Nose to tail: the Spanish and their pigs
At the risk of upsetting the odd bull, it’s worth noting
that the most important animal in Spain is the pig.
There are more than 20 million in the country and
virtually every part of those 20 million – ears, brains and
trotters included – finds its way into the Spanish diet.
Some suggest the significance of the pig dates to back
to theReconquistawhen eating pork (or not, for Jews
and Moors) was an important sign of ethnicity and
allegiance.Thematanza, the day the pigs are killed
(traditionally in November), is still an important date on
the rural calendar. In central Spain especially, valuable
cured hams hang from every available hook and
suckling pig is a regular on feast days, yet throughout
the whole of Spain pork products are eaten daily in the
shape ofchorizo,tocino(bacon),salchichon(hard cured
sausage),lomo(cured loin),morcilla(blood sausage)
and much more.Hamming it up
Air cured ham from the Andalusian mountains is
revered.Jamón serrano(usually made from white hogs)
is matured insecaderos, drying sheds on the high
slopes of the Sierra Nevada where the cool dry winds
blow. After the hocks have been rubbed with coarse sea
salt they are air cured for 12 to 32 months.The ham
fromTrevelez is often considered to be the bestjamón
serrano. Other areas of Spain noted for theirserrano
ham areTereul, in Aragon, and the provinces of Girona in
Catalonia and Soria in Castile y León. But the daddy of
all Spanish ham ispata negra, a type ofjamón ibérico de
bellotamade from black-footed, free-range pigs reared
on a diet of holm oak acorns in Extremadura and
Andalusia: the best Andalusian variant comes from
Jabugo near Huelva.270- Identity: the
building blocks of
2. Literature
and philosophy
3. Art and
architecture
4. Performing
arts
5. Cinema
and fashion
6. Media and
communications
7. Food and drink 8. Living culture:
the details of
Every Spaniard eats
nearly 5kg of ham each
year.
“MAKING LOVE AND
KNEADING DOUGH
ARE TWO THINGS
THAT SHOULDN’T
BE RUSHED.”
...or so goes an old
Galician saying
7.1.2 Staple diets: meats, breads and a few veg