SC - Re: Boxing Day Recipes

[Glenda Robinson]

Somebody asked:

<< 
 >Anyone have any stat on how much lard you get off of one pig if it hasn't
 >been raised in the modern fashion, on kitchen scraps? >>

The pigs we butchered were usually around 250-500 lbs, and rendered anywhere 
from 30 to 50 lbs of lard per animal.  Lard production didn't seem to depend 
so much upon whether they were fed a stictly "scientific" diet or if we 
supplemented it with kitchen scraps as it did upon the season.  However, our 
household of six adults and various and sundry children did not produce 
enough kitchen scraps to feed a pig.  We always had to supplement it with 
grazing and grain in the summer and hay and grain in the winter.  We also fed 
the pigs surplus milk from the dairy.  I suspect it was the same in medieval 
times.  A larger household would produce more scraps, but require more pork.  

Mordonna the ex-farm wife