Pork, the meat from a pig, is very popular in Western countries, with some people unable to go a day without consuming delicious ham. While pork and ham come from the same animal, there are differences between them that can cause confusion.
Key Takeaways
- Pork refers to the meat from a pig, while ham is a specific cut from the pig’s thighs.
- Ham and pork do not come from different breeds of the same animal.
- Ham is the term used for the meat from a pig when it has been cured, and can also be called bacon or gammon in some places.
Pork is one of the most popular and widely consumed meats worldwide, though it is considered a taboo in some religions. It can be eaten in various forms, including roasted, smoked, or cooked, and in some recipes, it is both cooked and smoked. Ham, on the other hand, is a part of the raw meat obtained from the animal, making it technically pork. However, people tend to call it ham because it comes from the thigh and rump of the animal. Ham is the special name of a cut from the pork, and when the meat is cured, it is referred to as ham.
In some places, ham is also called bacon or gammon, but what distinguishes pork as ham is that it is either salted or cured. Fattier cuts are called bacon, while less fatty meat is called ham, which has a superior ring to it. If you have eaten tenderloin, which is a cut from beef, you can easily differentiate between pork and ham.
