The name given to the flesh of the hog. Our domestic pigs are descendants of the European wild boar, Sus scrofa, drawings of which were found in prehistoric caves near Neolithic farming communities, made about 3000 or 4000 BC. The first people to taste roast pork were probably the Chinese. Neolithic sites excavated in China show that pigs and dogs were the only domestic animals there at the time. In ancient Greece, pork was a mainstay of banquet feasts, and Romans of all classes were fond of pork, especially ham and bacon. Roman historian and naturalist Pliny noted that a talented cook could derive more than 50 different flavors from pork, whereas most animals offered only one.
Trichinosis, once associated with pork, and caused by eating raw or undercooked meat infected with the larvae of a species of worm called Trichinella (the roundworm is killed by cooking at 140°F/60°C), is now rarely an issue thanks to improved feeding techniques that do not allow raw intestines from slaughtered hogs to be fed to pork. (For Pork Cuts see page 518.) See also temperature.
