Friday 31 May 2013

Freshers adds a new meat snack to the range...Mini Chorizo

The great taste of Spain can now be enjoyed with this ready to eat bite size meat snack. Sourced from the hills North West of Barcelona, mini chorizo is made up of 100% Spanish dry cured sausages and seasoned with tingling paprika and garlic. 
So if you fancy a filling tasty snack then mini chorizo is great for you! Or you can even fry it on the pan and mix it in with pasta or rice..delish! 

Freshers Mini Chorizo

Tuesday 14 May 2013

Pork Scratchings around the world

Today I will explore the different origins and adaptations of pork scratchings around the globe.

Here in the UK we refer to the fried pork rind as pork scratchings or pork crackling, most commonly, where as in other parts of the world this delicious treat is known as something entirely different, such as torresmos in Portugal.

Pork Scratchings around the world

United Kingdom - known as pork scratchings or pork crackling


USA & Vietnam - pork rind is the most common term for pork scratchings

Mexico - known as chicharron or cuerito, depending on region

Canada - known as scrunchions and oreilles de Christ which translated means Christ's ears (in the East province Quebec)

Philippines - known as chicharron and tsitsaron


Thailand - pork scratchings or should I better say khaep mu are sold in huge bags like these across the country

France - if you're in France and would like to try the equivalent of French scratchings, then ask for grattons

Portugal - torresmos and cuaratos are what the Portuguese refer to as scratchings

Spain - if you'd like to try some Spanish pork scratchings, then ask for cueritos or cortezas de cerdo

Belgium & Netherlands - fried pork rind is known as knabbelspek

Denmark - the pork crackling is called flaeskevaer

Other scratchings...
Gribenes are slightly different from traditionally fried pork rind as this Jewish snack is made from fried chicken skin. I can't comment to say whether it would be as good as the traditional pork scratchings, but I wouldn't mind giving them a go!

Super quick, super tasty Bacon Sandwich


This super quick and super tasty bacon sandwich is made from Freshers Bacon Jerky. 
If you've never heard of Bacon Jerky before (where have you been?) it's a totally unique ready-to-eat meat snack made from 100% sweet cured bacon, available in two delicious flavours: Original & BBQ. It truly is a tasty snack to munch on at work, at home, before the gym (it's very high in protein) and just anytime anywhere. But it can also be used to make super fast bacon sandwiches that take seconds, literally. 

So here's how:

Super Quick, Super Tasty Bacon Sandwich
To make 1 sandwich you will need:
- 1 packet of Freshers Bacon Jerky (Original or BBQ flavour)
- 2 pieces of bread (white or brown, it's up to you)
- Butter (optional)
- Ketchup/BBQ/Brown Sauce (optional)
- Microwave
- 2 plates

Method:
  1. Just like making an ordinary bacon sandwich, butter both pieces of bread (if you're using butter) and place onto a plate. 
  2. Next open the Freshers Bacon Jerky packet and tip the jerky onto another plate and place the plate into the microwave on FULL POWER for 20 seconds. Just count to 20 in your head, no point setting the timer. 
  3. Take the bacon jerky out of the microwave and if you're happy with it, transfer onto the bread. If you would like it more crispy, spin it in the microwave for another 10 seconds. 
  4. Add sauce onto the sandwich (if you wish) and Enjoy!!
The best thing for me about cooking up bacon jerky is that you can enjoy a hot sandwich any time anywhere (provided you have a microwave of course). No more cold sandwiches at work and no more waiting around for ages for the grill to heat up etc. Result!

- The Chatty Pig

Wednesday 1 May 2013

Celebrity Pigs

This post is dedicated to the top 10 famous celebrity pigs.

See if you can name them before you scroll down the list. (Note these are not in preference order)
Enjoy!

1. Porky Pig












Warner Bros' Looney Tunes introduced us to a range of famous characters such as Bug Bunny, Daffy Duck, Tweety Bird and Porky Pig of course, across various episodes. Porky Pig is best remembered for his catch phrase 'That's all folks!'.

2. Piglet
The cute fictional character from A. A. Milne's Winnie the Pooh books. Despite being a very small animal, Piglet tries to be brave and conquers his fears. Since the release of Disney's film Winnie The Pooh and the Honey Tree in 1966, Piglet has gone from strength to strength. He's got a whole range of merchandise from PJs to mugs to pens. He's even starred in his very own movie Piglet's Big Movie. And if that's not impressive enough, Piglet was also extremely famous across Eastern Europe in the Soviet adaptation of Winnie The Pooh Винни-Пух.



3. Pumbaa
Disney's favourite warthog, Pumbaa made his first appearance in The Lion King. As part of a funny wise cracking duo with his partner in crime Timon, the comical characters live a carefree adventurous life. Pumbaa is the slightly dopier character of the two, nonetheless he is kind hearted and will go to any legths to save his friends. Following the success of The Lion King, Timon and Pumbaa went off to star in their very own TV series Timon and Pumbaa and the Lion King sequels. Both characters also make regular appearances in Disney's House of Mouse.


4. Miss Piggy

 A true super star from The Muppet Show. Although Miss Piggy initially was a minor character, her capricious nature and feminine charm led her to become one of the central characters. Since the TV show, Miss Piggy has gone on to star in numerous films including The Muppet Movie, The Muppet Christmas Carol and The Muppet Treasure Island. She has also performed with The Jonas Brothers, Olly Murs on the X Factor and has appeared as a fashion judge on Project Runway: All Stars.


5. Three Little Pigs
The Three Little Pigs is one of the most famous and traditional fairy tales of all time. First published in 1890 by Joseph Jacobs in English Fairytales, The Three Little pigs is a story of how three pigs build houses of different materials to protect themselves from the Big Bad Wolf. The protagonists of the story have gone on to appear in different adaptations of the traditional tale, including musicals and a song by Green Jelly, with most recent appearance in the Shrek films.


6. Hamm
This wise cracking pig is from one of the best Disney Pixar animation films Toy Story. Hamm is essentially a piggy bank that spends his days playing games such as Battle Ship with his toy peers. Voiced by John Ratzenberger, Hamm makes a memorable appearance in all three Toy Story films.


7. Spider Pig











Spider Pig is the little pet pig featured in The Simpsons Movie. Although he makes a very short appearance in the film, he is well remembered for the Spider Pig song which is an adaptation of Spiderman of course.


8. Babe
This pig is the cute little piglet from the 1995 film Babe, which tells a story of a pig that wants to be a sheepdog. Based on the 1983 novel The Sheep-Pig, Babe was a huge success at the Box Office.The film was nominated for seven awards, winning Best Visual Effects award. The pig, Babe, returned to our screens in three years later in a exciting sequel Babe: Pig in the City.


9. Wilbur
A celebrity pig that made his claim to fame in a children's novel Charlotte's Web. Since the novel Wilbur has gone on to star in an animated film adaptation of the book, a blockbuster starring Dakota Fanning and a spin off video game based on the story.




10. Hamilton
This celebrity pig plays Hamilton in a Canadian/ American cartoon Maggie and Ferocious Beast, which is based on the books by Michael Paraskevas. Although Hamilton plays a supportive role in the TV series, he is nonetheless a memorable character. He is the best cook in Nowhere land and a bit of clean freak, and although he can be quite bossy he has a warm heart.  If you have never seen Maggie and the Ferocious Beast, you can catch it on Nick Jr.


And that's the top 10 celebrity pigs. How many did you manage to name?