Berkshire Pig

A British pig breed that originated in the English county of Berkshire, normally black with some white on the snout, lower legs and tip of the tail. Until the 1700s Berkshires were large, tawny colored pigs with drooping ears and darker patches, and breeders substantially reshaped the breed during the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries by crossing in small black pigs imported from Asia. Modern Berkshires are medium sized, adult males weighing around 280 kilograms (600 pounds) and females about 220 kilograms (500 pounds), with prick ears and the breed's characteristic white markings. The breed is raised mainly for pork, and despite having relatively low pH meat, a trait normally linked to lower consumer satisfaction, Berkshire pork has rated highly in taste tests in the United States; the breed is now rare in the United Kingdom but has been exported successfully worldwide, with sizeable populations in Australia, Japan, New Zealand and the United States.