All about pork

In the time of Marco Polo, it is said, lusty Chinese war lords preferred their pigs raw, and ate whole legs of uncooked pork at one sitting. The more fastidious preferred theirs baked in clay and then simmered in a rich broth of chicken, herbs and wine. Perhaps they ate it with their famous winter or sour cabbage (cabbage with rice wine added to preserve it during the winter months), a forerunner of our own sauerkraut, brought to Central Europe by the Tartar hordes. Pork - both fresh and smoked - goes wonderfully well with sauerkraut today, adding its smooth succulence and subtle flavour to the distinctive tartness of the Kraut.