A Piggy Pleasure - Episode One

When you hear the word “pig”, what is the first image to pop into your head? Let me guess a few: lazy, dirty, fat, greedy, stupid, carefree, fun, loving, gluttonous, etc. … But if you go to Wikipedia, you’ll find that this controversial animal is in fact described as a “highly social and intelligent animal!” Surprise, surprise!

Interestingly this animal’s image is quite similar in many cultures. For example, the piggy bank. Whatever colour, whatever shape, whatever material, this round smiling little pig is often associated with good fortune. People from all around the world insert their coins into its belly! If one animal merits being nominated for having contributed to the human history of evolution, the pig would probably be it! The Chinese character for home says it all: it’s a pig under a roof (家, Jia). This animal, however negative you may think it is, ranks 12^th on the Chinese zodiac.

As one of our main livestock, the pig has sacrificed itself to being used to ultimate perfection in the kitchen. Of course, classic is the use of its meat. Like beef, pork can also be classified by different cuts. And the cooking style varies depending on how the lean and fatty parts are distributed and combined. The most versatile part is the neck, which is good for grilling lightly over charcoal; tenderloin, which is from the pig’s back, is well-suited for steak or frying quickly, especially with sweet-and-sour pineapple sauce; the soft part close to the tummy is ideal for braised pork in soy sauce; and then there is all the rest, everything can be used. The legs can be turned into ham, not only the Chinese type known as jinhua huotui (金华火腿,ham), but also Spanish jamón, and Italian prosciutto diParma, etc. Then, there are spare ribs, which you can deep fry or steam; the knuckles can be prepared as either a hot dish or a cold starter; the feet can be cooked into a soup that is well-known for pregnant women or new mothers. The skin can be made into paté, a jelly like cold dish, or deep fried for later use. The fat has always been considered a treasure, not only known to the Chinese but also to Ukrainians and Germans. Once it was one of the main fats used in cooking. In difficult times, if someone had a piece of crusty dry Chinese bread with a thin layer of fat spread on it, then he was the target of some serious jealousy and respect.

And pig head, oh, pig head! Chinese cooks can really show their imagination with it. The ears, snout, the cheeks, tongue, everything you can think of, we can cook it and we can eat it. And as far as everything inside of a pig goes, blood, heart, lungs, liver, kidneys, even intestines, nothing will be wasted! 

In Switzerland, there is a national sausage called cervelas. People love it so much that in 2008 when there was a casings shortage, it almost became a national crisis. The New York Times noted that “the possible demise of cervelas visibly upset the Swiss, a normally even-tempered people.” The president even had to enter into negotiations with the EU in order to seek a solution to save this national sausage! One of the important ingredients in this famous sausage is pork, of course.

Pigs would be really happy if they knew about all their contributions to our table! I suggest we consider registering their name in the hall of fame! I would like to add just one small last thing to support my proposal. Every little schoolboy on the street will tell you that out of all the services pigs have done for us: “Its name can be used for someone you don’t like!”

You zhu (猪, pig)!