Salting Pork

[santaman2000]

Cranberries are quite different from Lingonberries. More acidic in a sharp way. We got those in Scandinavia too, but nobody picts them.
Next time you venture into civilisation, try to find a swedish lingonberry sauce, Felix brand. Felix Lingonberry Sauce.
If the town is truly civilised, it will have an IKEA store with a Swedish Shop attached.

You don’t really “pick” cranberries (they are floating on the water when they’re harvested) You have to wade out to gather them if you aren’t doing it commercially.

The old fashioned way on small farms

The modern way on commercial large farms

 

[Janne]

They grow on marshes. Same everywhere. They flood the ’fields’ to make harvesting easier.
Saw it on tv. How Its Made maybe?

We used to pick cloudberries on those marshes, and also picked the odd Cranberry to make the Cloudberry jam ’last longer’, get more acidity and a nicer, reddish colour.
I hated picking the goddamn things.
Today we still pick Cloudberries, we have a secret place in Norway. But no Cranberries there.
Arctic Bramble and Crowberries yes. But you will not know what those are.

 

[santaman2000]

Sorry Janne. I was editing while you were replying.

 

[Robson Valley]

We have lingonberry and many varieties of blue berries, knee deep as far as you can see in the forest understory.
The very best fed wild Ruffed grouse on the planet. Strawberries, raspberries, Saskatoons, pin cherries, choke cherries.
Cranberries and elderberries, too. In season, go pick what you want for free, they all grow all over our landscape.
Hazel nuts down along the rivers. Hawthorn and Sorbus if you are really hard up.

What may become a far bigger and more serious issue will be the increasing populations of wild/feral pigs.
Then, I'm going to be bringing home the bacon. I'll require a semi permanent smoker house in the back yard.
Gifts to the neighbors will keep everyone fed and happy.

 

[Robson Valley]

The commercial cranberry of the Pacific Northwest is quite different from the wild species found along forest edges.

 

[Janne]

Sorry Janne. I was editing while you were replying.

No worries, superb vid!

I guess your wild one is very similar to ours.
The domesticated one we can buy fresh in plastic bags, or by the pound, loose, before Christmas.

I make my own sauce, goes well with roast pork. The canned one is ultra sweet.

 

[Janne]

We have lingonberry and many varieties of blue berries, knee deep as far as you can see in the forest understory.
The very best fed wild Ruffed grouse on the planet. Strawberries, raspberries, Saskatoons, pin cherries, choke cherries.
Cranberries and elderberries, too. In season, go pick what you want for free, they all grow all over our landscape.
Hazel nuts down along the rivers. Hawthorn and Sorbus if you are really hard up.

What may become a far bigger and more serious issue will be the increasing populations of wild/feral pigs.
Then, I'm going to be bringing home the bacon. I'll require a semi permanent smoker house in the back yard.
Gifts to the neighbors will keep everyone fed and happy.

Those pigs must be tasty. Use your 308W with an IR scope and silencer from your house.
A friend in Sweden does it. From his kitchen window.
He smokes them.

 

[santaman2000]

The feral hogs are edible, but that’s the best tjat can be said for them. Remember the earlier conversations about uncastrated male critters? The sows aren’t really much better. Very strong tasting.

 

[Robson Valley]

Lots of hand-wringing and fearful predictions, knowing the damage they do in the US and in Australia.
I have not heard of any local sightings at all. I expect 50 guys to be out, the first chance we get!
Then, we will have a piggy prep class or two with recipes.

 

[santaman2000]

Good luck. Once they get a foothold you can’t really control them; much less eliminate them.

 

[Janne]

The feral hogs are edible, but that’s the best tjat can be said for them. Remember the earlier conversations about uncastrated male critters? The sows aren’t really much better. Very strong tasting.

We do not have feral hogs in Europe, but the wild boar.
Same problems with them though. Destroy everything.

Adult males uneatable, old females the same.
Young females and very young males delicious though!

Best marinated in red wine with garlic and herbs, then slow roasted in a closed pan. High humidity.
Cream and herb sauce. Lingon berry or even better, Rovan berry jelly.

 

[Janne]

You guys should explore your African heritage, like I do.
Salt Porktail Soup, the way done in Jamaica.
Just had a bowl.

Then you should not forget your Central European Heritage, and try Headcheese, home made, from pork head.
Delish( ous) with a couple of slices of home baked, Horseradish and Apple mix. Sweet mustard.

As the Wise Women of old said, only the squeal should remain!

 

[santaman2000]

You guys should explore your African heritage, like I do........!

Y’all hear me commenting frequently about “Southern” food. Draw a big Vin diagram with the overlapping circles and you’ll get an understanding of the relationship between:
Circle #1, Southern food
Circle #2, Soul food (African-American food) and
Circle #3, country/farm food.

They’re totally interdependent.

 

[Janne]

A friend ( African-American) once tried to shock me telling me about food his grandma fed him as a child.
I told him that was the food MY mom fed us!


Czech/German/Hungarian Soul food......

 

[santaman2000]

Was that the pickled pigs’ feet? Chitterlings? Maybe brains and eggs? (Hog brains in scrambled eggs) Head cheese? (You mention d it earlier) All standard fare in a lot of cultures.

On the other hand the Southern/Soul food likely to be missing from European cultures would include okra, black-eyed peas, cornbread, and watermelon.

 

[Janne]

Personally I do not enjoy pickled trotters, I like them hot, with horseradish and apple, mustard plus a good Rye bread.
( It is traditional to eat boiled Pork bits, like hock, knee, head, trotters with the mix Apple and grated H. radish and so on)

When he came for dinner, it could be beef tripe, liver, kidneys , or any insides from pig.
Watermelon is very, very common in Europe. Okra and the b.e. peas not.

I think the main difference between those 'ethnic' foods is the way they are seasoned, spiced and herbed.
A huge difference.

 

[Robson Valley]

Patak's have done a very good analysis of regional food across India. Maps and all.
They started with street food then moved into homes and restautants.
What they sell allows me to pick and chose the condiments of greatest appeal.

Krinos did the very same for Greek food. I have all the papers somewhere.
I like Greek, nice to have my own grapes and grape leaves to cook with.

It maybe too late but I'd like to see something similar for South and Central America in particular.
Chef Bayless has done a lot of that for Mexico.

Fun to find the "pork" and read across cuisines.

 

[Janne]

https://www.themanual.com/food-and-drink/how-to-cure-prosciutto-at-home/

 

[Janne]

I think that Hugh F. - Whittingstall showed how to make a kind of prosciutto using wood ash?
Years ago as he still had long unruly hair?

 

[Keith_Beef]

As the Wise Women of old said, only the squeal should remain!

Everything but the squeal. A great book; I think I have the hardback US edition, picked up second hand years ago. I've read it several times.