Szakács Sándor szerk.: A Magyar Mezőgazdasági Múzeum Közleményei 1990-1991 (Budapest, 1991)
TAKÁCS ISTVÁN: The history of pig (Sus scrofa dorn L.) butchering and the evidence for singeing on subfossil teeth
THEfflSTORYOFPIG .. 45 Fig.5: Deformations caused by singeing on the teeth of modem pigs /photo: I. Takács/ second incisor was also burnt (the equivalent of this tooth on the left side is missing: the second and third incisors on the left siede were similarly damaged by fire, but unfortunately these two teeth fell apart during maceration). The upper canines are also burnt, although not to such an extent as in the other individual. They are less cracked as well. This is a consequence of sexual dimorphism in dentition: canines are smaller in females and thus are better covered by the gums. In the lower toothrow, first and second decidious incisors are heavily burnt and cracked on both sides (the decidious third incisors are missing). The canines and decidious first premolars are also heavily burnt and cracked. Slight burning and enamel damage may be seen on the oral portion of the left second premolar. Hair singeing aims at combining the use of the skin and subcutaneous fat deposits. If this problem is evaluated in light of the described phenomena, it is important to know how far this method can be traced back in the past. The most numerous and abundant data are provided by ethnographic research from the most immediate past. As was mentioned in the introduction, the removal of the bushy fur from the skin of primitive breeds was of primary importance during carcass processing. This may be achieved in two ways: singeing and hot water treatment. This latter method, however, is apparently relatively new. It seems to have first occurred in Hungary at the end of the 19th century under western, German influence 3 . Hungarians consider singeing indispensable due to its favorable effect on the quality and taste of bacon. Namely, this method roasts the outermost layers of the skin and softens the underlying fatty tissue. In the traditional procedure, covering the skin with mud mixed cinders also contributes to an improvement in the bacon's taste, peasants, for example at Nádudvar (near the Hortobágy region on the Great Hungarian plain), considered bacon from pigs whose hair was removed using hot water of explicitly bad quality ("bald bacon") . The extraction of fat by melting is also a newly introduced method aimed at decreasing the amount of fat stored in the from of bacon 5 . Earlier, the primary objective of pig butchering was to obtain the largest possible flitch of bacon from each individual - even at the expense of pork exploitation. This form of bacon included subcutaneous fat from stomach to back and head to tail cut off the carcass together with the attached skin. This large piece required the animal to be split in a pecial way traditionally called the "spare rib cut". The essence of this method is that following slaughter, the carcass was split all along its ventral side from
