I Like Your Butt

Date: June 2023
Author: Laura Dodwell-Groves

Did you know...

Pork is the most consumed meat in the world, with China accounting for the largest proportion of market share. Nose-to-tail eating habits mean that China imports secondary cuts from all over the world, making use of the pieces too many throw away.

One piece not thrown away is the Pork Butt, which doesn’t come from the butt at all – it is found in a pig’s shoulder! The name butt came from the barrels or casks that the cuts were transported or stored in.

How did Meat get its Name?

In the English language, the words we have for the meat we eat is different from the animals they come from (pig vs pork, cow vs beef). This discrepancy is due to the Norman invasion all the way back in 1066. The English language adopted the French words for the animals when cooked (as the Norman lords were the ones doing most of the eating) and kept the farmers' Anglo-Saxon words for their livestock.

And Lastly...

Salt has been valuable to humans throughout human history, initially not so much for its flavouring but because of its ability to cure and to keep food longer. The Latin word for salt – sal – carries through in the word for salary and in cured meats such as salami. While a little less sodium in our lives is no bad thing, its place in the history of food security shouldn’t be forgotten.