Winter culinary traditions

Pork meet specialties are an important part of winter holidays in Romania and their preparation has a traditional ritual.

Pig slaughtering is held usually before Christmas, around the day of Saint Ignatius (December 20^th.) and the whole family is taking part.

After electric stunning, the pigs are slaughtered, their skin is burned, then the remaining hair is removed with a knife and cleaned with hot water. Then the different parts are used to prepare traditional food specialties. 

The town of Pecica (Arad County) holds an annual gastronomic competition called “Pomana Porcului” (roughly translated as the pig’s alms) where local teams and guests from the neighboring Hungary prepare sausages, “caltaboşi” (a specialty made from meat, lungs, liver, rice and spices) and „jumări” (scraps, crisp pieces of rendered animal fat).