What is Berkshire?
For over 300 years the Berkshire hogs have been recognized as producing the supreme quality gourmet pork. Known as “Kurobuta” or “black pig” in Japan, the superior taste of Berkshire pork is as prized as Kobe beef. The great US farmers have successfully raised “Kurobuta Berkshire” in this country and making it available the THE WORLD’S BEST PORK. It’s intramuscular marbling ~ where the natural flavor and juiciness reside will definitely impress you.
What is 100% Pure Berkshire Pork?
There are a number of swine registry associations sets up to guard the purity of Berkshire breed. All the 100% Berkshire pigs will come from parents with pedigree. With this pedigree, it can be traced directly to the original English animals, which are accepted for registration. Just like most of good thing in life, 100% pure Berkshire hogs are harder to produce. They produce with smaller number of litter. They do not grow very fast. They consume more feed. It takes longer time for the marbling of meat to develop. Today, many inferior products are on the market attempting to capitalize on the Berkshire reputation. You can easily find “Berkshire” products of 75%, 50% or 25% crossbreed. However, scientific analysis tells us that if you start to cross breed with other genetic or try to grow them fast, you will lose that special quality of extraordinary intramuscular marbling. They will not taste as good as the real thing.
How do I know if it is 100% Berkshire Pork?
There is no question that you should able to taste the difference. To make sure, you can always take it to a laboratory for DNA test. However, for everyday consumers, the best way of buying 100% pure Berkshire pork is to buy from a company with honest reputation with adequate verification program. Heritage Berkshire Program works closely with the farms. We send personnel to randomly inspect farms to make sure that the genetics are pure and the hogs are raised without any growth hormones. The mature Berkshire hogs are sent to our slaughtering facility with identification numbers and pedigree papers. We keep all the information such as swine affidavit and slaughter affidavit on file. From each box of meat, we can trace back to the farm origin, show you how the hogs were raised, and tell you who their parents are. We understand the importance of traceability and we take this job very seriously.
Who is Heritage Berkshire?
Heritage Berkshire Program is launched by Heritage Pork International, LLC in 2007. Heritage Pork International has years of experience producing the best quality Kurobuta Pork. Since year 2001, we started to help producer groups to market a Berkshire Program. Our number grow from 20 hogs every other week to over 200 hogs per week. We handle the entire process of hog slaughtering, meat cutting, packaging and quality control. As our reputation has been recognized and the market demands continue to grow, we feel the need of a more organized and customer-driven program. Instead of working for producer groups, we contract the Berkshire hogs directly from growers. We specify with the growers the weight limitation and the number of head produced each week. We stand on the side of our customer by verifying that the animals are 100% pure Berkshire breed, the animal growing conditions are proper, and that no hormone was added at any stage of growth. The result is a more steady supply of Berkshire pork and more consistent size and quality.
