There’s an old saying that when a hog is butchered you can “eat everything but the squeal.” An image in a hundred-year-old cookbook suggests that this is an accurate statement. According to the cookbook, even the tail can be eaten. It says that the tail is an economical cut that can be boiled or sautéed. . . . Who knew?
Here’s some more pork facts that were in the old cookbook:
Facts to Remember about Pork
When pork is in proper condition the skin and fat are white and clear, except the kidney or leaf lard which is slightly pinkish in hue. The flesh is composed of fine-grained tissues and is pink in color.
The thicker the skin of pork the older the animal from which it was cut.
Pork contains a larger proportion of fat than any other meat. Consequently its food value is higher and special care should be taken in selecting other foods to combine with it.
Pork should always be thoroughly cooked. It is not only distasteful but even dangerous to health when underdone.
Ham that is very salty should be freshened before cooking. A slice is freshened by being covered with cold water and brought slowly to the simmering point. A whole ham should stand in cold water over night or at least for several hours.
Modern Priscilla Cook Book (1924)
I mostly don’t like to think about where my meat comes from, but I guess back in the day most people were closer to farm life.
People are not nearly as close to farm life as they once were. The percentage of the population living on farms has plummeted over the past hundred years. According to a U.S. Department of Agriculture publication called Farm Population Estimates, 1910-62 27.5% of the U.S. population lived on farms in 1924. The American Farm Bureau says that less than 2% of the population lives on farms today.
They don’t mention cost or ‘smoked’ for ham hocks but they are a favorite for bean soup in our family. That’s about as wild as we get for pig parts though. I grew up in a PA German area but we left the farm a few generations ago. I suspect my great-grandparents ate a lot more of the pig than I would.
I also like to use smoked ham hocks when making soup. They add a nice flavor. I don’t understand why stores have so few types of meat today. When looking at old cookbooks, I often see recipes for types and cuts of meat that I don’t think I could find today.
Ham hocks in a pot of beans….greens…Fried taters with onions ….cornbread….
We figured we where living “high on the hog”
mmm . . . sounds high on the hog to me.
I doubt I’ll retain those facts, but they were interesting.
🙂 Somehow I don’t think that many of us will retain many of those facts.
I was brought up on the cheaper cuts. Pigs’ trotters were a regular favourite, and we used to make brawn from the head. It’s a shame that those economical cuts are next to.impossible to find these days.
I agree that it’s a shame that many of the cuts that historically were the more economical cuts are almost impossible to find today (and that if I do find them that they generally are incredibly expensive).
I know! Ridiculous!
My grandparents raised a few pigs every year and mom said every bit of the animal was used.
That’s what I also hear my parents say. They used every bit of the animal years ago.
With the advent of swine operations that are industrial, they cut off the tail the day after birth to prevent littermates from biting it off! Back in the day they didn’t have the large numbers of pigs in a small space and so taking off the tail was unnecessary!
Oh dear, I hadn’t realized that they did that until I read your comment.
Its all eaten here every part of the pig is on display for sale I cooked trotters just the other day for hubby he loves them 🙂
I’ve probably eaten most of them, too – though I like some types of pork more than others.
Me too, Sheryl I prefer the fillet or loin 🙂
Dose anyone remember when pork was being pushed as “the other white meat”?
I remember it! It always seemed a little strange that they called pork a white meat.
I had to laugh when i saw ‘milt’ as spleen. Seeing that it’s usually fish semen 🙂 But I looked it up and apparently it is a (very) rare use of the word for spleen.
cheers
sherry
I learned a new word. When I did this post I didn’t think at all about the meaning of the word “milt”, but have now googled it and clearly today’s meaning for milt is different than the way it was used in the old cookbook. I wonder if the use of the word milt to mean spleen is an archaic definition.