms of livestock, having
been domesticated as early as 5000 BC. 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 behavior 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.
Before the mass-production and re-engineering of
pork in the 20th Century, pork in Europe and North America was traditionally
an autumn 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.
Pork is often called the other
white meat. This may be true in looking at some of the cooked meat,
however,
when cooked it is still considered "red meat"
because it contains higher levels of a protein called myoglobin than chicken
or fish. The amount of myoglobin contained in meat is what determines
its color. Like beef, lamb and veal, pork is also classified as
"livestock" and all livestock is categorized as "red meat." Pigs today
are raised much leaner than they were years ago, now containing 35% to 50%
less fat.
Pork is a nutrient-dense food, meaning that its nutrient
level is high in proportion to its calorie content. Pork contains a
high level of some of the essential B vitamins, such as B12, B6, thiamin,
niacin, and riboflavin. It is also rich in other nutrients, such as
phosphorous, zinc, potassium, iron, and magnesium. One three-ounce
portion of pork provides approximately half of the daily requirement of
protein.
|
