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How free range is your bacon?

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kisses on the free range fields

It came as a bit of a surprise to me that less than 3% of the pork in the UK is actually truly ‘free range’. You think if you choose for the ‘freedom foods’ or ‘red tractor’ label, you’re sorted, but no, that doesn’t mean your bacon is free range at all.
To learn more, I ventured out to sunny Suffolk to meet up with second generation pig farmer Alastair Butler on their family farm Blythburgh Free Range Pork.
As it turnes out, a lot of the pork we think to be free-range, has actually not had a better life than a pig in an intensive farm. We assume when we spot the label ‘outdoor bred’ or ‘outdoor reared’ that it is free-range, only it isn’t.

First we have to understand how pig farming works.
There are two stages or herds, the ‘breeding herd’ – these are the sows and the newly born piglets, and the ‘finishing herd’ where the piglets go after they are weaned which is after about four weeks of age.
In the majority of the higher welfare farms, the high welfare terminology only applies to the first herd, the sows and their babies.

Outdoor bred and outdoor reared is NOT free range pork.
Outdoor bred: this means the breeding herd is kept free range but the after the piglets are weaned, they are moved indoors to the finishing herd where they are intensively reared. The pork from these pigs will not be any different from your average intensive farm.

Outdoor reared: here the breeding herd is free range too, and the finishing herd is kept in a semi outdoor arrangement of tents or huts. The pigs do not have free access to the outside, and are confined to these huts and tents at all times. Alastair refers to this arrangement as ‘intensively reared outdoors.’

Free range: here the breeding herd is free range, and the finishing herd is kept in an even larger free range space. This is the only true higher welfare farming system.

Blythburgh is one of the largest free range farms in the UK, this means that the pigs have an incredibly large amount of land to roam freely. The animals grow slower, which means the fat has been around the muscle for longer and therefore delivers more flavour.
But for Alastair the welfare of the pigs is what’s most important, he steps into the field with his dad and nearly all of the pigs in the field come storming towards him to see what is going on and have a sniff on the farmers leg and shoes. “This is what it’s all about” he says “pigs showing their natural behaviour which is that they are incredibly curious and clever animals”.
I asked him if he is still smitten with the breeding herd after years of seeing piglets being born, and he tells me that he still loves everything about the breeding herd, but the fact that they have to keep the sows on a more confined paddock means he prefers to visit the finishing herd which looks to me like a gang of friends having a nice play in the sand rather than a bunch of farm animals being finished for slaughter.

The natural behaviour of a pig is to root in the soil and eat the mud, they love a good dust bath or wallow in the muddy pools and enjoy a good run. Imagine if you would place an animal like this on a concrete floor, with no light apart from a couple of industrial lights if they are lucky. No fresh air, nothing. Farrowing crates contain the sows, they are so tight that they can not turn, they can not stand, they just have to lie there. Piglets are taken from these animals after birth, while pigs are known for being good mothers, imagine what the animal must be feeling. And that is what is important, we can’t ignore that animals have feelings. Farm animals are no different from pets. It is important to take a stand against intensive farming, and eat less meat, but choose to buy high welfare meat.
Ask your butcher where the meat comes from, investigate by looking up the farms website to see that you are getting your money’s worth in free range meat.

There is no room in this day and age for animal abuse, so find a free range source for your meat.

From farm to plate

 

The breeding herd
A happy mama and her babies fighting over the best teat
And suddenly another mama started farrowing, she covered her piglets in straw to keep warm
Alastair Butler and his piglets. I got to hold her too, she fell asleep on me.
A curious bunch – the finishing herd.
Didn’t I say they love a good run?
And that they love to eat and root around the mud?
Are you looking at me? Well you’re looking at us human!
Slaughtered and butchered by Gerard King.
The mark, so you know what you get.
The final stage – the table.

Thank you very much for inviting me to your family farm Alastair, and for the beautiful pulled pork lunch your mother made us.  Thanks Gerard King from craft butcher Salter and King for a butchery demonstration to round up the day and the process from birth to slaughter. Good meat can’t be taken for granted, it has to be respected.
Recipe for the roast coming soon.

My views are my own.

 

 

EDITED
While moving my blog the comments on my last few posts got lost, I’m so sorry if you are looking for your comment and it isn’t there. I’m really sad about losing our conversations!

A farmers life for me.

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I have a dream… I live in a limestone cottage in rural England that catches the golden color of the sun in its walls and I have a small rare breed pig farm. In my dream I would be getting up early in the morning, jump into my morning clothes, run down the stairs to turn on the fire and slip into my boots to head outside to bring the pigs their breakfast. On my return I will jump in the shower and then do some work on my blog and photography, just after lunch I would check on the pigs again and spend some time with them. Of course pens need to be cleaned and housework needs to be done, but I’m not getting hung up on the less enjoyable things. In the evening I will know that I have yet another day taken care of beautiful creatures, help them give birth, rub their bellies and keep them happy before delivering the best meat to feed a small number of people who respect the work that went into producing this meat. I would have shortened the food chain, I will have made a difference. That is what I want, I keep asking myself  ‘what am I doing to make things better’ Sitting behind my desk designing and creating layouts isn’t going to make a difference in the bigger picture of it all. I have the need to do more.

Mahatma Gandhi put my feeling into words perfectly “You must be the change you wish to see in the world.”

So a few weeks ago I went on a rare/native breed pig keeping course in West-Sussex, because you have to start somewhere …

Middle Whites, one of the rarest British breeds.

It was a freezing day, my cloths as it appears aren’t nearly warm enough to be running around on a farm all day. My pretty red wellies are too small for thick woolen socks or even a triple pair to keep my feet from turning into ice cubes.
Luckily I had a lot of excitement keeping me warm, the cold didn’t bother me at all.

The day started by waking up the pigs and giving them their first feed, we walked up the field where the paddocks were divided by gender, breed and age. The pigs were eager to tuck in and it became instantly clear they have a pecking order, if you aren’t careful to keep an eye out when you feed them, one pig would be very a very happy bunny and the others would go hungry. Every pig reacted to his or her name when called out, a lovely sight to behold and it shows how clever these animals are.

Gloucester Old Spots

The severe rainfall and cold climate this year has made for muddy conditions at the farm, fortunately pigs are happiest rolling and playing in piles of mud. They will eat the mud as it is their primary source of iron. Piglets who aren’t able to go out in these wet conditions in fear of drowning are given a nice fresh pile of mud in their pen to roll in and eat every day so they don’t become anemic. When they are a week or two older, they are let out to have a play under the watchful eye of Neil and his son Oliver who is going to train to be a vet.

Michaela told us that they know when a sow is going to give birth as she will start to create an elaborate nest with straw, twigs and sometimes even flowers. At times the nest will have some things in it that she will remove, like larger branches that could possibly hurt the sow or one of the piglets but when she does the sow will show her disapproval by loud sighs on which the pig will take the branch back and place it in the nest again.

 

Sally the Middle White, and her babies.

After we had a nice cuppa and a delicious moist piece of lemon drizzle cake we sat down to defrost our hands and feet and to talk about the legal things involved in starting your smallholding, which breed of pigs to keep, and how to keep your animals healthy. I’m not going to go into detail about this, you will have to go on a course if you want to know all the rules and regulations but I can say it is all very doable.

When we went outside again we were going to learn about measuring your animals to see when they are right for their final stop, the slaughterhouse. It is the less enjoyable part of being a farmer or smallholder when you care for your animals deeply, but a necessary step to preserve rare/native breed lines and keep livestocks healthy. Of course their pedigree breeding pigs don’t go to slaughter for a very long time, they have names, witty ways and are loved almost like pets.

The time has come to weigh piglets of different ages and learn how to pick them up and handle them with care so you don’t disturb the small creatures.
Upside down seems to be the way  – though not for a long time of course – before slowly turning them to hold them in the much favourited ‘baby position’. I can’t tell you how much I was looking forward to holding a piglet, suddenly I’m 8 again and happy as a child. The Saddleback didn’t seem to enjoy it very much so we got him back with his mum but the Middle white baby, a few weeks older than the Saddleback didn’t seem to mind very much. They had to ask me to give him back or I would have remained standing there until the little one would start screaming for his big mum. Reluctantly I handed over the piglet.

Michaela had prepared a gammon and slow cooked pork for our lunch, I felt very humble to share this with them, the meat from their precious Saddleback pigs. Such a treat, I never tasted pork full of flavour and succulent like this in my whole life. I paired the meat with apple sauce and British watercress she had prepared – oh heaven. Michaela however trying to convince me she isn’t a cook just served me one of the best meals I ever had. I do adore uncomplicated simple food with big natural flavours.
One of the most moving things I encountered was the way Michaela and Neil were proud to share their food with us, proud of the hard work they put in -next to their jobs- to care for animals.

After the much enjoyed lunch we went back to the pigs for some serious exercise with ‘stick and board training’.
I ran after a giant Saddleback pig for almost half an hour, I
wasn’t giving up. Using a curly walking stick and a board, I was learning
how to guide a pig to a direction I want rather than the direction the
pig wants to run to. I admit, most of the time the sow was walking me
and I was convincing myself I was guiding her resulting in me running
after her trying to catch up …
But in the end I think it started to
work, I got her to her pen, back out again and back in again. I felt a
feeling of pride – I had done it – but was still not sure I had actually
pulled it off. I asked Neil if there was any hope for
me and he told me that a first day is always tough but that I had
perseverance … you got that right, I don’t give up.
I ended my stick
and board training with a session of hugging Molly the sow, petting her
and rubbing her back and belly while telling her what a good girl she
was. I really got into it – in a big way. These animals welcome a nice
rubbing, they love it when you make a fuss. They are such playful
creatures, running after each other and into each other -some breeds
like Saddlebacks and Old spots don’t see very well with their ears
covering most of their eyes –

Me and Molly, the friendly Saddleback.

My
wrists, back and shoulders were sore… I had healthy rosy cheeks from
the exercise and my heart was glowing with happiness. A farmers life is a hard one, but they will always tell you it’s worth it. If you spend time with the animals you see why. Pigs really are the most amazing creatures. If only …

The watchful eye of Neil.
Going to feed the pigs.

Are you interested in taking a pig keeping course? I did mine at Tedfold Farm in West Sussex, a farm where all animals are are slowly reared at their own pace and with lots and lots of love. Thank you to all at Tedfold Farm for a wonderful day.

I entered this course at my own expense. 

Drunken cherries – make your own cherry brandy

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Preserving cherries for later, for generations to come.

“My top way of eating cherries is a bowl of cherries. If good, they need no adornment, other than perhaps a glass of pink champagne.”
Fergus Henderson.

Before the second world war there were about 40 000 acres of cherry orchards in Britain. These were mainly in Kent, Worcestershire and Herefordshire.
The past 50 years however 90 % of these cherry orchards have disappeared.
The labour was very intensive as the trees were very high, too high to cover the crop from the birds. I were mostly women who harvested the cherries on high ladders with baskets tied to their waists.
To tackle this problem nowadays and to revive cherry growing, dwarf plants are planted to replace the towering trees. The dwarf trees are covered with netting so the birds can’t steal the crop and the orchard has a maximum yield.

The people from Food Lovers Britain have started ‘CherryAid’, a campaign to point out to the supermarkets and consumers that the British cherry needs our attention and preservation. Since the campaign started most of Britain’s biggest supermarkets like M&S and Tesco are selling British cherries and Waitrose has stated that imported cherries will be phased out completely for the five week the British cherry season.
So it’s fair to say, British cherries are on their way of being saved for future generations.

Britain however is not the only country in danger of loosing their native fruit, in Belgium you can’t even get Belgian cherries in the supermarket. You find them rarely at the market. A lot of cherry growers in Belgium leave their crop rot on the trees because it’s too expensive to pick them for the price they will get for them. Such a shame that the most famous ‘Schaerbeekse cherry’ has been lost for ever, this was the variety used for the typical Belgian cherry beer. Instead of finding another Belgian cherry, most of the breweries choose to import the cherries from Poland. Only a small number of cherries used for the beer today are Belgian.

Most of you will try and buy ‘local’ or British cherries, I’m sure.
I love how the cherry season transforms the roads of Kent with cherry
signs and little stalls packed with punnets of cherries. The sellers
sitting there, usually seeking shelter from wind and rain under a bright
umbrella, reading a book.

Below some interesting links to explore:
Brogdale farm has an annual Cherry festival celebrating the British cherry and
Food Lovers Britain – ‘CherryAid’ a campaign to put British cherries back on the map.
Great British Food Revival Cherries and Walnuts
Rent a cherry tree

Cherries come in two types: sweet and sour. My mum and I used to make this cherry brandy and the recipe is handed down by my grandmother. For cherry brandy it’s better to use the sour variety however you can use the sweet ones and slightly decrease the sugar you use. Or not, if you like it very sweet!
So what about you? What do you like to brew?

What do you need
cherries: 1kg
Eau de vie or Vodka: 1liter
sugar: 300 g
sterilised jars

Method
• rinse the cherries well
• cut of the stalks leaving 1cm still on the cherry, that way the brandy will keep longer as
the cherries stay nice and firm.
• layer the cherries with the sugar
• pour over the alcohol and close the jar
• put in a dark place at room temperature and shake every day for a week
• forget about the cherries until christmas or thanksgiving!

I have jars that date back to 1999, these cherries are very very strong!
Enjoy in a little glass or why not with a scoop of ice cream…

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Strawberry and Pimm’s granita drink
Blaeberry pie


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‘Osso Bucco’ and why we should eat Rosé veal

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We should all eat veal
If we don’t, a lot of bull calves in the intensive dairy industry will be shot at birth.

Veal is a byproduct of the dairy industry, so if you eat a lot of cheese and dairy… eat veal. Even to the vegetarians out there who do eat dairy, please eat veal.

Bull
calves are of no use to the dairy industry if there is no demand for
veal and therefore the little animals need to go. Numbers reached 260
000 male dairy calves in 2007.To feed our milk and cheese habit, dairy cows are kept constantly pregnant but while female cows can grow up to become dairy cows like their mothers, there is no room for their brothers. Male dairy calves are not always suitable for producing beef therefore (Rose) veal can offer a good alternative.

TV farmer Jimmy Doherty, is trying to persuade people to try veal.
“Dairy calves are being shot at 24 to 48 hours old and if we drink milk
we all have to share in this instead of leaving the burden of it to the
farmers. Eating rose veal is utilising those calves and solving a
problem,” said Jimmy Doherty, who is raising veal calves on his own farm.

 

When
you buy veal, try and find ‘rosé veal‘ this high-welfare veal comes
from calves that are not fed the restricted diet mainly consisting of
‘milk replacer’ that is needed to produce the ‘white veal’ meat, it keeps the meat light colored.

Rose veal is high in protein and has a pink color, hence the name ‘rose veal’.
The calves are raised alongside their mothers in open fields, and have access to their mother’s milk. After a few weeks they will get a diet of cerial and grass. This is why Rose veal has more flavour than the ‘white veal’.
The UK is the best country if you want to buy veal, the RSPCA’s Freedom Food programme label is very strict. Sadly the veal being produced in the rest of Europe is not of the high welfare standard like the British and Irish.
I have been wanting to buy veal for months, I can’t get it at the butcher or at the farm where I buy my beef and pork. So I don’t eat it. I refuse to buy white veal.
Last saturday I found a butcher who is selling free range ‘rose veal’ in Brussels. Happy days. I came out of the shop holding my veal shanks as if it were a bunch of flowers.
If you are a vegetarian/vegan and you are still reading, thank you.
I hope you see my point.
Especially if you are a vegetarian and still consume dairy.
this little one couldn’t get enough of mommies milk…
If there is one type of meat we should be eating, it’s veal. Meat is more costly to produce in terms of energy and resources then vegetables. In times where we have to mind our ecological footprint and eat less meat, veal is the most responsible choice.
To help the Rosé veal and dairy beef farming industry I wanted to feature a few farms or shops that sell Rosé veal. Thank you for your tweets and emails with details, answering my question on Twitter.
Update: 

Rosewood farm raises their dairy bulls for beef, they deliver England, Wales and Scotland
Calf at foot dairy produces raw milk and grass fed ruby veal from her gorgeous Jersey cows

*I’m not claiming the calves shown in my picture are rosé veal calves, I took this pictures before I thought about doing this post but I think it shows well that we should not reduce animals to waste.
Where to buy Rosé veal:
London
Allens of Mayfair (Heaves farm veal)
Barbecoa Butchery (Heaves farm veal)
O Shea’s of Knightsbridge (selling Irish rosé veal)
Union Market (Heaves farm veal)
Provenance butcher (Midshires Rose Veal)
bashford and co – Croyden

Cumbria
Heaves farm veal (selling their own veal, watch the video on the website)
Steadmans Butchers (Heaves farm veal) 

Cotswolds
Scotland
Overton farm shop (Clyde valley veal)
West Midlands
Midshires Farm shop (selling their own veal)
Alternative meats (Heaves farm veal)
Devon
Somerset
Kent
Cuckoos Pit Farm. Susans Hill Woodchurch TN26 3TF
Sussex
Cowdray farm shop Cowdray Park, Easebourne, West Sussex
Yorkshire
J Brindon Addy (Heaves farm veal)
Rosewood Farm
 
Wales

Marcross Farm

 
Online UK
Alternative meats (Heaves farm veal)
USA
Chapel hill farm Virginia (selling their own veal)
Belgium
O Shea’s Brussels (selling Irish Rosé veal)
Please do contact me if you like to be included in this list.
Finally, I have my favourite veal recipe for you. It’s a classic: Osso Bucco, braised veal shanks. The meat is wonderfully soft and full of flavour.
Serve this dish with mashed potatoes, pappardelle or another wide pasta. Also delicious with a slice of humble home baked bread!
What do you need
2 veal shanks
1 carrot
2 stalks of celery
1 medium onion
1 clove of garlic
30 ml of dry white wine
2 bay leaf
a few sprigs of fresh thyme
a tin of skinned tomatoes
30 ml of beef or vegetable stock
salt and pepper to season
flour to dust
olive oil
knob of butter
*optional: some bread for the marrow…
Method
– preheat your oven to 180° C
– get your butcher cord out and bind the shanks so they stay in one piece
– season the veal shanks with salt and pepper anddust them with flour.
– chop you vegetables finely.
– heat 1 teaspoon of butter and 1 teaspoon of olive oil in a heavy based or cast iron casserole.
– add the vegetables and glaze them
– put them to one side and add the veal shanks
– brown them slightly on each side
– add the white wine and let it simmer for a while
– add the stock and finally the tomatoes
– let it simmer for a while and finally lay some of the tomatoes on top of the veal and press down so they stay there.
– add the herbs
– press some baking paper down in the casserole until it almost touches the food
– Put the casserole into the oven and let it simmer for 2 hours or until the meat is nice and tender
– When the meat is cooked, transfer it from the casserole to a serving dish and cover with tin foil.
– Transfer the juices into a saucepan and boil for about 10 minutes or until reduced
– add the veal to the juices again and start covering it with the sauce until completely glazed.
Enjoy!
Leftovers?
Why not pull the meat into strings and add to a nice tomato sauce for a pasta dish!
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