Is it possible that some people just have a more acute sense of taste? I can always taste goat milk and cheese too. even when I don't know it is goat dairy at the time it goes in my mouth.
Quote from our book "Perfect Pigs" on boar taint
"Boar Taint is an unpleasant smell that can be released during cooking pork from adult boars. Research has shown that 1 in 2 women but only 1 in 7 men can detect this. The occurrence of boar taint is higher in hybrids used commercially than in purebreds, and research shows that housing conditions and diet both affect taint. In commercial herds the rate can be about 1 in 12.
For those of us breeding the traditional breeds, boar taint is highly unlikely to be a problem - we usually fatten outdoors where pigs get a varied diet from soil and vegetation, they are from non-hybrid pigs, and we take them off before sexual maturity. Therefore the risk of boar taint is extremely low.
However as this subject is regularly raised with us when people are selecting weaners, it is covered here.
Boar Taint is mainly caused by androstenone, a steroid produced by the males that are sexually active, and by skatole, a by-product of bacterial activity in the gut. As male pigs reach sexual maturity the amount of androstenone increases, and sexual steroids produced by the male also inhibit breakdown of Skatole. Both can then be deposited in the fat of the pig, and it is possible for this to cause boar taint.
The meat of sexually mature boars is more at risk, but as most male pigs are taken off to pork or bacon before the pig reaches full sexual maturity, it is highly unlikely to be a problem. Fully mature (retired) boars are culled and their meat generally goes abroad to be made into Belgium Pate or Italian Salami, as there is a much higher risk of taint in those types of boar.
No research on smallholding pigs has been done to our knowledge, but at Oaklands Pigs we generally fatten male pigs (entire boars will grow about 20% faster than gilts) and in many years of selling weaners (400-500 weaners a year) we know of no-one directly who has come across this problem. Indeed we have on several occasions used 10-12 month old boars to get first time gilts pregnant and then taken the boar off for meat without any issues, as a boar used once or twice is not what we class as sexually active.
So personally given a choice we would take boars for fattening, and many families want boars, as they would be too tempted to keep a gilt for maybe breeding later on, but know boars will have to go ! !"
Topic: boar taint (Read 5909 times)
