Salo (food)

{{Infobox food

| name = Salo

| image = Sało.JPG

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| caption = Salo; often it has thin layers of meat

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| alternate_name = Slanina

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| region = Europe
(Central, Southeastern, Eastern)

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File:Slonina.JPG]]

Salo or slanina{{efn|{{bulleted list|{{langx|uk|сало|salo}}, {{IPA|uk|ˈsɑɫo|pron|Uk-сало.ogg}}|{{langx|ru|сало|salo}}, {{IPA|ru|ˈsaɫə|pron|Ru-сало.ogg}}|{{langx|be|сала|sała}}|{{langx|hu|szalonna}}|{{langx|pl|słonina}}|{{langx|ro|slănină}}|{{langx|bg|сланина|slanina}}|Czech, Macedonian, Slovak, Serbo-Croatian and Slovene: slanina|{{langx|lt|lašiniai}}|{{langx|rue|солонина|solonyna}}|The Russian and Ukrainian cognate :ru:солонина (solonina, solonyna) is a brine-treated meat, such as corned beef.}}}} is a European food consisting of salt-cured slabs of pork subcutaneous fat{{Cite news |last=Shearlaw |first=Maeve |date=2015-03-06 |title=A foodie's guide to salo: the Ukrainian delicacy made of cured pork fat |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/mar/06/salo-ukraine-national-obsession |access-date=2024-11-17 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}} with or without skin and with or without layers of meat. It is commonly eaten and known under different names across Central, Eastern and Southeastern Europe. It is usually dry salt or brine cured. The East Slavic, Hungarian and Romanian variety may also be cured with paprika or other seasonings added, whereas the South and West Slavic version is often smoked.

The Slavic word "salo" or "slanina" as applied to this type of food is often translated to English as "bacon", "lard" or "fatback" in general, depending on context. Unlike bacon, salo contains more fat than lean meat and unlike lard, salo is not rendered. It is similar to Italian lardo, the main difference is that lardo is sliced for curing.

Preservation

For preservation, salo is salted and sometimes also smoked and aged in a dark and cold place, where it will last for a year or more. The slabs of fat are first cut into manageable pieces, typically 15×20 cm. Then layers of fat slabs (skin side down) topped with one-centimetre layers of salt go into a wooden box or barrel for curing. For added flavouring and better preservation, the slabs of salo may be covered with a thick layer of paprika (usually in the more Western lands; in Russian salo with paprika is called "Hungarian"), minced garlic, or sometimes black pepper.{{Cn|date=August 2021}}

Culinary

File:Salo.JPG

Salo is consumed both cured and cooked. Salo is often chopped into small pieces and fried to render fat for cooking, while the remaining cracklings ({{lang|uk-Latn|shkvarky}} in Ukrainian, {{lang|ru|shkvarki}} in Russian, {{lang|lt|spirgai}} in Lithuanian, {{lang|pl|skwarki}} in Polish, {{lang|sh|čvarci}} in Serbo-Croatian, {{lang|sl|ocvirki}} in Slovene, {{lang|cs|škvarky}} in Czech, (o){{lang|sk|škvarky}} in Slovak, {{lang|ro|jumări}} in Romanian, {{lang|et|kõrned}} in Estonian, töpörtyű in Hungarian, пръжки or джумерки in Bulgarian) are used as condiments for fried potatoes or varenyky or spread on bread as a snack.

Usage

File:Szalonnasütés cserkészek.jpg]]

Salted salo can be stored for a long time. It can be consumed without any preparation. For these reasons, it is often used as a food supply by shepherds, hunters, backpackers, and other travellers, and was issued to German and Hungarian soldiers as part of their rations during World War II.{{cn|date=March 2024}}

When salo has been aged too long or exposed to light, the fat may oxidize on the surface and become rancid, yellow, and bitter-tasting. Though no longer fit for culinary use, the spoiled fat can be used as a water-repellent treatment for leather boots or bait for mouse traps, or it can be used to prepare homemade soap.{{Cn|date=August 2021}}

Ukrainians and Lithuanians often eat it with rye bread and garlic or onion.{{Cite news |last=Clyde |first=McGrady |date=2022-03-16 |title=A Ukrainian grocer in South Carolina offers immigrants a taste of solace amid growing uncertainty |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/food/2022/03/16/ukrainian-grocer-charleston/ |access-date=2024-11-17 |newspaper=The Washington Post}}

In popular culture

File:Cало мелене з часником та спеціями.jpg

A joke about Ukrainians gave rise to a condiment, chocolate salo.{{Cite news |last=Chapple |first=Amos |date=2019-05-08 |title=Ukraine's Pig-Fat Chocolate |url=https://www.rferl.org/a/ukraine-restaurant-finds-success-with-pig-fat-chocolates/29926460.html |access-date=2024-11-17 |work=Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty |language=en}}

There is a Museum of Salo in Lviv, Ukraine.{{Cite web |last=Mirovalev |first=Mansur |title=Salo: Ukraine's greasy national symbol |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2020/2/2/salo-ukraines-greasy-national-symbol |access-date=2024-11-17 |website=Al Jazeera |language=en}}

On August 27, the Salo Day is allegedly celebrated in Ukraine.Кристина Кащавцева, [https://www.unian.ua/health/worldnews/yaki-hvorobi-likuye-salo-divovizhni-sposterezhennya-ostanni-novini-11524579.html З часничком і чорним хлібом: для чого корисно їсти сало], August 27, 2021

There is a good deal of jokes and comedy which associate salo and Ukrainians.Mansur Mirovalev, [https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2020/2/2/salo-ukraines-greasy-national-symbol Salo: Ukraine’s greasy national symbol], Al Jazeera, February 2, 2020

Salo (food)

Preservation

Culinary

Usage

In popular culture

See also

Notes

References

Further reading