Year: 2022

New video: How to make crunchy pig skin.
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These treats are light, ridiculously crunchy and so good. And they are made from pig skin…something that, before @mereleighfood showed me what was possible, I would have discarded.
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Watching the frankly magical process of a pan of hot lard transforming dense leathery pig skin into puffy ‘ancestral popcorn’ is a wonder. Having made these, I’m asking my farmer for the skin every time now 🙂
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I’ve made a video showing step-by-step what I do. You can find it (and written instructions) by clicking on the first button in the ‘recipes’ section of my profile link.

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I strive to create beauty with my food explorations and I love it when someone takes my version of beauty and makes something even better by adding theirs!
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Mary at @bigbank2riverbank took my sowans course over the @thefermentationschool and look what she’s made! My pics made me swoon…thank you Mary, can’t wait to see what you make next!

Reposted from @bigbank2riverbank Sowans sourdough and a swig of swats. Say that ten times fast!

Or don’t and just make this beautiful and healthy ancient fermented ‘haute’ oat cuisine that I continue to be excited to have learned about through @ancestral_kitchen and @thefermentationschool.

This is a wheat and malted buckwheat loaf with a sowans scald (fermented oat endosperm), for a distinctly zingy taste and super soft crumb, as well as swats (the resulting probiotic drink) as part of its high hydration. Finally, it’s coated in the oat flakes and fermented overnight.
A mini loaf that packs a punch of delicious flavours -my Munro ancestors would be pleased.

#sowans #swats #sourdoughbaker #fermentista #scottishfood #zerowaste #sourdough #buckwheatmalt #baker #fermentedoats #fermentationschool

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Today’s podcast episode is all about fat.
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Listen in to hear us talk about why fats are important, the fats we use in our kitchen (and why) and the fats we avoid.
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The mainstream health narrative about fat has been so wrong for so long. It’s harming our bodies and planet (but, as with most of these examples, making a few people a lot of money).
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If you like this episode, please share it. The more people turn back to delicious, nutritious, traditional, locally-processed fats, the better the world will be 🙂

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How do you render lard?
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I do mine by dicing the fat so it looks like this and then putting it into my slow cooker. I leave it for a few hours and then drain off the liquid that has formed by pouring the contents through a metal sieve into a bowl. I then return the diced fat to the slow cooker continue the cooking.
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I repeat this draining and replacing until the pieces of fat that are left are tiny, golden brown and solid.
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I was interested to watch @thefunctionalforce’s reel last week where Ximena used salt and water in the process (and does more than one render using the later ones to make fat for skin products).
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And I was reading the ‘fats’ section of Food in England by Dorothy Hartley this weekend where yet another process is described.
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I’d love to hear about your way.

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Flaking whole oat groats today in order to make Sowans, the traditional Scottish oat fermentation that results in both a porridge and a probiotic drink.
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Oat growers in Scotland would have historically made this ferment with what was left *after* the processing of their sacks of oats at the local mill. They’d take their grains in and get two bags back – one as the rolled oats and the other was the ‘crumbs’ that were left over. Not wanting to waste, it’s these crumbs that they fermented to make Sowans.
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I don’t grow oats and I don’t have access to the crumbs left over when they are milled…but I do have a Marcato Marga grinder that allows me to flake the oats and then use the crumbs to recreate this amazing ferment!
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It’ll be 5 days until this is ready. I’m a bit of an extreme fermenter and I like my food sour 🙂
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I’ve a course on how to make Sowans (whatever equipment you do or don’t have) over at @the fermentation school. There’s a link to it in my profile.

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A squeeze shot of yesterday’s wholegrain spelt sourdough with a barley scald!
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So much to love about the sense-filling process of sourdough baking. I revel in sticky fingers, smelling my starter, shaping the dough, slicing through the crunchy crust and then giving it a squeeze 🙂
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Lots of sourdough spelt recipes in my profile. All squeezable!

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Spelt sourdough with a barley scald. I love putting a portion of scalded flour in my doughs and the flavour of barley goes beautifully with nutty spelt.
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Videos today in my story where you can see the barley being ground and this dough before baking.
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I’m recording with @farmandhearth this afternoon for the podcast and will be cutting into this loaf for my tea afterwards 🙂

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We’ve been waiting excitedly for these green coffee beans from @mountelgoncoffeeandhoneycoop. They arrived Friday so this weekend was coffee roasting!
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I drink green coffee only, but my hubby, Rob, drinks it dark and loves to roast at home.
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Here are the beans going into the pre-heated cast iron pan. They’ll take about 60 minutes, during which we usually read out loud as a family whilst appreciating the roasting aromas!
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Rob loves roasting his own beans because it’s healthier (less acrylamides, less change of mold), he feels better (no sleep issues and more vibrant feeling in his body after drinking) and it’s tastier (freshly roasted tastes so much better).
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In addition, buying directly from the people who grew it (in such a cool way) feels good.
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Roasting at home was so much more prevalent just a few generations back. Do you home-roast? Or have you tried home-roasted?

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