Buyer Beware Rare Breed

Rare breed pork, the latest, newest buzzword popping up on restaurant menus. Rare breed usually refers to any breed that's not Landrace. Landrace are the familiar pink pig, commercially bred for specific characteristics such as leanness and to provide a good conversion of muscle to fat ratio. They have little hair and would not be as well able to cope living outside as rare breeds or the original pig breeds (but they can adapt). They also do not lay down a protective layer of fat as the rare breeds do to keep them warm.

Rare breed pigs such as Saddleback, Irish Grazer (Tamworth), Gloucester Old Spot, Duroc, Hampshire etc. are the original pigs our ancestors reared, usually outside but in more recent times in a sty. These were fed a mixed diet of vegetables, grains and slops. Feeding slops was banned after some wise guy decided that it would be an idea to feed a vegetarian animal (cattle) with animal protein and lo and behold BSE materialised. Since pigs are omnivorous like us, it is perfectly fine to feed them animal protein.  However probably not advisable to feed them pork or bacon slops. Although I'm sure in days gone by they were.

It is this mixed diet plus the freedom to root and forage for grass, vegetation, roots and grubs that gives rare breed pork it's flavour. Free range rare breeds are able to run, root and generally behave as pigs should. Landrace pigs are reared in concrete housing and fed concentrated feed. They get little or no exercise.

Unless rare breeds are reared outside and fed a varied diet their meat is no different from meat from a Landrace. So a restaurant stating that their pork is rare breed is as meaningless as stating a chicken that has the potential to stick it's head out a gap in the shed, is free range. Do you really want to pay more for something that is no different from conventional pork?

When next you see "rare breed" on a menu ask. Ask if it was outdoor reared. Ask what it was fed. I can guarantee the restaurant won't have a clue. In fact they probably never gave it a second thought. However for their beef they will know the seed, breed and generation and how long it was hung/aged etc.

Why should pork be any different?

Beware of buzzwords. After all arsenic is gluten-free.......

Prawn Curry and Wok Naan

This is the ultimate fast food. When you live in a rural area where the only take away is MSG central and most certainly doesn't deliver, it's handy to have a recipe that takes as long to prepare as it takes to cook the rice. I have added salmon when I see it on the reduced aisle, cut into chunks and it was really delicious with prawns. You could use any meaty fish such as monkfish.




Prawn Curry recipe

1 pack of frozen prawns
1 large onion sliced
1 clove garlic finely chopped
1 (inch) piece of ginger finely chopped
1/2 inch piece turmeric finely chopped
1 tbsp vegetable oil
1 tsp mustard seed
1 tsp ground turmeric
1 tsp chilli powder
half tsp chilli flakes
1 tsp tamarind paste
1 tbsp ground coriander
half a fresh chilli chopped
1 tin of chopped tomatoes or equiv. tomato passata
Half tin of creamed coconut
Good pinch salt

Add all the spice ingredients to a pan and fry in oil for a couple of minutes. Add the onions cut in thick slices and just toss them in the spice mix. They are much nicer if they have a bit of crunch.  Add tomatoes and simmer for a few minutes. Finally add the coconut. (At this point the sauce can be refrigerated for later or even frozen). Finally add frozen cooked prawns and continue to cook for three minutes.

Serve with basmati and naan bread.

Wok naan bread recipe

225g strong flour
half a 7g packet of dried yeast
good pinch salt
1 tbsp natural yoghurt
2 tbsp coconut milk
water

Put the dry ingredients in a bowl. Add yoghurt, coconut milk and water to make a cohesive dough. Knead until light and stretchy. Cover and leave to prove for an hour. After an hour knock back the dough and divide into four pieces. Stretch each piece into a tear drop shape. Put a wok on to heat. When it is smoking add some coconut oil or an oil with a high smoking point (rape, sunflower). Flip over after a few minutes. You can transfer them to a pre-heated oven (180) as they are cooked to finish them off or just to keep them warm.

Cooking Kids.

Well not exactly cooking kids more kids' cooking classes. I started a series of classes in our local community centre/sports complex recently. When I first broached the idea with the committee they were surprisingly enthusiastic. Well the centre does promote health and fitness and it was an idea to cover all aspects of health.

So far we have had two classes. We decided twelve was the maximum we could cope with at any one class and for the first class we had just that. Second week and seventeen kids show up. We didn't turn them away but from next week we need to either run two classes or just go with the original twelve who booked initially.

I am concentrating on healthy eating but using recipes that have "kid appeal". Lots of vegetables, hidden and not so hidden. Lots of - "yuks", lots of - "I don't like that" (this is now banned, they must say "I'm not so keen on....."). But I had one girl who said she never ate any veg try some red pepper at the first class and in the second class admit she couldn't taste the hidden veg.  Progress.

The first week we made spring rolls and chicken Chow Mein. Billed as make your own healthy Chinese take away.  The second week we made pizza using real dough.  For next week I asked them to choose their favourite processed food and we will make it. They chose chicken goujons. They have also requested meat balls and brownies.

They are very enthusiastic and quite knowledgeable in that they have been able to name most of the vegetables including freshly dug carrot, ginger and a bulb of garlic. So I'm not dealing with Jamie Oliver's documentary level of ignorance.

We have visited a couple of local schools to let them know what we are doing and aim to get around them all in next couple of weeks. It takes an age now with security plus clearing it with the secretary, then the head, then the class teacher. Such a change from even my kids' school days!

Some of the mothers waiting for the kids came up to me after and said they had learned a lot just from listening. They have requested I do adult classes as well. The first one starts tomorrow evening.

I have found BBC Good Food a very useful website as they even have a dedicated children's section.

From small acorns........

Choosing pizza toppings

Getting children interested and enthusiastic about cooking, nutrition and food is the best way to combat obesity and to encourage them to have a healthier diet. While they are cooking I am drip feeding them nutritional information. At this age they are like sponges and they retain the information in spite of themselves.