this post was submitted on 01 Mar 2026
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"Boar taint is the offensive odor or taste that can be evident during the cooking or eating of pork or pork products derived from non-castrated male pigs once they reach puberty. Boar taint is found in around 20% of entire male finishing pigs. … Studies show that about 75% of consumers are sensitive to boar taint, leading pork producers to control this in order to maximize profits. …

Boar taint is caused by the accumulation of two compounds – androstenone and skatole – in the fat of male pigs. Androstenone (a male pheromone) is produced in the testes as male pigs reach puberty and gives the meat a urine or sweat flavour, while skatole (a byproduct of intestinal bacteria, or bacterial metabolite of the amino acid tryptophan) is produced in both male and female pigs and gives the meat a 'fecal' flavour. …"

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[–] toiletobserver@lemmy.world 11 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)
[–] Viking_Hippie@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

With that post title I honestly expected worse 🤷

[–] teft@piefed.social 2 points 3 weeks ago

Worse than literal shit flavor?

[–] brbposting@sh.itjust.works 4 points 3 weeks ago

Looks like we gotta fix that redirecting BoarTaint dot com citation link [2] on Wiki

[–] MolochHorridus@lemmy.ml 3 points 3 weeks ago (1 children)

That’s why they rip the piglets testies of without anaesthesia.

https://youtu.be/p2dMkPGIOUw

[–] lasta@piefed.world 4 points 3 weeks ago

I guess you are being downvoted because people don’t like to be confronted with such cruel practices, but having lived in a place where anesthesia is a privilege very rarely given to village animals, I can confirm that it does happen. The main reasons given are that it fattens the piglets faster and makes them less aggressive though, not boar taint.

[–] Lifecoach5000@lemmy.world 2 points 3 weeks ago

So in essence pork should taste like shit… sometimes for most people.

[–] umbrella@lemmy.ml 1 points 3 weeks ago

so that's why pork sometimes smells like old sweat.