Appears in
Oxford Companion to Food

By Alan Davidson

Published 2014

  • About

stomach the organ or organs in which an animal’s digestion of food begins. Ruminants (notably cows, sheep) have several. For the best-known uses of their stomachs as human food, see haggis and tripe.

A pig’s stomach, also known as hog’s maw, is convenient for stuffing and was used thus in classical Rome. Such dishes are still to be found in various parts of the world, with other parts of the pig often providing elements for the stuffing. A speciality of the Palatinate in Germany is stuffed pig’s stomach (Saumagen). Some say it is even better the second day when fried in slices. The Chinese also use pig’s stomach as meat, in stir-fries, and soups.