How
long
has pork been around?
The domestication of "pigs" (immature hogs) for food
dates back to about 7000 B.C. in the Middle East. However, evidence
shows that Stone Age man ate wild boar, the hog's ancestor, and the
earliest surviving pork recipe is Chinese, at least 2000 years
old.
Hogs were
brought to Florida by Hernando de Soto in 1525, and soon was America's
most popular meat. In the 19th century — as America urbanized and people
began living away from the farm, "salt pork" — pork that is prepared
with a high level of salt to preserve it — became the staple food. Pork
has continued to be an important part of our diet since that
time.
Pork is
generally produced from young animals (6 to 7 months old) that weigh
from 175 to 240 pounds. Much of a hog is cured and made into ham, bacon
and sausage. Uncured meat is called "fresh pork."
