[Sca-cooks] fat or skinny period pigs

[Terry Decker]

There are roughly sixteen subspecies of Sus scrofa domesticus (the European 
domestic pig) and there is DNA and historical evidence that there was 
limited interbreeding with non-European species from the Neolithic into the 
17th Century.  So medieval porkers were some form of razorback and naturally 
lean.  The interbreeding with the Chinese lard producers is an artifact of 
the Early Modern Period after Asian pig breeds were introduced into Europe.

Medieval pigs were foragers, so the amount and characteristics of their fat 
was dependent on their diet.   The best producers were those feed on 
pasturage and pannage.  The actual quality difference is more likely between 
urban and rural pigs that those of the nobility and the peasants.

"According to modern studies, hogs in a good acorn forest will typically 
range up to 6 kilometers per day, burning about a third of their energy 
consumed just getting about and converting calories at a rate of perhaps 
10:1 (as opposed to less than 3:1 for modern industrial production)."

White, Sam, "From Globalized Pig Breeds to Capitalist Pigs", Environmental 
History 16, Jan 2011, pg 98.

"In 1523, for instance, John Fitzherbert’s manual on surveying discussed 
woods in terms of potential hogs and still described the traditional pannage 
from Michaelmas to Martinmas.35 More than half a century later, even as 
population growth picked up its pace, the English adaptation of Conrad 
Heresbach’s manual explained fattening on mast as a matter of course, while 
at least acknowledging the possibility of feeding on peas and beans.36 Well 
into the 1600s, the best swine were still associated with the best woods of 
acorns and beechnuts, particularly in the New Forest of Hampshire.37"

White, Sam, "From Globalized Pig Breeds to Capitalist Pigs", Environmental 
History 16, Jan 2011, pg 102.

A modern 250 pound pig produces roughly 4 pounds of fat (quite a bit less 
than the common breeds of the 19th and early 20th Century which were lard 
producers).  Three to five pounds of fat renders to one to two quarts of 
lard.  The wide variation of lard production places the best fed medieval 
pigs and the modern lean breeds in the same rough bracket for body fat.

"In the household of Robert Waterton of Methley, in 1416-17, 12 gallons of 
white fat were produced by 56 pigs; in the household of the Earl of Oxford, 
1431-2, 7 gallons of white fat came also from 56 pigs; but those killed for 
William Molyns, in 1401-2, had not been sufficiently fattened that year to 
produce lard."

Woolgar, C.M.  The Great Household in Late Medieval England, pg 118.

Bear


Jim  Chevallier quoted:
<<< "The medieval pig was a wilder, thinner and blacker creature than the
modern pig."

The Westminster Corridor: An Exploration of the Anglo-Saxon History of
Westminster Abbey and Its Nearby Lands and People

David Sullivan
Jan 1, 1994 >>>

Interesting. Thanks for the quotes. However, this one in particular, doesn’t 
differentiate from the pigs kept by the peasants and those kept by the 
lords.

Years ago on this list, Ras (See, a long time ago :-) ) and I got into a 
“discussion” about whether period pigs were fatty or slender. I happened to 
say they were skinnier. However, I’m not sure we ever came to a definite 
decision. His contention was that they were fat, and part of this support, 
was that the lords could afford to fatten up his pigs or to command the best 
areas for browsing them on acorns and such. My current opinion is that were 
were probably both right, depending upon whose pigs you were talking about.

I can’t remember for sure where I put any of this type of discussion. I 
think the first:
p-pigs-msg (38K) 1/15/07 Medieval pigs. Differences from modern pigs.
http://www.florilegium.org/files/ANIMALS/p-pigs-msg.html

pork-msg (45K) 10/18/10 Use of pork in period. Pork recipes.
http://www.florilegium.org/files/FOOD-MEATS/pork-msg.html

Stefan