Why do free-range piglets running all over the hills taste of radish?
The Jiangkou Radish Pig is one of the fine local pig breeds of Guizhou Province, mainly produced in Taoying Township, Bapan Township, Minhe Township and Nuxi Township of Jiangkou County, with the greatest concentration in Taoying Township. This pig is small in size with tender, fresh meat; after fattening, its body becomes plump and round, shaped like a radish, and its taste is refreshing. There is a saying that eating its meat is like eating vegetarian food, so the local people call it the "Radish Pig."
(1) Growth environment
The original production area of the Jiangkou Fanjing Mountain Radish Pig is located at the southern foot of Fanjing Mountain, a national nature reserve and a member of the United Nations "Man and the Biosphere" (MAB) network. Fanjing Mountain has 42,000 hectares of virgin forest and is a gathering place for the geographical components of multiple plant floras. It is rich in plant species and is a typical preservation site of primary vegetation in the mid-subtropical mountainous areas of western China, preserving a rare subtropical primary ecosystem in the world and serving as a rare gene pool of biological resources in the world. The Radish Pigs growing in this natural treasure land of Fanjing Mountain drink mineral water and eat Chinese herbal medicines. Their meat has been designated by the Jiangkou County Party Committee and County Government as tourist-supply pork for Fanjing Mountain and is deeply favored by tourists at home and abroad.
(2) Breeding method
The Jiangkou Fanjing Mountain Radish Pig grows at the foot of Fanjing Mountain and is raised in a primitive grazing style. In terms of feeding, green feed is mainly collected from the wild, supplemented by artificially planted green feed; coarse feed is mainly unified rice bran, and concentrated feed includes broken rice, sweet potato, potato, etc. Radish Pigs are tolerant of coarse feed and highly capable; suckling piglets generally begin supplementary feeding at 20-30 days of age, fed with congee, corn porridge, etc. In the early fattening stage they are grazed to "build the frame," with more green and coarse feed, and in the later stage feed is gradually added to fatten them, mainly pumpkin, sweet potato, potato, etc. At the same time, they are grazed every day, allowed to move freely and feed at will.
(3) Health and health-care reasons
The Jiangkou Fanjing Mountain Radish Pig is a high-quality breed that is pollution-free and hazard-free, low in cholesterol, and contains 17 amino acids and multiple trace elements. It has four major characteristics: green, nutritious, healthy and health-care. In recent years it has been deeply favored by a large number of tourists and health experts. For a long time, the price of Radish Pig meat has been 10-15 yuan per kilogram higher than that of other pork. Every year at the end of the year, consumers from surrounding places such as Zunyi and Kaili make special trips to Jiangkou County to buy Radish Pigs as "New Year pigs."
(4) Five major recommended reasons
1. Tender, fresh and fragrant meat
2. Low cholesterol content
3. Rich in multiple amino acids
4. Low fatty acid content
5. High linoleic acid content
The Jiangkou Radish Pig is a specific local small pig breed formed in the original ecological conditions of the mountainous area of northeastern Guizhou Province through hundreds of years of natural selection and artificial selection. In 1986 it was included in the "Guizhou Livestock and Poultry Breed Records" and listed in the "Guizhou Province Livestock and Poultry Breed Resource Protection List." In 2003 it was included by the National Domestic Animal and Poultry Genetic Resources Management Committee in the "Atlas of Chinese Domestic Animal and Poultry Local Breed Resources." The Guizhou Provincial Local Standard for the Jiangkou Radish Pig was promulgated and implemented on December 8, 2009.
The Jiangkou Fanjing Mountain Radish Pig is tolerant of coarse feed, early-maturing and easy to fatten, with thin skin and fine bones, and extremely high nutritional value, better than mountain delicacies and seafood. It has always had the reputation that "when one family cooks meat, the whole neighborhood smells the fragrance."