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Suckling pig. Photo by: Juan Manuel Sanz/©ICEX
Production area
The geographic area in which the pig is raised (in all its different breeds and crosses) covers the whole of the Spanish territory, both the peninsula and the islands. However, the best-known areas for roast suckling pig are in the province of Segovia and the surroundings (Castile-León).
Products
Regions
Spanish Fresh Meats & Poultry
Suckling pig
The term cochinillo refers to a suckling pig, irrespective of sex, which is no more than three weeks old and with an ideal weight of 4.5 kilos/9.2 lb (no more than 6 kilos/13.2 lb) and is slaughtered at an early age in order to guarantee its distinctive qualities of tenderness, derived mainly from the animals' young age and from having been fed on maternal milk.
Tasting notes
It has a firm texture without any hint of softness, although it is never hard. Once cooked it is extremely tender due to the early age at which it is slaughtered and its feeding.
Other notes
It has a clean and even creamy or waxy white coloring on the outside, while the interior is pinkish, pearly white or pale red.
Piglets destined to be consumed as suckling pigs must belong to a white breed of pigs and the maximum age at which they are slaughtered is three weeks. They are fed exclusively on maternal milk.
| Year | 2008 | 2007 | 2006 | 2005 |
| Units | 1,750,000 | 1,975,516 | 1,9998,890 | 1,577,000 |
191 (slaughterhouses and butcheries).
Pigs of various breeds and crosses (Landrace, Duroc, Pietrain, Large White, etc.)
All year round
Animal
Fresh
Asociación para la Promoción del Cochinillo de Segovia (PROCOSE)
c/ Coches, 1
40002 Segovia
Castilla y León
Tel: (+34) 921 431 861
Fax: (+34) 921 440 718
http://www.cochinillodesegovia.es
