I first came across German bread spice in the Paderborn Rye bread recipe given in the excellent book “The Rye Baker” by Stanley Ginsberg. It is a wildly aromatic blend of spices (and much more interesting than using just caraway). When I smelled it after a spin in the spice gr, I knew it would work in a snack stick. I decided to add some Butterkäse cheese from Germany via Aldi and reduced the fat to compensate.
I wrote about Polony back in 2013 and said that I wasn’t happy with my recipe and that it needed more work. It got forgotten about and life got in the way.
I’ve now had a chance to revisit it. The recipe below is an amalgamation of ones in old books, mainly those by Frank Gerrard, such as The Book of the Meat Trade. I’ve looked at 11 recipes in all; there are startling similarities between some of them – I guess that plagiarism was alive and well back then!
I know that “self-praise is no praise”, but I’m pleased with the result. The texture’s fine; it was too soft before. The spicing is fine as is, but I’m going to reduce the cinnamon slightly next time. I’ve put the amended amount below.
The NHS website advises that: “Diets high in ultra-processed foods have been linked to an increased risk of health conditions such as obesity, type 2 diabetes and heart disease”. This begs the question: “Why is nearly all commercially made bread in this country ultra-processed, including that used in NHS hospitals?” It is a great shame that the government isn’t more proactive in doing something about it.
It’s for this reason that I make my own bread. Wholemeal bread is far better for us than white, there’s just one problem: I don’t like wholemeal toast! This recipe is my attempt at a compromise. A white-flour bread that also has a decent amount of fibre.
It’s amazing the things that get discussed in my old local. If they televised it, people would say it’s too daft to be believable!
Anyway, the subject of Blackberry vinegar has come up a couple of times.
The consensus on the basic recipe is:
Continue reading Blackberry Vinegar
This is not the confit duck of French tradition, where the legs sit in duck fat as a preserving method.
This is a lighter version that still gives a tender duck with crispy skin, but with less salt and a little less fat. In the four major UK supermarkets, the fat costs more per kilo than the legs!
Continue reading Duck Confit – a lighter version
This chicken and rice mix is a great base for burritos. It’s also good in stuffed vegetables, as a soup base, or even on its own. The method may seem a little unusual, but it’s to keep it low-fat. On the UK Government’s ‘traffic light’ labelling system, it’s green in all categories. It also has good protein levels, based on calculations, of 13.5 g per 100 g.
Get the recipes…I like to think this recipe for ribs was the natural outcome of making porchetta. To make porchetta, a pork middle is deboned and seasoned with salt and pepper, fresh herbs, and fennel seeds. The belly is wrapped around the loin with the skin still attached and the whole roll is slowly roasted. But what of the ribs? They got the same seasoning and were taken home by the butcher. Now we have the convenience of just buying the ribs and starting from there.
