Pork

In these latter days pork has come to be looked upon with distrust, and is rarely, save in the form of ham or bacon, seen upon the best tables. There may be good reason for this; but, after all, if we know that the animal from which the roast is taken has been housed in a clean place and fed upon wholesome food, who will not be tempted, occasionally, to taste a savory and fragrant roast of well-crisped pork? Who can doubt that the "burnt pig," that had been fed upon mast by Loti, the swineherd, was as delectable as it was set forth in the Chinese manuscript transcribed for our edification by Charles Lamb? Why should not young pigs, allowed to roam at will in the woods and fatten upon sweet acorns, be as wholesome as turkeys that are fed upon chestnuts, or corn; for does not the pith of the whole matter depend upon the feeding?

When we consider the high percentage of fat in pork and, consequently, its high fuel value, we understand why it was that, in the traditional days of old, when houses were ill-heated and the rigor of a long, cold winter had to be contended against by rich and poor alike, there was more need of the historic Christmas dish, the boar's head of merrie England, than is apparently the case to-day.

The curing of salt pork, bacon, and hams by salting and, in case of the two latter, by smoking, acts much as does pasteurization in milk to render them more wholesome. The skin of well-fed pork is fine rather than coarse, is white and clear. The flank and the thick layer of fat over the flesh of the loin and ribs is cured for salt pork and, when of good quality, is of a delicate pinkish opal tint. If the pigs be young, the sides or flanks are transformed by salting and smoking into bacon. The upper part of the hind legs (the hams), and the upper part of the fore legs (shoulders) are salted and smoked. The flesh of the loin (chine) and ribs (spare ribs), denuded of fat, is cut into roasts, or chops. Fresh pork is most unwholesome unless it be thoroughly cooked.

Contrary to the general rule for roasting meat, a roast of pork should not be put into a quick oven, lest the outside be seared over and the heat be prevented from penetrating the inmost centre. Twenty or twenty-five minutes to the pound in a slow oven is about the length of time required in cooking.

Ham and bacon, if properly cured, need little cooking when broiled or fried. A high temperature, or long-continued cooking - unless very much prolonged - toughens the fibres and impairs digestibility. The thin-sliced bacon of the epicure is served just as soon as heat renders it transparent.

Apple sauce, sweetened sparingly, is, on account of the fat splitting property of acids, a fitting accompaniment to all dishes of pork, ham, and bacon.