Author | George J. Nicholls |
---|---|
Country | United Kingdom |
Language | English |
Subject | Bacon |
Genre | Non-fiction |
Publisher | Institute of Certificated Grocers [lower-alpha 1] |
Publication date | 1917 |
OCLC | 18696679 |
Bacon and Hams is a 1917 book by George J. Nicholls, a member of the Institute of Certificated Grocers. [lower-alpha 1] The book details the then-modern bacon and ham industry beginning with the use of the pig breeds, meat processing and the distribution and pricing of cuts with a focus on the United Kingdom. The meat processing aspects focus on the popular Wiltshire cut of the time, but also includes American cuts as well. The book was described, with approbation, by the Saskatchewan Overseas Livestock Marketing Commission, as an "admirable and important treatise". [1] Despite having entered the public domain, the book is rare and collectible and generated interest for its "unparalleled" anatomical details of pigs found in its fold-out pages. [2]
According to the title page of the book, George J. Nicholls was the director of George Bowles, Nicholls & Company. He was also a Trustee, Member of Council, Chairman of Finance Committee, and honorary Examiner to the Institute of Certificated Grocers. [3] He was also a member of the Home and Foreign Produce Exchange and Chairman of Committee of the Wholesale Produce Merchants' Association in London. [3] Nicholls followed in the footsteps of his father in the provision trade and hoped that two of his three sons would continue the family tradition. [3] The book features a studio photograph of its author in fancy dress as a side of bacon. [2]
The term bacon in this book does not refer to the sliced and pre-packaged bacon that is ubiquitous in American markets, but instead the cured whole side of the pig. [2] Furthermore, the differences between bacon in the United States and in the United Kingdom are quite pronounced, and the book refers only to cuts common in the United Kingdom. The cut that is used to produce "American bacon" is a cut referred to as "streaky bacon" in the United Kingdom. [4] Most bacon consumed in the United Kingdom is known as back bacon and consists of both pork belly and pork loin in a single cut. [5] [6] The Wiltshire cut was a way to divide up the meat, and was marketed to consumers in still further cuts. [2] [3]
This book's target audience is not the common consumer of pig meat, but the grocer who would sell the products to the masses. The goal of the book was to aid in the proper handling, selling and profiting from the business of selling pork. Furthermore, Nicholls noted that this book would come to fill a need for the students who would be taking the Institute of Certificated Grocer exams. [3]
The book is divided into nine chapters with seven appendices. [3] The first chapter details the pig and its use in antiquity before summarizing the nutrient components of pork in comparison to beef. [3] The second chapter opens with the defining characteristics of a good bacon pig. The six principal breeds of the United Kingdom at the time were the Large White Yorkshire, the Middle White, the Tamworth, the Berkshire, the Lincolnshire Curly-Coated and the Large Black. [3] The Large White Yorkshire breed is traced to Robert Bakewell and highlights the importance of the breed for its quick maturity, rapid fattening and providing a long side. [3] Though also credited for the breeding of the Small White pig, Bakewell was secretive in his work and evidence of his pig breeding (as a whole) cannot be confirmed. [7] [8] Nicholls describes the other breeds and provides information on the number of pigs, the state of the industry and the classification of pigs for the market. [3]
The third chapter details the industry outside the United Kingdom. [3] The fourth chapter discusses the current practices of the bacon factory, including the stages in which the pigs are received, killed, branded and processed. [3] The usage of the entire carcass is covered, from the blood to the fat and hair of the pig. Chapter five details the distribution and wholesale centers of the industry and the terms and regulations used. [3] Chapter six details the selection and grading of the cuts, beginning with the most popular Wiltshire cut. [3] Chapter seven and eight details the retail distribution of the bacon, and dividing the Wiltshire cut into different cuts and pricing. [3] Chapter nine concludes with the retail distribution of the American and Canadian cuts. [3] The book includes fold-out anatomical charts that were popular during the time. [2]
Bacon and Hams was first published in 1917 by the Institute of Certificated Grocers and printed by Richard Clay & Sons of London. [3] A second edition was published in 1924. [9] The book was referred to with approbation by the Saskatchewan Overseas Livestock Marketing Commission which described it as an "admirable and important treatise". [1] Though the book has entered the public domain, it is rare and collectible. [10] The website Cooking Issues featured the obscure book, creating an interactive Adobe Flash animation of Nicholls's "unparalleled fold-out pig". [2]
Ham is pork from a leg cut that has been preserved by wet or dry curing, with or without smoking. As a processed meat, the term "ham" includes both whole cuts of meat and ones that have been mechanically formed.
Bacon is a type of salt-cured pork made from various cuts, typically the belly or less fatty parts of the back. It is eaten as a side dish, used as a central ingredient, or as a flavouring or accent.
Cumberland sausage is a pork sausage that originated in the historic county of Cumberland, England, now part of Cumbria. It is traditionally very long, up to 50 centimetres, and sold rolled in a flat, circular coil, but within western Cumbria, it is more often served in long, curved lengths.
The Gloucestershire Old Spots is an English breed of pig which is predominantly white with black spots. It is named after the county of Gloucestershire. The Gloucestershire Old Spots pig is known for its docility, intelligence, prolificity, and hardiness. Boars reach a mature weight of 600 lb (272 kg) and sows 500 lb (227 kg). The pigs are white with clearly defined black spots. There must be at least one spot on the body to be accepted in the registry. The breed's maternal skills enable it to raise large litters of piglets on pasture. Its disposition and self‑sufficiency should make it attractive for farmers raising pasture pigs and those who want to add pigs to diversified operations.
Jamón ibérico, "Iberian ham," is a variety of jamón or presunto, a type of cured leg of pork produced in Spain and Portugal.
The Large Black pig is a British breed of domestic pig. It is the only British pig that is entirely black. It was created in the last years of the nineteenth century by merging the black pig populations of Devon and Cornwall in the south-west with those of Essex, Suffolk and Kent in the south-east. It is hardy, docile and prolific; it forages well and is suitable for extensive farming, but not well suited to intensive management.
The Mangalica is a Hungarian breed of domestic pig. It was developed in the mid-19th century by crossbreeding breeds from the nearby Romanian Salonta and Hungarian Bakony with the European wild boar and the Serbian Šumadija breed. The Mangalica pig grows a thick, curly coat of hair. The only other pig breed noted for having a long coat is the extinct Lincolnshire Curly Coat pig of England.
Pig slaughter is the work of slaughtering domestic pigs which is both a common economic activity as well as a traditional feast in some European and Asian countries.
The British Saddleback is a modern British breed of domestic pig. It was created in 1967 by merging the surviving populations of two traditional saddleback breeds, the Essex and Wessex Saddleback. It is an endangered breed, listed on the watchlist of the Rare Breeds Survival Trust as at risk, the second-highest level of concern.
Pork is the culinary name for the meat of the pig. It is the most commonly consumed meat worldwide, with evidence of pig husbandry dating back to 5000 BCE.
The cuts of pork are the different parts of the pig which are consumed as food by humans. The terminology and extent of each cut varies from country to country. There are between four and six primal cuts, which are the large parts in which the pig is first cut: the shoulder, loin, belly and leg. These are often sold wholesale, as are other parts of the pig with less meat, such as the head, feet and tail. Retail cuts are the specific cuts which are used to obtain different kinds of meat, such as tenderloin and ham. There are at least 25 Iberian pork cuts, including jamón.
The Middle White is a British breed of domestic pig. It originated in Yorkshire, and derived from the Large White and the now-extinct Small White. It was recognised in 1852, and the first herd-book was published in 1884. It is a porker, reared for fresh pork, and is characterised by a short and sharply-upturned snout. After the Second World War it came close to extinction; although numbers have recovered somewhat, it is listed by the Rare Breeds Survival Trust as "priority" – the highest level of risk.
The British Landrace is a British domestic breed of pig and one of the most popular in the United Kingdom. It is pink with heavy drooping ears that cover most of the face and is bred for pork and bacon. The breed originated in the 1949 importation of 12 landrace pigs from Scandinavia — four boars and eight gilts. In 1950, the British Landrace Pig Society was formed and it opened a herd book for the first offspring born from the imported 12. They created the first pig testing scheme with a testing station at the village of Stockton-on-the-Forest in North Yorkshire.
Pork jowl is a cut of pork from a pig's cheek. Different food traditions have used it as a fresh cut or as a cured pork product. As a cured and smoked meat in America it is called jowl bacon or, especially in the Southern United States, hog jowl or "'joe meat"'. In the US, hog jowl is a staple of soul food, and there is a longer culinary tradition outside the United States; the cured non-smoked Italian variant is called guanciale.
The Institute of Certificated Grocers was incorporated on 11 November 1909 and its first registered offices were at 24 Bedford Sq, London.
The Large White Ulster, or Ulster White, was a breed of domestic pig. Primarily bred for bacon production, it was the favoured breed of farmers in the north of Ireland up until the mid 20th century.
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