Among all the various articles of faith followed by Hungarian epicures, perhaps the strongest involves the mangalica, a type of pig bred in Hungary. Not only is the long-haired disznó (above) universally considered in Hungary to be tastier than regular pork, it is also believed to be far healthier, if not downright essential to a long and vigorous life. But according to an investigative piece published recently by leading portal Index.hu, the myth of the Hungarian "superpig" may in fact be just that - a myth. After visiting a mangalica farm, reading analyses, interviewing a dietician and taste-testing a variety of mangalica products, the report concludes that mangalica meat is no better than standard pork in any way.

Before continuing on to the "meat" of this actually quite important food story, first a brief history of the mangalica pig:

At the beginning of the 1800s, demand for fattier pigs grew, and the mangalica was bred in 1833 by crossing Hungarian pigs from the Bakony and Szalonta regions with the Serbian sumadia. By the 1860s, the main pig bred in Hungary's corn producing regions was the mangalica. Their number continued to grow until the middle of the 20th century, then decreased rapidly due to the heightened demand for meatier pigs - as opposed to the fattier ones. Gene banks established by the Hungarian government in 1974 were what saved them from extinction.

Demand for mangalicas reappeared in 1991 when Juan Vicente Olmos Liorente, director of Spanish ham factory Jamenos Segovia Sa Serrano, contacted would-be agricultural engineer Péter Tóth, and asked him to suggest a fatty, undemanding Hungarian pig that could be used for making top-quality ham, thus saving the mangalica.

Mangalica grower Robi Lackó said that there is currently an oversupply on the market, and quality is deteriorating. He pointed out that quality depends on where the animals are kept and what they are given to eat. Mangalicas do not require nor do they like foodstuffs. Lackó said his animals feed on corn, wheat, barley and green fodder, which is what they prefer.

According to conventional wisdom, mangalica meat is considered to be healthier than regular pork because it is easier to digest, contains less cholesterol, and more unsaturated fatty acids. The Index.hu article then declares all of this to be myth.

According to dietician Márta Bálint Vörösné, the cholesterol content of mangalica fat is the same as that of any other pig fat. She also said the fat contains unsaturated fatty acids only if the animals are kept under natural conditions - outside all year, where they can feed on natural fodder - and are left to grow at their own rate. This results in fat that melts at a lower temperature than other fats. The problem is that not every mangalica farm adheres to these rules. Farmers tend to give their animals foodstuffs so that they are ready for slaughter sooner.

The portal tested several mangalica products to determine whether they tasted superior to products made from regular pigs, even if they were not healthier. The results indicated they do not. Testers tried salami, sausage, töpörtyű (basically very fatty bacon), párizsi (essentially bologna), liver sausage and ham made from mangalica and compared it to one or two similar products made from a different type of pig or bird. Mangalica only won in the töpörtyű category.

As a counter-opinion, a letter from the chairman of the South Alföld Mangalica Assocation, Péter Szenes, is attached to the article. He points out that most products available at Hungary's hypermarkets that are labeled as mangalica are not made from purebred mangalicas but from cross-bred animals, which results in lower quality. He adds that there are some myths about the mangalica that are not true, for example, that their meat is cholesterol free. Concluding his points, however, he wrote that "doubting the gastronomical value of this meat is absurd."