A Fluffy Confection

by Jessica Cosmas, Collections Specialist

Museum of the Albemarle’s exhibition High on the Hog explores the numerous ways hogs have rooted their way into our collective mind and body throughout history.

Hogs have made many culinary contributions to our culture. Alongside crispy bacon and mouth-watering barbecue stands, gelatin. This slimy substance is derived from boiling down what remains after a hog is butchered into popular cuts of pork, such as tenderloin or Boston shoulder or Boston Butt.

CRACKER JACK CO. MARSHMALLOW BOX, ca. 1925

Some marshmallows are made from gelatin derived from pigs. Camden County

Courtesy Museum of the Albemarle

Gelatin helps stabilize fluffy confections like marshmallows! Beyond the campfire staple s’mores, marshmallows are used to make Swiss Rolls or frothy meringues, as seen on the artifact pictured here—this metal and glass box from the 1920s once held marshmallows, white puffs that could be snacked on or whipped into a new dessert.

It and other items with unexpected connections to hogs will be on display until 2022.