No, we’re not talking about the art of going to see The Cure live in a darkened gig venue, nor are we suggesting cures for world peace. We are of course talking about the fine, and ancient art of curing food. Namely, our spoiltpig outdoor bred, British, RSPCA Assured, raised without antibiotics pork to make delicious dry cured back and streaky bacon.
An Art
And an ancient art it truly is. Sumerians as far back as 3000 BC had amongst other things, salted dried meat as a staple part of their diet. Indeed, whilst we are lucky enough to live in a day and age full of refrigerators, freezers and kitchen gadgets galore, back in ye olden days, salt was the main source of food preservation. Greeks began mass-producing salt in ‘salt gardens’ around 900 BC specifically to supply the demand for salt curing and smoking of meats and fish. A few hundred years later the Romans cottoned on to this method of preservation and so, over the years, curing became an established process amongst different cultures and societies.
Curing had most definitely evolved into an art rather than just a science by the early 1800s. Move forward 100 years, and in the early twentieth century we started to understand the role salt plays not only in preservation of, but also the colour and flavouring of foods.
The spoiltpig dry cure
Ultimately, the lesson is that dry curing makes our bacon taste delicious! At spoiltpig the dry curing technique involves a unique mixture of dry sea salt, nitrite and Vitamin C, which we then lovingly massage into the loins and bellies of our pork. Not wanting to detract too much from the natural flavour of our outdoor bred meat, we keep salt levels low and then allow to cure for 2-3 weeks before slicing it up for you lucky people to cook up and enjoy.
So go forth, eat our award winning dry cured bacon and feel content in the knowledge that you are eating something that has undergone a process as ancient as the Sumerians. In your modern kitchen. Listening to The Cure. It may not cure world peace but it’ll make the world a happier place for a few minutes. Stop reading now.
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