277350 Fri Apr 01 17:48:20 -0800 2005 4 31 Home Cooking 0 1465227 so you all convinced me to order a kurobuta ham but i'm a little confused about the facts. chowhounds recommending buying it whole, on the bone, already cooked. when i went to the snake river farms site, which then linked to to another online vendor to buy their product, i only saw a 3-4 lb kurobota ham that was boneless. and it was $79.99. wow! there was no mention of a whole, on the bone roast. so i went to berkshire meats to see what they had. on the home page they were advertising a whole hickory or applewood smoked roast ham roast for $95.00. that looks about right. except then i could find nothing identifying that it was a kurobuta ham vs. just berkshire. i say this because in the chownews this week it says, "Kurobuta hams are also now available from Berkshire Farms." they weren't before? how do you make sure you're getting kurobuta? thank you in advance for the clarity. we're all anxious to place our order. Fri Apr 01 17:48:20 -0800 2005 0 theconiglio 1 1465231 Kurobuta, meaning "supreme black hog" is the Japanese name for the Berkshire strain of pig from England, supposedly discovered by Oliver Cromwell and his army in the 1700's in Berkshire, England. In the 1800's some of the pigs were sent to Japan and bred. These became the ones Kurobuta. So Berkshire is basically Kurobuta, unless there are some legal differences I don't know about, like calling American Wagyu beef "Kobe Beef" when the animals weren't finished in Kobe, Japan. Fri Apr 01 18:19:23 -0800 2005 1465227 0 The Rogue 2 1465324 "Kurobuta" means "black pig". I saw an article (believe it was Saveur) where the author took the liberty to add "supreme" to the definition. That is NOT the case. Ask any Japanese person. On the same lines, Rosengarten`s recent report on Japanese food, although thorough, is also sprinkled with some mistakes. Am sure that they are honest and are not there to mislead anyone. Which brings us to where we are. As we go forward we need to find the words and definitions to help us better understand Japanese food. This parallels our relationship with wine. As time passes and as more consumers develop the vocabulary and confidence to express what they are eating/drinking. We now can understand wine on a higher level than we could 15-20 years ago. I believe this will be the case with Japanese food years from now. Thanks for letting me get on my soapbox! Sat Apr 02 20:09:58 -0800 2005 1465231 0 Carrie 3 1465352 You're right that kurobuta means black pig. I just double checked that in my Japanese dictionary. That supreme bit must have stuck in the back of my head from reading that or some other article. I don't read Rosengarten's articles since the few I read in the past seem to be a load of nonsense and advertising for over priced goods. Sat Apr 02 23:58:09 -0800 2005 1465324 0 The Rogue 4 1465363 No problem. I know chowhounds are savvy and sophisticated. Was just reading in Slow Food Japan`s Terra Madre about kurobuta from Yambaru Island. Yambaru is in the northern part of Okinawa. The Agu breed of kurobuta there was introduced from China in 1385, and is characterized by black hair, short legs and a dropped stomach. (Funny, but I seem to have those same characteristics!) Cheers! Sun Apr 03 09:11:39 -0700 2005 1465352 0 Carrie