Sooey!
July 29, 2009 (Wednesday)
When I was a kid they were called “pig skins.” These days I see them advertised as “pork rinds.” The package I bought the other day was labeled, “chicharrones.” Sometimes they are called “cracklings” or “cracklins.” Many countries have their own names for the snack and the ways in which the raw product may be prepared seem limitless. Sometimes before it’s cooked it’s fish bait and at other times it is gourmet food prepared as a delicacy for picky palates.
The elder President Bush said pork rinds were his favorite snack, and suddenly sales boomed. I don’t know what happened to broccoli after he said he hated it and wouldn’t eat it.
Butchers used to throw away or give away certain parts, but they started selling the stuff you could deep fry and make into a snack in the 1930’s. Other countries found out hog skins could be sold back in the 1800’s and probably before that.
It’s high in fat and sodium, actually containing twice as much salt as potato chips. That’s probably why it’s so good.
Anyway, I love the stuff. I bought a package the other day, promising myself I’d go easy on them. I put them in an old coffee container so I couldn’t see them through the cellophane package, and put the container in a kitchen cabinet with the dishes so I wouldn’t be reminded they are here. But wouldn’t you know I found them, and everyone knows “you can’t eat just one.” My month supply has lasted less than a week. I would have finished them off sooner, but I’m on a diet (giggle giggle). Next time I buy some of them, I’m going to hide them successfully. With my short term memory loss getting worse all the time, I may be able to lose them completely. That’s one way to lower the fat in my diet. You may say, “Just don’t buy them at all.” But where’s the fun in that?