Why is Pig Meat Called Pork?
One night, before the pandemic, a friend and fellow foodie invited me to indulge in his favorite meal on the planet at a restaurant called Maialino. Fashioned after a traditional Roman trattoria, it was a gorgeous Italian place nestled in the Gramercy Park Hotel. (It has since closed and reopened elsewhere). The walls were decorated with framed drawings of eggplants and trees. Wooden tables were topped with blue and white checkered tablecloths and bottles of ripe olive oil. The air was ripe with the scent of rustic bread and creamy sauces. It was a place to eat with your fly unbuttoned, or, in my case, stretchy pants.
When our meal arrived, I breathed in a scent close to heaven: Maialino al Forno. Roasted suckling pig with rosemary potatoes. At the hefty price tag of $115, it was the crown jewel of the restaurant, and, according to my friend, worth every penny.
As I was about to slice into the caramelized flesh, I had a thought. I wondered why this dish was called suckling pig and not pork.
And then I wondered why we call pig pork in the first place.
My initial sense was that it had something to do with feeling bad about killing another animal to eat it. Maybe we need different words for an animal when it becomes food to create emotional distance. Slicing into a slab of cow…
