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HomeMy WebLinkAboutZurich Herald, 1950-08-24, Page 7Doul 'Thee Measures o Pig- Cuding At Home By Geoffrey Bournphrey Is there any more beautiful word un the language than 'halm`-iuiless it is 'bacon'—or, better still, `bacon and eggs' ---or `ham and eggs' for that matter? lesl They are beau- tiful words, I think, and I am pre- pared to argue about it, Who was it who said that beauty lies in the eye of the beholder? Someone with authorkty, I know. Well, you )lave only to substitute another sense, organ for the eye, and hain passes the test with flying colours, But, you know, I have an awful -feeling that I may be talking to part of a generation that does not know what Bain is, orat any rate what it can be. By hain I do not mead that bright -pink, moist stuff that tastes so much of salt. Real ham is a soft, almost greyish -pink, and the' lean is not moist, it is almost clry, and the fibres have matured and softened until the gen- eral texture is almost crumbly. But enough of this preliminary appetite -whetting: let us get down to brass tacks. One, of the reasons for living in the country (if any reason needs to be given) is that in the country it is generally pos Bible to keep a pig. One of the many grand things about pigs is that they are far the most efficient food -converters of any domestic animal, Vou can reckon that of all the valuable food you give thein (during adolescence, that is,) about one-fifth remains in the pig, largely as bacon—or ham. There is another advantage, too, in the single-mindedness with which it pig concentrates on its life's work of putting on weight. Long before the butcher comes, you will be estimating the weight cif the hams, and even visualizing the long flanks neatly divided into rashers—all this without the slidlit- est feeling of tactlessness. I will admit that nay first .pig -killing day diel not dawn without a slight sense cf uneasiness; but I was raw, and did not quite know what to ex Peet. Now, those two occasions in the year are red-letter days, as they have been in Merrie England for hundreds of years. The butcher ar- rives in his van, bringing his as- sistant with him. The pig has not been fed for twenty-four flours, and so is interested in nothing'in the world except the contents of the bucket that he follows obligingly to the appointed place. There is a slight report and he is wafted to the Elysian fields, in the final be- lief that, at last, he is going to get his Bead down in that bucket that smells so good. A beautiful end— which of us, with his mentality, would ask for anything better? Perhaps an hour later, Mr. Brown, as I will call hint, and his assistant, come into nay kitchen; and we drink a tankard or two of beer. The conversation follows rather the lines used when you go -to see somebody's new baby. I atu left with the impression (just as the mother ought to be) that I have been a very efficient producer, and that the product is one of the finest specimens seen round these parts for many a long day. Also, there is the great fun of guessing the weight. Mr. Brown thinks it will make every pound c•f twelve score; I say, modestly, that I should think it will top eleven score, at any rate. There was an occasion when tine weight was eighteen score, and there, hanging front the beams, was a vast carcass like a inaramoth's; but, nowadays, apart from the kudos of having reared such a pig, 1 like them about ten or twelve score: Br•iglftwell Brandy—what it pig she was! The (pint -essence of food conversation! As soon as the carcass has been weighed, it is •let down with block and tackle, and cut up ready for curing. There are many different gays of doing this, according to whether you want a long liatin or a :round one, how much you are go - Ing to use fresh as roast pork, and so oil. Personally, I always find there are so many bits and pieces which have to be ' used up more or less fresh. (to say nothing of brawn.) that I cure almost every - filing possible; two hams, cut short and round), two shoulders, two Bath chaps (or cheeks), and two sides of bacon, including the neck.. Many Different Methods of Curing 1 did not start out with the idea of doing my own curing, when I first kept a pig. I meant to send it aitiray to a bacon factory to be ,cured for me, as most of my, friends do. In fact, I made a tour of their houses is turn, to taste their pig and see which factory•s cure I liked best. But, as my pig grew fatter, memories of the hams I had eaten long ago came to Haunt me, and I decided I would cure the the hams, at least, myself, and send the rest away to be done, Even that reservation perished after a chat with a farmer friend of mine, and a taste of his home - cured bacon and ham. He said it isas easy enough, and he offered to lend, life the tub he cured his liana in. I borrowed a wooden trough from somebody else to do the sides of bacon in. That sounda a lot of equipment, but I have simplified things since then. I found that an ordinary earthenware bread - crock just holds one hani and one shoulder, and a curing trough is not necessary if you have a long, narrow table and an outhouse floor thaf you do not mind getting irk rather a mess. Then I started collecting recipes and analyzing them. I should think I got about forty in ail—and they all boiled down to about four differ- -ent methods of curing, with minor variations. I went out for simplicity and quality. With my first two pigs I tried about eight different cures, and kept notes to compare with the results. Now I have standardized on two, a simple one for the every- day bacon, and a more exotic one for the less frequent ham. Both start in the traditional way —a good rubbing all over with salt And a small proportion of saltpetre: say Half an hour's work in all; the same next day, only shorter. On the third day, when the salt will have drawn most of the surplus moisture out of the meat, the cures divide. The bacon and Bath chaps stay on the table and go on getting about five minutes' rubbing a day with the salt and saltpetre mixtures, plus a bit of Demarara sugar.—that is said to keei5 the lean soft. The !.!anis and shoulders ga into their bread -crocks, and for them I make up a wonderful . brew of strong beer or stout, molasses or black treacle, a seasoning of all- spice, coriander, and black pepper, a handful of salt . and saltpetre, a shallot, and a good measure of juni- per berries. This is boiled up, al- lowed to cool, and thea poured over the joints. Each day, their Gun lett not to.'gottett•••-•A pluck)) di.te-devil, a Soviet spy, or just a fo•slhardy fcatherod irlcnd? `soldiers are wondering just how to classify the sparrow who perched, on the muzzle of a lethal tank ,ntin daring niaimeuvre5. After the weapots was Blvd, and the last wisp of smoke had cleared away, then cottld. Ctid no truce of the winged artillcry observer, "'Water's fine, 'but it can wait," four-year-old Johnny Zeek seems to be telling his dad, Ed- ward, as he applies the brakes to admire certain aspects of the view on the beach. Who knows, niavbe if he does his double somersault she'll cut the cosmetics and give him a tumble. The heart-throb is Judy Miller, four, liosition is reversed, and they are thoroughly basted with the brew. I-Iow long you continue the cur- ing depends on how long Sou want the meat to keep. I generally cure one side of bacon for just over a fortnight, which means it will keep safely for six months, and the other I give about three weeks, so that it is safe for a year, I do not think a ham or shoulder develops its flavor until it has matured for at least six months, so they are kept in the brew- about eight or ten days for every inch of thickness. The catch about it is that the longer you cure, the saltier the meat and the harder the lean tends to be, though you can offset this to a great extent in the case of bacon by soak• ing each chunk in water for a night as you cut it oat the side, before slicing it into rashers. And, 'by the way, does everyone know the best way to arrange bacon for cooking—frying, or, mucic Letter, grilling? Overlap the slices like tiles on a roof, screening each lean side from the heat with the fat side of the piece next to it: in this way you can cook the fat thor- oughly, still keeping the lean safe, After caring, wash the meat in cold water (soft water is best; and, personally, I soak mine overnight in it), Then hail.- up the Joints or sides to dry in a riot -too -cold room for three weeks or a month. After that, they are best somewhere coal. Sprinkle them with pepper, and sew them up in bags, but not only to keep flies away (which is the idea of the pepper) but also to'pro.. tect them from the light, which turns the fat yellow. Could anything be simpler? I-fardly any equipment, half -an - hour's work the first Clay; tell inial- utes the second or third—and then only seven or eight each oay until the cure is complete. And the re- ward? Well, I have just finished eating the last liana of Brightwell I'•r'andy, fifteen inonths old, It was black outside, and hard as a board, but it swelled out like a sponge after a week's soaking. Who talks of boiling hani? it was sirnmered gently for nearly four hours, and then allowed to grow almost cold in the water it had cooked !it. I skinned it tenderly, drained it, and sprinkled it with bread crumbs while it just still had the chill off. I wish T could describe to you the aroma that filled the dining -room when I cut the first few slices: I happened to have staying•with me a friend who is chairman of the kitchen and ,wine committees of a big London club. His face was pos- itively transfigured: 'Why,' he cried, 'that ham has a bouquet like an old wine!' We ate with some reverence, and were not disappointed. Could a factory cure ,have done that for nsr The point I would make is that here in home -curing is an age-old craft' not really very difficult to learn, needing little or no equip- ment. We complain nowadays that our food is dull, and we have to go without many delicacies that were once imported at reasonable prices. But the humble pig, properly treat- ed, can yield food fit for all epicure or for the gods themselves, and the mere process of curing is not with- out fascination. ,The pig has been the mainstay of English rural life since Saxon times, and probably before then. Call me' a cbaw-bacon —a yokel? Why shouldn't I be? I am proud of it. (Broadcast in the BBC's Home Service). Gave 'Him Palace ,But 'Wouldn't Pay The eighteenth century was only four years old when the French armies were broken in a fierce battle fought in the tiny village of Blen- heim. And. ail England went mad in adulation of the man who had won that great victory. What form should a nation's gra- titude take? 'Queen Anne did not crnisult Parliament, but declared: "He shall have the ancient Manor of Woodstock:. The old, dilapidated !tonne of the Plantagenets shall dis- appear: a noble palace shall rise in its place." Parliament, informed as to Her Majesty's wishes, was also assured that the Queen intended to foot the bill herself. Accordingly an*Act of Parliament was passed. The burn- ing question of the hour then was: `'i'ho shall build this architectural masterpiece for the nation's hero? Everybody expected that the choice would fall on NVren. lout it didn't. The Queen told the Duke of Marlborough to pick his own architect and lie chose John %-an- brugh, architect, playwright, mar- about -town. That decision laid the foundation Merrily He Rollers Along -It's a jeep, but you'd hardy- know it. The weird vehicle is the result of inl�'enutty at an Air Force field in Japan, It was born of the nccessity for tirg•ent haste in handling air cargoes. As soon as c.ar o plane lands, the "Harvey Special" jeep rushes,to it with roller conveyors that sk)eed up loading and unloading. bi ZIP 140 for something; that nobody had fore- sten--a lasting, bitter quarrel buy» tween Vanbrugh, the playwright - architect, and Sarah, the brilliant, forceful and power -loving Duchess of Marlborough. "The Queen rules England—Th.e Duchess rules the Queen," was v. -hat people said behind their hands, And it was Cruel Vanbrugh, w•ho had already de- signed some magnificent great blouses, drew up even more elabor- mc plans for the new palace. The Duke rubbed his hands: "Excet. lent!" lie exclaimed. But the Duch- ess became incensed against the project. "Who will pay for all this? she inquired. "end who would live in such a place? Comfort comes before such show." So great a building involved the problem of finding enough piaster masons. In the end Vanbrugh got masons from all parts of the coun- try and a colony of craftsmen and -orking men settled in Woodstock Then the troubles began. The local stone prover] completely un- suitable and an alternative had to be used, That was bad enough. But presently the contractors were coming to Vanbrugh—who wa4 do- ing this immense work for a mo- dest $2,000 a year—for money. It was awkward. Who was to pay? The Queen, from her private fortune? Parliament, out of the na- tion's resources? Or the millionaire Duke himself? Neither the Queen nor Parlia•- nient had stated what limit was to be put on the cost of the project, although official documents stated that Vanbrugh had been appointed. Comptroller of the Works, author- ized to act on behalf of the Duke. During the long years that Blen- heim Palace was being built this unhappy situation led to much bick- ering. There were constant dis- piates about authority. There were incessant quarrels between Van - 1;: ugli and the Duchess. There were periods when there was no nioney to pay the working people. On one occasion arrears owing to the contractors, and wages owing to the workmen. led to a strike and threats of violence. The men said that they could not pad* for their lodgings, and that before they went Lack to their homes they would wreck the half -built palace, Vanbrugh, meant this palace to be his masterpiece. Unfortunately, -what he never considered -'as money. For example, as he had to cone down from London very often (lie vias building the Opera House Covent Garden, at the same time) lie decided to renovate the old Woodstock Manor House. He had no authority to dothis, and he put to work on it men employed on the palace. Having spent over $5,000, he casually mentioned it to the Duchess. The great Sarah flew into a pas- sion, accusing him of having spent $15,000 on himself, and calling hint insulting names, From first to last, on the financial side and in the human relations of those most closely concerned in this grandiloquent project, there had been nothing but the sordid. .!\Tor did the death of the Duke change the situation. He left over two million pounds, a fortune equivalent to $150,000,000 today. But he made no provision for the unpaid workmen or for Vanbrugh's modest wage. Whea the will was made public, Vanbrugh wrote to a friend: "And yet this Man would neither pay his Work- men their bills nor his Architect his Salary, But lie had given his Widdow (may a Scotch Ensign get her) £10,000 a year to spoil Blenheim her own way; £1,200 a. Year to keep her Self clean, and go to Law." Thus to the end did bitterness poison the air as there arose one of the most magnificent palaces ;n the British Isles—Indeed, in the whole world. Nowadays, from all parts of the world crowds are flocking to this same Blenheim Palace, regal seat of the Dukes of Marlborough, re- cently opened to the public. A.tx much as $1500 a day is being taken "at the doors," And the first re- quest of nearly every visitor is t% see the room where Winston Churchill was born. So many people gazing at his baby vest which its on view, giggle and wisecrack, "I bet he couldn't wear it today," that the guides sometimes nearly scream.