Pig trotters, or pig's feet, are the lower leg and foot of a pig - almost entirely skin, bone, cartilage, and connective tissue rather than lean meat. Long, slow cooking breaks down their high collagen content into gelatin, giving braises, soups, and stews a rich, silky body; this is why they appear in Chinese and other East Asian braised dishes and soups, and in French and Spanish stews and ragouts. Because the gelatin sets as it cools, cooked trotters are also used in charcuterie to bind terrines, pates, and aspics. They pair with soy sauce, ginger, garlic, and warm spices like star anise in Asian preparations, and with wine, vinegar, and herbs such as thyme and bay leaf in European ones.