Charcuterie and French Pork Cookery – Jane Grigson

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The best way to describe reviewing Jane Grigson's Charcuterie and French pork cookery is as a labour of love. I tried hard to remain impartial but almost every turn of the page revealed absolute gems of recipes, tips and methods. > The book sets out to encourage and reinstate the use of the pig back into English kitchens - reason enough to for writing such a masterpiece. This is a book that any amateur or processional chef alike would count as a favourite, not because of pretty photos (there are none) but because it is so informative and well written. So many times when I look to put a dish together it usually consists of a hunt around quite a few sources to find what I need. With this book its all there, the inspiration, the background to the dish and often two or three recipes for a particular item. The recipes, themselves, span the making of chorizo sausages to the home production of Bayonne hams. And the book clearly discusses the making of terrines, pates and galantines, giving simple short rules needed to produce good results. The style of writing is unique in that it feels that you have someone on hand to help, steering you through the recipe, avoiding unnecessary technical terms and instead using universal words and phrases eg "whirling ingredients together", "simmering and not galloping a stock". Most importantly Grigson encourages you to attempt dishes insisting, for example, that making a sausage is a simple affair then following this statement up with recipe after recipe for saucisse fume, saucisse de campagne and saussicon sec. With the skill shortages putting ever increasing pressure on this profession I feel that a young cook would be able to take advantage of the wealth of teachings included in this text. Come to that I am off to have a go at the Galantine de Cochon de Lait p.113! Â Chris Galvin, head chef, Orrery, London Charcuterie and French Pork Cookery - Jane Grigson. Grub Street £14.99 ISBN 1-902304-88-8 (Reprint published October: originally published 1967)