Berkshire pig

Lore & Background

The Berkshire is a traditional breed of the county of the same name. Until the eighteenth century it was a large tawny-coloured pig with lop ears, often with darker patches. In the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries it was substantially modified by cross-breeding with small black pigs imported from Asia. Herds are maintained in England by the Rare Breeds Survival Trust at Aldenham Country Park in Hertfordshire and at the South of England Rare Breeds Centre in Kent.

Reader's Guide

The Berkshire pig has historical significance as a traditional British breed that underwent substantial modification through cross-breeding with Asian pigs in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. The breed has been exported to many countries, including Australia, Japan, New Zealand, and the United States, and is reported to the DAD-IS database by twenty-three countries. Although the meat has a relatively low pH, Berkshire pork was highly rated in taste tests in the United States.

Did You Know?

• The first pig registered by the American Berkshire Association was a boar named Ace of Spades, reportedly bred by Queen Victoria.
• The Japanese Kagoshima Berkshire derives from two British Berkshire pigs imported to Japan in the 1930s.
• Berkshire pork is marketed in Japan as Kurobuta pork and can command a premium price.