LATEST NEWS

Saving Mangalica: How the rare 'sheep-pig' was rescued

2014-11-15T17:40:00.004-08:00

Source: BBC News14 November 2014 Last updated at 00:18 GMT

In eastern Hungary there is an increasingly common sight - a field of pigs with snouts and trotters but also curly, woolly fleeces.

To the uninitiated it is a sheep-pig. In reality it is the Mangalica, a comical but appealing breed that is taking the food industry by storm.

The Mangalica was first bred for the tables of the Austro-Hungarian emperors, but under communism it nearly disappeared altogether.

The breed was rescued from the brink of extinction by the efforts of animal geneticist Peter Toth.

After the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, he went on a mission to rescue the Mangalica, buying up the last pigs directly from the abattoirs.

Now, as President of the Mangalica Breeders Association, he has fallen in love with the breed and oversees the production of 20,000 pigs, and Mangalica - famed as the "Kobe beef of the pork world" - is served in Michelin-starred restaurants the world over.

Peter Toth told BBC News why the Mangalica was so special, and what saving the breed means to him.

Producer: Lucy Hooker. Editing: John Galliver.

Furry Hungarian hog promises to take pork lovers to 'pig heaven'

2014-11-09T11:49:00.001-08:00

Source: Detroit Metro Times
Posted By Jane Slaughter on Mon, Nov 3, 2014 at 5:11 PM

Imagine lard whipped till it's fluffy, with a sprinkle of cracklings mixed in. Then imagine a furry Hungarian pig, bred to produce more such ambrosial fat than any other porker in the world.

A motley group of Michigan breeders, restaurant people and food writers were treated last night to four courses of cuts from the famous Mangalitsa pig, at a dinner sponsored by Pure Mangalitsa [puremangalitsa.com], which is promoting the porkers in the U.S. The breed dates to 1833 and according to its boosters is directly descended from wild boars — yet Mangalitsas are calmer than commercial pigs and love to be petted. They are furry and round; even the piglets have jowls, said a proud breeder.
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Pig Must Have (Translated)

2014-10-02T18:04:00.003-07:00

Text by Nina Kaltenbrunner · Photos by Philipp Horak

Pork has a long tradition in our food culture. Although today the per capita consumption in Austria with almost 70 percent is much higher than that of beef or other meats, the pork in this country has no particularly good reputation. And mostly to right. Factory farming, Turbo breeding, fattening corn and dumping prices leave the meat of the extremely intelligent, social and sensitive animals appear in some good light. The stress is on the even-toed ungulates, not welfare, as well as poor diet and lack of exercise lead to a loss of quality of the meat. But this need not be. Because what many know, now heed a few: To keep pigs humanely, it does not take much. For several years, is characterized in terms of pig but already a new awareness from, responsible breeders as grateful gourmets rely on old races and the factor of time. The result is impressive: aromatic, tender meat, the international comparison does not itself need to be afraid.

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Four Star New York City Restaurant serves up Mangalitsa!

2014-10-02T13:31:00.005-07:00

Doesn't this look delicious? Mangalitsa pork loin, aged three-weeks, with grilled abalone. Read More.

10 Reasons You Should Be Cooking With Lard

2014-10-02T13:18:00.002-07:00

The Huffington Post
by Julie R. Thomson

In a not so distant past (about a century ago) and in a not so foreign land (like, in America), lard was the fat that people cooked with. It wasn't butter. Nor canola oil. And definitely not extra virgin olive oil.

Lard -- rendered pig fat -- was what people used when they needed to make pastry; when dinner needed frying; and even as a quick breakfast, eaten smeared on a piece of bread. So much has changed in our recent history. Lard is not only out of favor, it's even considered a derogatory word. Read More

Blonde Mangalitsa Live with Kelly and Michael

2014-01-21T05:23:00.003-08:00

This is great PR for the Mangalitsa Pig.

Click here to watch all the great things Michael has heard about the Mangalitsa.

Michigan farmers raise furry, Hungarian Mangalitsa pigs to produce the 'Kobe beef' of pork

2013-08-14T09:34:00.001-07:00

(Source: MLive.com)

WILLIAMSTOWN TWP. — They're furry, they're fatty, and apparently delicious.

After nearly facing extinction, the Mangalitsa pig is making a comeback in Europe and the United States thanks to the work of Michigan farmers like Wilhelm Kohl, who was among the first to import the pig to the U.S. (more)

Like style on the runway, style for pigs is changeable.

2012-05-03T11:15:00.001-07:00

With their abundant fat, the curly-haired Mangalica pigs of Hungary were all the rage a century ago. But as time went on, they became has-beens. Now that succulent pork is back in fashion, the Mangalica—saved from near extinction on a farm at the edge of Hungary’s bleak and barren Great Plain—has started making a comeback some few years go. (click here to open pdf)

Corpulent Wooly Pig Possible Key to Human Disease Prevention

2012-05-03T08:33:00.002-07:00

Source: Alabama Agricultural Experiment Station and College of Agriculture

AUBURN Ala.—A curly-haired, morbidly obese, genetically primitive breed of Hungarian pig that until recently was on the brink of extinction could be key to the eventual prevention of diabetes and heart disease in humans, Auburn University researchers contend.

The breed is the Mangalitsa, and two years after importing the initial group of piglets from their native land to the Auburn University Swine Research and Education Center, Auburn animal scientist Terry Brandebourg has determined that as the commonly called “wooly” pigs pack on layers of adipose tissue, they spontaneously develop symptoms of metabolic syndrome similar to those that obese humans develop, including insulin resistance, liver dysfunction and inflamed adipose tissue. (more)

Pure Mangalitsa - 2011 Pigstock TC Butchering Workshop

2012-01-23T16:59:00.000-08:00

"The nicest cooking fat I've ever encountered is Mangalitsa lard" says Ruth Reichl, food writer

2011-11-19T06:11:00.000-08:00

Even for an ex-restaurant critic, Ruth Reichl has a surprisingly full plate. While serving as editorial advisor at Gilt Taste, consulting on food and wine selections and stories for the new food site from Gilt Groupe, she's also an editor at large at Random House, and has three of her own books in the works: her first novel, set both in World War II and the present, as well as a cookbook and a memoir on her decade as editor in chief of Gourmet magazine (before it closed in 2009). (more)

The noble swine of Austria comes to America

2011-10-27T03:51:00.000-07:00

Source: live2eat Grand Blanc, MI Newspaper food writer/dining columnist for 22 years

TRAVERSE CITY -- The ultimate Spanish ham comes from the prized Iberico pig. Only recently imported to America, it sells for $30 a pound. The best Italian proscuitto ham comes from Parma in Emilia-Romagna, Italy. Likewise expensive.

Mangalitsa is an heirloom breed that provided pork to the Austria-Hungary monarchy (You've heard of the Hapsburgs) 150 years ago. (more)

The Gastronomic Bucket List: Ten Foods to Eat Before You Bite the Big One

2011-09-20T16:01:00.000-07:00

By Bill Citara Mon., Aug. 29 2011, New Times Blogs
Mangalitsa Pork. What Kobe is to beef, the meat of this once-almost extinct Hungarian porker is to "the other white meat." It's just beginning to be available in this country, but its deep, rich porky flavor and clean-tasting fat make it the "Pig of the Gods." (more)

Culinary World High on this Hog

2011-06-13T05:28:00.000-07:00

Chefs call the mighty Mangalitsa pig "the Wagyu beef" of pork, a fine swine that's valued as much for its silky lard as it is for its rich meat. Once a culinary oddity, a rotund and woolly creature that almost looks like a couch-potato version of a sheep, this breed of Hungarian pig has become increasingly prized among Sacramento gourmets. (more)

Rare pig provides tasty prosciutto

2011-02-08T13:45:00.000-08:00

Businessman sees potential money-maker on the hoof

The Associated Press Associated Press

TRAVERSE CITY — Luckily for it, the Mangalitsa isn't just another pretty face.

If it were, this heritage breed of Hungarian pig probably wouldn't exist today. And it surely wouldn't be living the good life in Michigan, courtesy of Traverse City businessman Marc Santucci. (more)

Pure Mangalitsa Launches Website

2011-01-26T12:48:00.000-08:00

If you are reading this, I suppose you've already checked out our website. It's www.puremangalitsa.com. Please feel free to click around. If you have any questions, please let us know (click the Contact link). Also, if you have any suggestions for what might be useful on this website, feel free to let us know.

Betting on the Next ‘It’ Pig (nytimes.com)

2011-01-26T12:33:00.000-08:00

ONCE upon a time, there were three little pigs — a Duroc hybrid, a Berkshire and an Ibérico — that merrily settled in the great American house of pork.

The pigs binge on acorns.

“I shall mature rapidly and produce large litters and be the dominant commodity breed,” said the hybrid. “And I shall be the premier heritage hog,” said the Berkshire. “And my ham shall be touted by grand chefs as the most flavorful — and most expensive — in the world,” said the Ibérico, with the slightest lisp, being from southern Spain, of course. (more)