PORK

Why Select Gilt Pork?

In many parts of the world (but not Australia), most male pigs produced for food consumption are castrated to reduce the risk of boar taint.

However, uncastrated male pigs grow faster, larger and with less fat…..but unfortunately with a risk of a very strong smell resulting from androstenone (a male sex hormone) and skatole (a digestive by-product formed in the intestines).

Most Australian pork producers vaccinate uncastrated males against gonadotrophin-releasing factor (GnRF), which allows producers to take advantage of the faster growth rate of uncastrated males while significantly reducing the risk of boar taint.

We think there's a better solution: we prefer to source young female (gilt) carcasses.

We think the meat is unquestionably better than that from uncastrated males…..even those that have been vaccinated against the effects of male hormones.

Whenever possible, we source free-range pork. However, free-range pork is not always available from young female pigs, so our free-range pork may not always be gilt pork.

Can You Smell the Difference?

If you do buy our gilt pork, the first thing some readers may notice is the absence of that pungent ammonia or urine-like smell sometimes associated with pork from male pigs.

Research suggests that our ability to detect androstenone, one of the compounds responsible for boar taint, is partly genetically determined. Some people are particularly sensitive to it, while others barely notice it at all.

Food writer Jess Pryles has discussed boar taint and the possibility that women are more sensitive to it than men.

For more information, Google “Jess Pryles Boar Taint”.