The pig is one of the most consumed and best used animals in the world. The popular saying goes that everything is used from it, even its gait. Its meat is precisely the basis of the best chorizo made in La Rioja. Lean pork meat and bacon, tripe, paprika, salt and garlic are the ingredients of a product that stands out for its quality and flavor.
An animal with millions of years of history behind it
The appearance of the pig dates back to the Tertiary Era, approximately 30 million years before the birth of Christ. At that time, these animals began to roam around the fields where the first settlers began to dedicate themselves to agriculture and sniffed their garbage. Thus began their capture, domestication and the use of their meat as the basis of human food.
They came to Europe from the Middle East, by the hand of peoples who, from these lands, expanded agriculture and livestock farming to our continent. Pig breeding was also very successful in Asia, where it spread from China.
A landscape of pastures
Talking about Iberian pork forces us to think about dehesas. Its history and evolution are linked to acorns and the dehesas that mark the Spanish territory. However, not everything has been a success story.
Until the middle of the 20th century, the Iberian pig was a slaughter animal and its by-products had no special consideration. Iberian pork products were always valued, but they did not have a special qualification until the second half of the sixties.
Hams, shoulders and sausages contributed to change this trend and allowed the revaluation of the Iberian pig.
Widespread consumption around the world, with exceptions
Currently, pork is one of the most consumed meats in the world and it is one of the best utilized animals. Almost the entire carcass is used, as well as many of its by-products: ham, chorizo, lard, black pudding, bacon, pate, etc.
However, not for all cultures it is a source of food. The ancient Egyptians along with the Phoenicians, Ethiopians and Hindus, as well as in the Jewish and Muslim religions repudiate this animal as food.
A key food in the Spanish diet
In Spain, pork is a key element in our food and in our economy.
Every November, it brings together entire families in the traditional “matanza” (slaughter), which is usually held around the time of the feast of St. Martin. Once the animal has been slaughtered, it is quartered and the traditional hams, black puddings, chorizos... are prepared to be consumed until next winter.
Spain is one of the largest pork producers in the world, along with China, the United States y Germany.
Rioja chorizo sausage, a symbol of quality and tradition
One of the most common ways of consuming it is in sausages, salami, sausages, blood sausage or chorizo.
Rioja chorizo is a good example of this. With its characteristic appearance in the shape of a string or horseshoe, it is the maximum exponent of the charcuterie tradition of La Rioja. Produced following an artisan process, guaranteed by the PGI Chorizo Riojano, this product is synonymous with flavor, quality and tradition and has been part of our culture for hundreds of years.
