If salo had wings, it would fly to the heavens
Коли б сало крила мало, під небесами б літало
It is believed that eastern Slav tribes were conquered and subjected many times by steppe nomads from Asia. Nomads took their herds of horses, sheep, cattle, and goats. Short-legged pigs were less mobile and left behind. Thus, pork and salo saved Slavs when there was no other meat.
If I were a rich man, I’d eat salo with more salo on the side
Якби мені паном бути, то я б сало з салом їв
A piece of dark rye bread and thinly sliced salo is a traditional snack to accompany a shot of gorilka in Ukraine. For many Ukrainians, just thinking of it inspires salivation and reverence. It’s the delicacy Ukrainian immigrants smuggle when returning from Ukraine, and the funniest part is that U.S. customs officers know the word salo to ask for it. Ukrainians claim they can say what the pig was fed from the flavor of its salo, which seems tasteless for the rest of humanity.
In the Soviet Union, pigs raised on collective farms had a muscle-building diet, making the pork fat too tough and thin. The best Ukrainian salo was found at farmers' markets, coming from home-raised pigs, spoiled with milk and grain and secret ingredients to produce the luxurious fat that melted in the mouth like butter.
As stupid as salo without bread!
Дурне як сало без хліба!
Salo can be consumed raw or cooked. Aged salo and garlic are finely chopped and combined into a paste to flavor borscht at the end of cooking. Since salo is high-quality back fat, it is used in some traditional sausages. While small pieces of salo are slowly fried to render the fat for cooking, the crispy cracklings (Ukrainian shkvarky) are reserved to become toppings for other dishes.
