Test Your Pork IQ!

By Joe Wilkes

1. TRUE: Pork is the most-consumed meat in the world. Pork is the most widely eaten meat in the world. China is both the largest producer and consumer of pork. China is believed to have domesticated the pig in 7500 BC, making the pig the earliest known domesticated animal. Ancient Chinese were so dependent on the pig that when farmers died, they were often buried with their entire herd of hogs so as not to be deprived of pork in the afterlife.
   


2. FALSE: Pork tenderloin is leaner than skinless chicken breast. Chicken breast is leaner than pork, but not by much! For a three-ounce serving, pork tenderloin only has 19 more calories and two more grams of fat.
   


3. TRUE: The word barbecue comes from the real pirates of the Caribbean. French-speaking pirates called a Caribbean feast de barbe et queue, meaning "from the beard to the tail"—as pigs were roasted whole over a spit. Another etymological theory is that it came from the Spanish word barbacoa, an early grill over an open fire, which may have evolved from the Caribbean Taíno tribe's word barabicu.
   


4. TRUE: The phrase "living high on the hog" comes from the Army. Enlisted men would usually get the cheaper cuts of pork from the legs, while officers would get more expensive loin cuts. Thus, they were living higher on the hog. So when you get the low-fat, high-protein lean cuts of pork, you can live high on the hog, too.
   


5. FALSE: The phrase "a pig in a poke" comes from gypsy lore. In 17th-century England, shady salesmen would fill a sack ("poke") with a valueless cat instead of a suckling pig at the market, which is where we get the phrase "a pig in a poke" meaning to buy something sight unseen. When the unfortunate customer would bring their purchase home, they would "let the cat out of the bag" which is where we get that saying.