Pig + Acorns = Yum

Many connoisseurs of cured meat call Jamón Ibérico de Bellota the ultimate ham. This is the flavoursome fat-marbled haunch of free-ranging Iberian pigs that can gorge on as much 10 kilos of acorns (bellota) a day. A culinary pride of Spain today, I doubt by a long shot that the delicious results of porkers scarfing down on acorns was a regional secret in ancient times.

I recently picked up this cool little litra from Abakainon in Sicily that shows a boar standing over an acorn. It is evidence I suspect, that the locals knew a thing or two about how yummy these little acorn-eaters could be.


SICILY, Abakainon
Circa 450 - 400 BC
AR Litra
0.58g, 12.5mm
HGC 18
O: Bearded head with shaggy hair right.
R: ABA, boar standing left; acorn before.
Notes: Toned. Rare variety.

Abakainon (Abacaenum in Latin) was a town of the Sicels, the Italic tribe who dwelt in the eastern regions of Sicily, and who gave the island its name. The town was about 4 miles inland from the northeastern coast of Sicily, where the expansive oak forests of the Nebrodi Mountains nearby would have provided food for roaming herds of swine.

While usually described simply as "boar" in numismatic descriptions, what we see on Abakainon's coins are likely to be the Nero dei Nebrodi, the Sicilian Black Pigs of the Nebrodi Mountains that closely resemble the wild boar, right down to having a prominent ridge of stiff back bristles. These days, the salami and proscuitto derived from this variety are virtually unknown outside of Sicily, so alas, while I've eaten a lot of ham in my day, these are types I haven't had the privilege of sampling. Yet .

Post pictures of your coins of Abakainon, or that have pigs or boars on them, or just pictures that featured your favorite cured meat...

 

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And I thought prosciutto was a decadent treat.....Mamma Mia!

 

If you wanted to do it proper - have that boar eat some truffles too.....maybe some chiffon.....BAAAAAAMM! take up a notch!

Wild Boars! Wild Boars!

Say it like Duran Duran.......

 

Lol. A depiction of a truffle on an ancient coin would be pretty cool.

 

Neato coin, Z, made more interesting by the writeup .

Proscuitto di Parma sliced tissue paper thin... mmmmmm. Not sure if I've had "real" Jamón Ibérico de Bellota but now it will become a quest.

 

I've been to Spain many times and everytime I chow down on that luscious ham. You can get it here in the U.S., but it's not the same.

BTW Z, that is one interesting coin. Rough for sure, but interesting reverse.

 

I love these little stories behind the coins that take one down interesting rabbit holes - be they historical or culinary, or in this case both!

 

Cool coin Z!

 

that is a cool coin Z...and nice write up!

here's a contemporary porker from the east end of the mediterranean. ..

 

I'm not sure why it should be true for a cured meat, but it does definitely make a difference if it's travelled 5 or 5000 miles from its source to your plate!

Yeah, this coin is a little rough, but oddly enough sometimes I just lean towards these uniquely flawed examples that you'll never mistake as being from any other collection than your own .

 

Pork and tuna, eh. That may make for an... interesting recipe?

 

I'm a Hamon Serrano lover. Had plenty of it in my trip to Barcelona!

 

Very cool coin.

 

Awesome coin Z, a little rough but has all the details, i love pork.. being a ex meatcutter i've run into some very good hams, glazed spiral cut ham, the two hams that are great are,

The Virginia Ham cured for 10 to 12 mts.


The Kentucky ham is another great ham..


Another thing that comes to mind is goose liver pate. Foie Gras is a force fed goose or duck to enlarge their liver, during Christmas time we would make up 50 beef Wellington's. very rich!!

 

That looks like the good stuff, Eng. Mmm-mmmh!

 

It's amazing that rotting meat can taste so delicious

 

Yeah, that Serrano ham is quite delicious. I ate a lot of it when I visited Cordoba, Seville and Ronda a couple of years ago. Now I'm really hungry.

My father would cure his own hams using salt. I remember going out to the barn and just cutting off what we needed then pressing the salted area back over the cut to keep the blow flys out. I like Spanish ham, but there is nothing more comforting to me than country ham, biscuits, and redeye gravy. Darn, I'm hungry.

 

Making me hungry jes' lookin'...

 

It's amazing that banged up bits of ancient metal can look so wonderful .

 

Every year a few close friends and I get together for some serious stomach-stuffing at our favorite Brazilian churrascaria. All this amazing grilled meat gets trotted out on skewers and carved right onto the plate... beef hump, topside, leg of lamb, sausages, chicken thigh, and more. I have to confess the main thing I look out for is the ham, and always with some generous slices of glazed, grilled pineapple .