We all know that pig trotters have front and rear hooves. Their nutrition is the same, but their taste is slightly different, and their suitable cooking methods are also different.

Most northerners do not distinguish between front and rear hooves when buying pig trotters, but southerners, especially Cantonese, distinguish them very clearly. They call the front hooves of pigs trotters and the back hooves pig feet. Pig's front trotters contain more lean meat and are more suitable for braised or made into dishes such as braised pig's trotters and sauced pig's trotters. Pig hind trotters have more bones and thin skin, so they are usually only suitable for making pig trotter soup.

Distinguish the two types of pig trotters in terms of price. The price of front hooves is usually higher than that of rear hooves. There is a saying in China called "front hooves and back bladder", which means that when eating pig trotters, you have to eat the front hooves, and when eating hooves, you have to eat the rear ones, because the front feet have more meat and fewer bones than the back bladder.

So, my conclusion is: there is no such thing as front hoof or back hoof. It depends on your personal taste preferences and the cooking method you choose.

Now that you know the difference between pig front hooves and hind hooves, how do you choose to buy what you want without buying the wrong one?

Let’s talk about how to distinguish the front hooves and hind hooves of pigs. There are two most common and simplest methods:

Method 1: Look at the cross section of pig hooves. Obvious tendons can be seen on the cross section of the pig's front hooves, but there are none in the rear hooves.

Method 2: Counting upward from the bottom of the pig’s feet, the first joint with a large, protruding, curved bone is the hind foot. Those with no protruding bones and straight joints are the front feet.

We all know that if you just choose the wrong front and rear hooves, the problem is not big, but the taste will be different, or the food cannot be cooked as expected. However, if you buy pig's trotters soaked in medicine, it will be harmful to your health.

How to avoid buying pig’s trotters soaked in potion?

1. Look at the color and the hooves.

Normally, pig’s trotters after hair removal should be light yellow, so if you see white and clean pig’s trotters, you should be vigilant. However, not all pig trotters soaked in liquid medicine are white, and some are red in color. The best criterion for judging is your own hands. No matter how white your hands are, they have not entered the ranks of bleaching. Therefore, by referring to the skin color of your hands, you can clearly distinguish one "white" from another. .

2. Touch it to see if it is sticky.

The pig's trotters soaked in the medicine feel sticky to the touch, but those that have not been soaked do not have this sticky feeling. Press the pig's trotters lightly with your hands. The soaked pig's trotters will feel harder, while those that have not been soaked will feel softer. Things like caustic soda and hydrogen peroxide have a very strong ability to remove oil stains. If you soak pig's trotters with this, there will be no oil stains on the pig's trotters, and there will be no oil foam when you buy them and soak them in water.

3. Come closer and smell it.

The soaked pig's trotters can smell a faint medicinal smell, and sometimes this medicinal smell will cover up the fishy smell of the pork itself. If it has not been soaked, you will not be able to smell the medicinal smell.

Pig's trotters are rich in collagen. Regular consumption can prevent dry and wrinkled skin, enhance skin elasticity and toughness, and delay aging. It is an excellent beauty food for women. Pig's trotters also have the therapeutic effects of strengthening the waist, tonifying the knees and clearing the breasts. It can be used to treat the soreness and weakness of the waist and knees caused by kidney deficiency and the lack of milk in postpartum mothers.