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Why is Meat from Rare Breeds so Special?
The Breeds - Pork
© Traditional Breeds Meat Marketing Company Ltd

Berkshire – A specialist pork producing breed originating around Wantage, it is renowned for its early maturing. The flavour is light and delicate and well worth looking out for. [PHOTO]

British Lop – The rarest of all our pig breeds, the Lop originated in the Devon/Cornwall area. Can be used for both pork and bacon production, the meat is high in quality, succulent, with good flavour. [PHOTO]

British Saddleback – A black pig with a white saddle around the shoulders from the Dorset/Hampshire borders and Essex, it is dual-purpose being kept for both pork and bacon. The skin is mostly black and the meat is top quality and full-flavoured. [PHOTO]

Gloucestershire Old Spots – An old breed from the vale of the river Severn, they were traditionally kept in orchards so that local folklore has it that the spots were bruises caused by windfall fruit. The meat is well marbled, sweet and delicious, whether as pork or bacon, and is how traditional pork should be. [PHOTO]

Large Black – A west country breed renowned for its hardiness and mothering abilities producing good flavoured, succulent pork or bacon. The black skin protects the pig from sunburn making the Large Black ideal for outdoor production. [PHOTO]

Middle White – Originating from Yorkshire, the Middle White is early maturing making it a specialist pork breed. This pork is so highly regarded in Japan that they have built a shrine in its honour. Light in colour and well flavoured, the sweet meat is to be savoured. Young Middle Whites also make top quality suckling pigs for special occasions. [PHOTO]

Tamworth – This ginger coloured pig originated in the Midlands and is usually considered as a bacon producer but pork from this breed is well worth looking out for with its full flavour and high eating qualities. [PHOTO]

Welsh – Originally from the small farms of south Wales, the Welsh is the newest recruit to the list of rare breeds. A little leaner than the other breeds generally, it produces quality pork and bacon with a good flavour. [PHOTO]

Watch out too for other products from these breeds such as speciality sausages, mouth watering hams and gammons, faggots, Bath Chaps, pâtés, pies, brawn, etc.

You may sometimes see black bristles in the skin on the pork; treat this as a sign of quality. o

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