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Some recent questions about pork rinds inspired me to inquire about this. My wife and I are quite fond of the English film Shaun of the Dead. The characters in the film refer to a certain bar pub snacks as "hog lumps" at one point and "pig snacks" at another. You don't actually get to see them, but I just assumed they were referring to what we in the United States call pork rinds. However, in the comments on this question Sam Holden said they call them "pork scratchings" in the UK. I did a little searching and many hits just say something to the effect of "what they call pork rinds in Shaun of the Dead".

So, are these specific to the film, or actually common slang? Actual brand names? Are they even actually referring to pork rinds? Can someone from across the pond clarify these terms?

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raven
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  • It's probably worth mentioning -- when you buy 'pork rinds', there can be some significant variation. Some are puffy and have an airy texture more like a cheese puff. Others don't puff up and are much more dense, and usually cut into smaller bits. I would assume that "lumps" are this second type. (I don't know if this is the difference between "crackles" and "scratchings") – Joe Nov 30 '20 at 14:23

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Eat My Brains has listed under trivia for the movie:

Specially designed packets of 'Hog Lumps' were designed for the film by Edgar's brother, Oscar.

I don't think they're real, although there have been some claims online that there is a real product out there that markets itself as 'Hog Lumps' :

They're real. Mr Porky's Hog Lumps and they're awful. Blech.

Joe
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  • Yeah, I saw those. Hardly solid references. This "Mr. Porky" seems elusive. Where is his website, or that of his parent company? Where is the photographic evidence of packages of "Mr. Porky's Hog Lumps"? – raven Jun 10 '11 at 23:32
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    @raven: [Mr. Porky](http://www.mrporky.co.uk/) was owned by [Red Mill Snack Foods](http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/this-britain/rind-of-the-times-732905.html) when the movie came out, but [was bought in 2008](http://www.foodmanufacture.co.uk/Business-News/Tayto-to-close-Red-Mill-Snack-Foods-plant-in-September) by [Tayto](http://www.tayto.com/). I can find no evidence that they currently market something as 'hog lumps', but they might have previously. – Joe Jun 11 '11 at 08:21
  • My confusion deepens. They sell two products called "pork crackles" and "pork scratchings", but the ingredients are identical (pork rind being the first). The links to the other two products, "prime cut scratchings" and "pork crunch" are broken, but I wouldn't be surprised if the ingredient list was identical on those two as well. – raven Jun 12 '11 at 00:09
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They are almost certainly pork rinds, what we call pork scratchings in the UK. They are a staple in old fashioned (usually crappy) pubs like the Winchester, usually hanging behind the bar on cardboard displays, alongside KP peanuts and Scampi Fries.

In less enlightened days, where only one kind of woman would ever be found in a pub (at least on the customer's side of the bar) the cardboard would have a photo of a topless woman on it which would slowly be revealed as the bags were sold - if that's not an incentive to eat crispy cholesterol I don't know what is >.<

The reference to scratchings as 'pork lumps' is purely for the film; it's not a widely used name.

ElendilTheTall
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