Salo (food)

File:Slonina.JPG

A slab of słonina aged in paprika

Salo or slaninaTemplate:EfnTemplate:Efn is a European food consisting of salt-cured slabs of pork subcutaneous fat 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.

Culinary

File:Salo.JPG

Lašiniai, a Lithuanian type of salo

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 ( in Ukrainian, in Russian, in Lithuanian, in Polish, in Serbo-Croatian, in Slovene, in Czech, (o) in Slovak, in Romanian, 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

Hungarian Scouts of Washington roasting szalonna

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.

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.

Belarusian, Ukrainians, and Lithuanians often eat it with rye bread and garlic or onion.

In popular culture

File:Cало мелене з часником та спеціями.jpg

Minced salo with garlic and spices Ukraine Chernihiv region

There are a many jokes which associate salo and Ukrainians. A joke about Ukrainians gave rise to a condiment, chocolate salo.

There is a Museum of Salo in Lviv, Ukraine.

On August 27, the Salo Day is informally celebrated in Ukraine.

See also

• Salt pork
  • Szalonna, Hungarian salt pork
  • Lardo, Italian salt pork
• Charcuterie

Further reading

• Viktoriya Popovych, There Is No Ukraine Without Salo: An Analysis of the Cultural and Social Significance of Salo in Ukraine, Compass, 2023, vol 3, issue 1, pp. 1-7,