Pickled pork rinds

Cueritos are pork skin cured in vinegar — soft, translucent, slightly gelatinous strips with a sharp, clean acidity. They are not the same thing as chicharrón, which is pork skin fried until it is puffed and crisp; cueritos are the opposite in texture, cooked and then pickled so they stay pliable and cool. In Mexico they are a botana, a snack eaten in their own right rather than an ingredient cooked into something else. The classic way to eat them is straight from the jar with lime, chilli powder and salt, or piled onto a tostada with mashed avocado, shredded lettuce and a spoonful of the pickling liquid. They also go into tostadas de cueritos and are served alongside pickled pig's trotters, and they appear on Mexican party tables next to jícama, cucumber and fruit dressed the same way. The vinegar makes them refreshing rather than heavy, which is why they are eaten most in hot weather. The texture is the thing people either love or find surprising: yielding and slippery, closer to a firm jelly than to meat. If it is your first time, eat them very cold and cut small, with plenty of lime. In the UK, cueritos in vinegar are sold in jars by Mexican and Latin American grocers and by online Mexican food shops. There is no British equivalent — pickled pork products here, such as brawn, are seasoned quite differently — so the jarred Mexican version is the practical option. Unopened jars keep for months in a cupboard. Once opened, refrigerate, keep the strips submerged in their liquid, and use within a couple of weeks.