Buyer's guide

Look for cuts that are moist and a healthy deep-pink colour, not grey or red. Choose neat cuts with a fine-grained texture. Although pork is a lean meat, there may be a slight marbling of fat (especially in traditional breeds) that should be firm and white. Avoid any meat that looks damp or clammy, or that has oily- or chalky-looking fat.

Free-range, organic and rare-breed pork will generally be a deeper pink colour than commercial pork. It is not only considered more flavoursome than intensively reared pork, but will also come from older animals that have had a better quality of life.

Rare-breed pigs take longer to mature than the breeds selected for modern farming methods and are generally very well cared for in a natural environment.