Finely chopped pig underbelly fat is popular in Ukraine, and is often eaten with bread and garlic and a shot of vodka, and added to the national beet soup borshch. Throughout Eastern Europe, salo, along with peppered vodka known as horilka, is seen as a characteristic part of Ukrainian cuisine.
A highlight of Sunday's event was a salo speed-eating competition. Eight contestants raced to consume one kilogram (2.2 pounds) of pork fat with bread, onion and water. Last year's "salo king", 51-year-old Volodymr Stryhaniv, was declared the winner again, although he failed to equal last-year's record time of 20 minutes.
During the event, the city's authorities attempted to set a record by creating a 100-kg (220-lb) salo cake with over 50 layers of fat. The 1.6-meter (5-feet) cake was declared "the world's largest," although the record was not officially registered.
In addition, local chefs made a 23-meter (75-foot) salo sandwich. The sandwich was much shorter than last year's which stretched to 70 meters (230 feet).
During the event, a Salo Lovers' Party was established.
