They stick in our brains: "It's the real thing," "You deserve a break today," "It does a body good."
And, of course, "the other white meat."
Armed with that slogan, and 31 percent leaner hogs, the National Pork Producers Council has succeeded in getting Americans to rethink pork.
Since 1987, "the other white meat" has been the linchpin of a national pork campaign, which a council spokeswoman says has targeted consumers and restaurants.
The message has hit home: Pork consumption per capita has risen slightly over that time, as has overall meat consumption. In 1987, the average American ate 45.8 pounds of boneless pork meat, reports the U.S. Department of Agriculture. By 1994, the amount had increased to 49.9 pounds. Based on anecdotal accounts, 1995 may show a greater leap.
"It's another thing to add to your menu that's more variety, and you can use it like chicken," says Laura Huntsinger, chef of the Pine Crest Inn in Tryon, N.C.
Pork's new slimmer profile is part of its attractiveness.
"The pork industry had lots of baggage to get rid of," says pork council spokeswoman Robin Kline. Some of it was fat -- literally. And pork for years had to be cooked to death because of trichinosis -- a disease caused by tiny worms sometimes present in the hog's flesh. Today, the infection in U.S. hogs is a rarity; this opened the door for less fanatical cooking techniques.
Producers first began leaning hogs down shortly after World War II, when the demand for lard diminished. But the current push started about 20 years ago, when producers recognized a trend toward leaner meat, Ms. Kline says, culminating in 1990 with a 31 percent leaner animal. And that's not just trimmed-off fat; that's a reduction in hidden intramuscle fat that can't be trimmed.
Pork's nutritional profile for cuts like chops and tenderloin falls somewhere between chicken and beef, depending on what's compared.
Using 4-ounce cooked portions, pork tenderloin, the leanest cut, comes in at 176 calories with 5 grams of fat. Roasted skinless chicken breast is 187 calories and 4 grams of fat. Braised round steak, one of the leanest beef cuts, has 242 calories and 7.5 grams of fat. By contrast, broiled beef tenderloin comes in at 345 calories and 25 grams of fat.
But there's a drawback: Some of the new pork is almost too lean, especially for home cooks who try to prepare it their old ways.
