The Taste of Britain. Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall

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СКАЧАТЬ SHELL, ABOUT 3.5CM DIAMETER.

      HISTORY:

      The use of snails as food is generally regarded by the British as curious and outlandish - more specifically, French. Evidence for their consumption in the past is patchy. Recipes used snails medicinally, to ease chest ailments. They are often found in early books of household remedies. A handful of culinary recipes were given by John Nott (1726). Roy Groves, who developed methods for the indoor farming of snails during the 1980s, states there is some oral evidence for snail eating in areas such as the North-East of England, where glass-blowing was an occupation. Snails reputedly have a beneficial effect on the respiratory system. Oral tradition also states that ‘wallfish’ are part of the diet in the West Country, particularly in the area around the Mendips. Here, for about 50 years, the Miner’s Arms (a pub and restaurant) at Priddy, has served snails as a house speciality.

      Both the Roman snail (Helix pomatia) and the smaller garden snail (Helix aspersa) are found wild in Britain. Law’s Grocer’s Manual (c. 1895) remarked that both species were collected in England for the Paris market. Recent initiatives in agricultural diversification have also led to the foundation of a snail-farming industry with several producers of Helix aspersa in the Somerset area. Another species which is farmed is the African land snail.

      TECHNIQUE:

      Snails are collected from the wild in Somerset, but rarely reach the market, being consumed at home or sold to restaurants. The snails are collected in the autumn, and a proportion are frozen for use throughout the winter at the Miner’s Arms. Snail farming is carried out at several locations, including at least one where the snails are reared outdoors in poly-tunnels. These enclose forage crops such as stubble turnips, to provide cover and help retain moisture. The snails take approximately a year to become fully grown. During winter they hibernate, when they are kept in boxes in barns, safe from predators. They are collected as required and sold alive.

      REGION OF PRODUCTION:

      SOUTH WEST ENGLAND, SOMERSET.

      Wiltshire Bacon

      DESCRIPTION:

      SMOKED OR UNSMOKED CURED PORK FOR COOKING; A SIDE WEIGHS 29-31KG; THIS REPRESENTS HALF A PIG, TRIMMED AND CURED. COLOUR: DEEP ROSE-PINK LEAN, WHITE FAT.

      FLAVOUR: A MILD CURE.

      HISTORY:

      A reference dated 1794 which mentions the ‘old’ Wiltshire bacon, implies the area had been long known for this product (OED). The trade was based on both pigs native to the region and imported ones from Ireland which were driven across the county on their way to London markets. Mrs Beeton (1861) states the Wiltshire cure used dry salt and coarse sugar, the flitches lying in the pickle for a month before being hung to dry. One of the largest bacon curing companies in Britain, Harris of Calne, was started by a local butcher who took advantage of the herds of pigs passing his doorstep. In the mid-nineteenth century, the company began to use ice to chill the premises in the summer, an innovation allowing production the year round and the amount of salt in the cure to be reduced, making for sweeter, milder bacon. About this time a switch from dry to brine curing took place, to give the modem form of the cure, now practised in many areas outside its place of origin.

      The bacon was sold after drying (when it was called green bacon in the South, and pale dried bacon in the north of England). If smoking took place, it was carried out by the wholesaler or retailer to suit their market. The south of the country showed a preference for smoked bacon. Large quantities of bacon are now imported into Britain. Until their Calne factory closed, Harris still produced Wiltshire bacon in its home region, but now there are only 2 commercial curers left in the area.

      It should be noted that some bacon experts, for instance William Hogan (1978), use the term Wiltshire to refer to a cut as well as the cure. In this case it indicates half a pig, with the ham left on and the ribs intact but the blade bone removed.

      TECHNIQUE:

      A local manufacturer uses pigs reared on his own farm, fed on home-grown wheat and whey from the cheese industry in neighbouring Somerset. After cutting, the sides are immersed in a salt, saltpetre and water brine for 4-5 days. They are then stacked and drained for 14 days. The bacon may be smoked over hardwood sawdust. It is dispatched whole, in smaller joints, or sliced into rashers.

      REGION OF PRODUCTION:

      SOUTH WEST ENGLAND, WILTSHIRE.

      COMPARE WITH:

      Suffolk Sweet-Cured Bacon, East Anglia (p. 128); Ayrshire Bacon, Scotland (p. 306); Welsh Bacon, Wales (p. 190).

      Apple Cake

      DESCRIPTION:

      APPLE CAKE, SOMETIMES CALLED APPLE PUDDING, AND OFTEN GIVEN A COUNTY PREFIX DEPENDING ON THE PLACE OF ITS MAKING, IS USUALLY OBLONG OR SQUARE, BAKED IN A TRAY. ITS FLAVOUR PLAYS ON SWEET—ACID BALANCE, WHICH DEPENDS ON VARIETY OF APPLE USED: COOKING APPLES GIVE A MOISTER CAKE WITH AN ACID NOTE, DESSERT APPLES SWEETER AND MORE AROMATIC.

      HISTORY:

      Several modern recipes are found. They vary in concept; one from Cornwall is similar to a French tarte Tatin; one from Cambridgeshire appears related to German Streusel. However, a distinctively English version does exist in the South West, especially Dorset, Devon and Somerset. Here, raw apples are added to a plain cake at the outset, as if they were raisins or currants in a fruit cake. Apples have always been added to various cakes and puddings in apple country, but little documentary evidence survives. An example is a farmhouse recipe from Somerset (Webb, c. 1930). One from Dorset, ‘one of the most famous of all English tea cakes’, is in Spicer (1949). A modern collection asserts that Dorset apple cake is distinguished from others by being baked in separate tins before being sandwiched with butter (Raffael, 1997).

      While popular in domestic circles and often made for sale in cafes, it can also be found in many craft bakeries in the region.

      TECHNIQUE:

      Apple cakes from the South West have minor variations in detail, such as addition of dried fruit and candied peel in a recipe from Dorset. They call for apples, flour, butter and caster sugar in the proportions 4:2:1:1. Chemical leavening is used. The apples (sour cooking apples are generally required, although some prefer eating apples because they are drier) are peeled, cored and sliced into segments. The butter is rubbed into the flour until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. The sugar is stirred in, followed by sliced raw apple, and dried fruit and spices if required; the mixture is bound with egg and milk. It is scaled off into greased tins. The surface is levelled and sprinkled with granulated sugar. Baking takes 1 hour at 180°C.

      REGION OF PRODUCTION:

      SOUTH WEST ENGLAND.

      Bath Bun

      DESCRIPTION:

      A СКАЧАТЬ