Bacon Curing Systems: From Antiquity till Now.

Bacon Curing Systems: From antiquity till Now.
Eben van Tonder
18 June 2021
(Revised 4 June 2023)

Introduction

In the development of bacon curing technology, four iconic curing methods stand between the old dry-cured system and the modern system of the direct addition of nitrites to curing brines and the latest development which is the fermentation of meat creating nitric oxide directly from L-Arginine without the use of nitrate or nitrite. In my book on the history of bacon curing technology, Bacon & the Art of Living, the following chapters are dedicated to these different systems of curing.

In my book, I presented the story in narrative form. This style may be annoying to some but it proved to be a very useful investigative technique as it forced me to think through every process in the 1st person and allowed me to see relationships between seemingly unconnected bits of technology in a completely new and holistic way. By, as it were, “living in the moment,” I gained insights I would never have seen if I simply reported the features of each system separately.

Bacon by Robert Goodrich. A man who inspires me more than he can imagine!

The Progression of Curing Systems

Here are different chapters that deal with the various stages in the progression of curing systems.

– Dry Cured Bacon

The bacon curing system existed for hundreds of years and included only dry ingredients and later dry ingredients with wet brine added.

– The Empress of Russia’s Brine

During the time of Catherine, the Great of Russia, salt was heavily taxed. She had a lively interest in the latest developments in food technology and the excessive cost of salt was a major concern for her. It was under her rule that she or someone in her court suggested that instead of discarding old used brine, the brine should be boiled, impurities removed, and it should be used repeatedly. Her brine, called the Empress of Russia’s Brine contained salt, sugar and saltpetre. Bacterial reduction of saltpetre (nitrates) to nitrites in the old brine would have caused the curing of subsequent batches to be sped up considerably.

Westphalia hams were famous for their use of the Empress of Russia’s brine from a time before it was introduced in Ireland and the cold smoking process which was unlike anything being done at the time when “chimney smoking” was the order of the day.

– Mild Cured Bacon

Mild Cured Bacon is the industrialisation of bacon production. Invented by William Oake in Northern Ireland some time before 1837, a key concept namely the re-use of the old brine was a progression of the Russian brine of Catherine.

William Oake’s main progression of Catherina the Great’s brine was “not to boil” the brine between batches and all that was required was to replenish the salt, sugar and nitrates (saltpetre) as was prescribed by Catherine the Great. Interestingly enough, he managed to eliminate curing from a technical perspective by adding sal prunella to the brine which contains sulphites. The result was preservation, but not through curing. The bacteria were impacted by the sulphites and nitrate was not reduced to nitrite. This reduction happens microbially or through enzymes in mammalian physiology. In curing, these enzymes are active in bacteria which reduces the amino acids in the meat protein. This is unfortunately a long process as is witnessed in dry-cured systems where only salt is used. So, in Oake’s system curing did not take place and his bacon was pale.

At the time (mid-1800s) in the UK, a lot of work was done to convince the public that “paled bacon is healthy bacon”. One of the biggest curers to have ever lived, Aron Vecht, described why this was seen as healthier in an interview which I publish in “Interview with Aron Vecht 1894.” He lived through these marketing campaigns as a child in London and he reflects on this in his interview.

Bacteriology was in its infancy and the dissemination of knowledge of them was not universal and in England, the mechanisms and chemistry in curing and the effect of bacteria on the process were poorly understood as you will see if you read Vechts interview. The result of all of this was, as impactful as Oake’s system was on industrialising bacon production, the result was pale bacon.

– Sweet Cured Bacon

Invented by Harris in Calne, early in the 1840s, the “sweet” in the name for the system and Oake’s “mild” refers to the same thing namely a less harsh salty taste. Both Harris and Oake, at around the same time addressed the same issue in two different ways. Harris did not reuse the old brine but a combination of smokehouse development, the inclusion of brine soaking in the curing process and the injection of meat allowed them to reduce the salt levels, yielding a “sweeter”, less salty brine.

– Pale Dried Bacon and Wiltshire Curing or Tank Cured Bacon

Pale dried bacon was invented under John Harris in Calne in the 1890s and without a doubt in response to the success of mild cured bacon by William Oake and the marketing campaigns which persuaded the public that pale bacon is healthier bacon. In pale dried bacon, the bacon is dried without smoking it. Over time the curers in Wiltshire with the help of work from the University of Bristol “corrected” the Oake system by removing the sulphites and further used the system almost completely unchanged which yielded what became known as Wiltshire curing or Tank curing in the closing years of the 1800s or early 1900s.

Wiltshire Cured and Ice-Cured Bacon

Before the Wiltshire cure was firmly established, the Harris operation launched Ice Cured bacon which incorporates refrigeration technology into meat curing.

– Auto Cured-, Rapid Cured- and Tank Cured Bacon

Auto curing was invented by William Harwood Oake, the son of William Oake from Limerick in Ireland who invented mild curing. William Harwood Oake brought mild curing to England when he opened a curing operation with two partners in Gillingham, Dorset. He invented auto curing which is a progression of Rapid Cure invented by Robert Davison, an Englishman working in America.

– The Vecht’s Curing Method and Mild Curing by Henry Denny

Henry Denny from Ireland invented a mechanical method of singeing pork and used refrigeration to achieve less salty bacon. His process was effectively copied by the Dutch Orthodox Jewish master curer, Aron Vecht, who incorporated this into the Oake’s system, retaining the use of sal prunella and yielding pale meat. His intention was not always to produce bacon as he was responsible for supplying what was called mess pork to the shipping industries. He used the system to create bacon also and established curing operations and bacon brands in New Zealand and Australia. He did not only copy but also made important progressions based on the use of refrigeration.

– The Direct Addition of Nitrite

The work thus far was focussing on an “indirect” formation of nitrite. Ladislav NACHMÜLLNER invented the first curing brine legally sold containing sodium nitrites directly in 1915 in Prague. The system was made popular around the globe by the Griffiths Laboratories. The direct addition of nitrites to curing Brines is covered in two chapters namely:

– Grid Bacon

A system pioneered in Germany in the early 2000s. This final article of interest is not part of Bacon & the Art of Living, but it fits here because it represents the latest thinking about the most modern curing system.

– Bacterial Fermentation of Meat

Where nitrite was previously accessed in England through brine fermentation, it has been discovered in recent years that bacteria are able to ferment the meat itself and create Nitric Oxide from the proteins in the meat to effect curing. I dealt with this probably the most extensively in Chapter 02.00: The Curing Molecule.

Doing this summary made me realise that I need to add the following chapters.

  • A chapter dealing with the quest to “commercialise” a brine system using bacterial fermentation. Together with Richard Bosman in a South African company we appropriately called Oake Woods (Pty) Ltd, we are actively involved in this pursuit.
  • I realise that I also must do a chapter dealing with plant-based curing where nitrate is accessed through bacteria to produce nitrite and thus cure meat. There are major benefits to this system, but Richard and I are not satisfied with it but seek to provide nitrite-free bacon through continued bacterial action. Like the fermentation brine, our work is housed in Oake Woods. We commercialise this through BeetBacon.

From Antiquity Till Now: Health Considerations and History

The final chapters of Bacon & the Art of Living put the health considerations and the future development of bacon in perspective. Even though Richard and I are heavily involved in creating nitrite-free bacon, the fact is that nitrite itself is not something to be frowned upon under all circumstances. In the closing chapters, I deal head-on with this matter and provide the vision and road map to changing bacon into a super-food.

The Story of Bacon

I summarise the development of curing in one chapter in Bacon &the Art of Living:

Generally, what you have in Bacon & the Art of Living is the most complete work on the history of bacon in existence! I have to say something about the plotline. The story takes place in the 2000s with each character referring to a real person and actual events. The theme is a kind of “steampunk” where modern mannerisms, speech, clothes and practices are superimposed on a historical setting. The characters are modern people, most of whom are based on real people and they interact with old historical figures with all the historical and cultural bias that goes with this. As the title indicates, it is far more than only the history of bacon as it relates these events to a personal quest to find purpose in life through the pursuit of bacon. In the process family, friends and concepts such as nationalism and faith are examined in a way relevant to the pursuit of excellence.


The index page to Bacon & the Art of Living: Bacon & the Art of Living


“Canadian Bacon” by Kevin Clees. A master at the art and a true inspiration!


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The complete history of bacon.

William and William Harwood Oake

William and William Harwood Oake
By Eben van Tonder
10 July 2021

From Worth, R. N.. Jan 1888. Tourist’s Guide to Somersetshire: Rail and Road. E. Stanford

Introduction

It’s been a while now since the early hours one Monday morning when I learned the name of the man who invented mild cured bacon, William Oake. All I knew about him is that he was a pharmacist from Ulster in Northern Ireland. I was reviewing my book on the history of bacon curing, Bacon & the Art of Living. I had just worked through the chapter where I give my historical review of bacon curing, Chapter 12.09: The Curing Reaction. I worked through the progression of mild cured bacon to pale dried bacon and tank curing. Just before tank curing, I included Auto Curing in the review. Something about the timing and the sparse description of the process did not sit well with me. I knew that the re-use of old brine was in its infancy in England in the 1820s and 1830s from a quote from The Complete Grazier where the reference speaks about it in very tentative forms and says that the brine can be re-used twice. In 1852 Youatt gives a far more confident reference to the reuse of old brine. I knew that that reusing old brine was part and parcel of the auto curing system of bacon production which, by 1861 was already in use in England, Sweden, Denmark, and Canada. 

The adoption of the mild curing system by C & T Harris only took place in the second half of the 1800s. By 1861 auto cure was already in use in England which relies on a complete re-use of old brine. Why did they not work the concepts of tank curing out long before the end of the decade? Besides these, I was still wrestling with the question if Oake was the one to rely on a continual re-use of the old brine. Was this his invention, so to speak? If I take that out of the equation, then it reduced the uniqueness of the mild curing system and it would mean that there was not much of a difference between mild curing and the sweet cured system of C & T Harris.

These questions plague me. I was sure I am missing something. If Oake was the one who started re-using the old brine repeatedly and if this is one of the features of auto curing, I wondered if there is a link between Oake and auto curing. There had to be! It was around 19:00 on Tuesday evening, 6 July 2021 when I started searching a combination of auto curing and William Oake and an explosion of information followed. Unfortunately for me, I had just figured out that the Maillard Reaction was responsible for unexpected results in my MDM replacement product I was working on and the rest of the night was spend intermitted searching for information on Oake and Auto Curing and frantically reviewing the Maillard reaction! Needless to say that I did not get much sleep that night, but what an absolutely glorious night it has been!

I dedicate this article then to William Oake and his son, William Harwood Oake. William should be celebrated and I share what I have been able to uncover about his life. I also reveal that his son was the inventor of auto cured bacon. I want to immediately extend an invitation to anybody with more information to share it and in particular to their extended family who may have valuable source material. The English factory started by Howard Oake only closed in the 1980s and there should still be many people from Gillingham who have first-hand recollections of the process and his factory.

Mild Cured Bacon

William Oak invented mild cured bacon and the essence of the invention centred around the power of the salts he used in the brine. The initial information came to me from The Journal of Agriculture and Industry of South Australia, edited by Molineux, General Secretary of Agriculture, South Australia, Volume 1 covering August 1897 – July 1898 and printed in Adelaide by C. E. Bristow, Government Printer in 1898.  By the time of writing in 1897 and 1898, William Oake has already passed away.

A second reference comes to us from the Cape of Good Hope (Colony). Dept. of Agriculture, VOL . VIII . 1896. Published for the Department of Agriculture, Cape of Good Hope by WA Richards & Sons, Government Printers, Castle Street, Cape Town. It quotes the same paper published in Australia in 1889. It refers to a paper that was read at a congress of the South Australian Agricultural Bureau on pig-breeding and bacon-curing by Mr TN Grierson of Bodolla, New South Wales.

“There is at the present time a new process coming into vogue, which is attracting considerable attention amongst bacon-curers. The process is called the “mild cure.” The discoverer of the new process of curing was, it appears, an eminent chemist – the late Mr William Oake, of Ulster. In the course of an experiment, he discovered that the antiseptic properties of salt were found in nature apart from chloride of sodium (salt) and that the obnoxious effects of dissolving the albumen in the curing process could, therefore, be avoided. This is really the key to the new system of curing. By the new process of treatment, it is said that the bacon and hams, although thoroughly cured with the very essence of salt, still retain all the albumen originally in the meat, and yet do not taste salty to the pallet. By the new process, the lean of the cured bacon remains soft and juicy, and natural in colour; and the best proof of the value of the system is in the fact that where mild cure has been adopted the bacon and hams will keep for any length of time in any climate. A great deal of labour, it is said, is saved by the new process, while the article put on the market is declared to be much superior in taste and flavour quality to bacon cured on the old system.” ( Department of Agriculture, Cape of Good Hope, 1896)

A definition of albumen from 1896 defines it as follows. “Albumen is a substance found in the blood and the muscle. It is soluble in cold water and is coagulated by hot weather or heat. It starts to coagulate at 134 deg F (57 deg C) and becomes solid at 160 deg F (71 deg C).” It is distinguished from fibrin which is the substance in blood that causes it to coagulate when shed. “It consists of innumerable delicate fibrils which entangle the blood corpuscles, and from with them, a mass called blood clot. Fibrin is insoluble in both cold and hot water.” (Farmer, 1896). Albumin, with an “i”, in the modern use of the term refers to “any of a class of simple, sulfur-containing, water-soluble proteins that coagulate when heated, occurring in egg white, milk, blood, and other animal and vegetable tissues and secretions.” (Dictionary)

Albumen, therefore, refers to meat juices in particular. It is then the opaque fluid found plentifully in eggs, meats, fish and succulent vegetables, especially asparagus. (Gejnvic) It is the red substance that oozes from our steaks when we fry it and is mostly myoglobin, a protein from muscle tissue.

The reason why the meat juices do not leach from the meat is simply a function of the brine which surrounds the meat and comes down to the matter of partial pressure. Bristow gives us the real reason for the effectiveness of the system in terms of the speed and consistency of curing when he says “the same pickle can be used for many years – the older the better; it only requires, when it becomes somewhat muddy, to be boiled and clarified.” He follows this statement by saying that he has “seen pickle which had been used in one factory for 16 years, and that factory produces some of the best bacon and hams in Australia.”

There is no question that the preservative that William Oake observed is saltpetre, reduced to nitrite. In the detailed process description given, Oake insisted that the blood be drained properly. I give the full system as described by Bristow in note 1. The meat is cut up and notice that Oake’s system called for “the portions [to be] (are) laid on the floor of the factory (which should be made of concrete or flagged), flesh uppermost, and lightly powdered over with saltpetre, so as to drain off any blood.”

Here he does not use salt. He only uses saltpetre. After this step the pork cuts are “placed in the tanks” and he now introduces salt (NaCl) for the first time. He writes, “for salting. . . — sprinkle the bottom of the tank with salt, then put in a layer of sides or flitches, sprinkle saltpetre over them lightly, and then salt and sugar. The next layer of sides or flitches is put in crosswise and served in the same way, and so on until the tank is full. Then place a lid to fit inside the tank (inch battens 3in. apart will do); fix an upright on top of the lid to keep the bacon from rising when putting in the pickle.”

Now let’s consider the makeup of the pickle. He says that it is prepared as follows: “To every 10lbs. of salt add 8lbs. of dark-brown sugar, lib. of spice, and 1/2lb. of sal-prunella. Make it strong enough to float an egg; let it settle for some time, then skim, and it is ready to go on to the meat.” Let us pause for a second and clearly understands what is meant by sal-prunella. Sal-Prunella is, according to Errors of Speech or Spelling by E. Cobham Brewer, Vol II, published by William Tegg and Co, London, 1877, a mixture of refined nitre and soda.  Nitre, as used at this time was refined saltpetre used in the manufacturing of explosives.

Let us again quote Oake through Bristow when he says that “in the course of an experiment he (Oake) discovered that the antiseptic properties of salt were found in nature apart from chloride of sodium (salt) and that the obnoxious effects of dissolving the albumen in the curing process could, therefore, be avoided. This is really the key to the new system of curing.”

Based on these statements I am convinced that what William Oake was testing for was to identify the exact substance which is responsible for preservation of the meat. He tested the salt and that is not it. Salt preserves primarily through the drying effect it has on meat. He no doubt tested saltpetre and as experiments from the 1920s confirmed, by itself, it is a very poor preservative. However, there was a preserving power that developed in the brine which he clearly did not understand. It is due to this, I firmly believe, that I make the vague statement that he “discovered that the antiseptic properties of salt were found in nature apart from chloride of sodium (salt).” He knew it was something that was added to the salt and based on the priority he gives saltpetre in the application of the different salts, I believe he had a suspicion that it had something to do with the saltpetre but by itself, he knew that it was not it! Still, there is an “antiseptic” mechanism at work that is from nature but his vague wording at this point clearly shows that he is uncertain as to what it is exactly. In the cure, there is “antiseptic properties of salt were found in nature apart from chloride of sodium (salt).”

When I started this journey, I was very reluctant to say that Oake’s main characteristic of his mild cured system is the repeated re-use of the old brine. I could not come to that conclusion precisely because I very dearly wanted that to be the conclusion. I, therefore, forced myself to find other options besides this and I refused to concede the point until such a time arrives when I am forced by the overwhelming weight of the clear evidence to say that to Oake goes the credit for using the power of old brines in a system of curing where the older the brine is, the better! Such a time has now arrived where I can say that the preponderance of evidence forces me to make this one simple conclusion that William Oake came to the understanding of the power of the repeated use of old brines albeit that being achieved without a full understanding of the mechanisms which was not understood at that time. This is absolutely and comprehensively remarkable!

Therefore, look at my handling of the matter in my 2019 article when I was first introduced to Oake, Tank Curing Came From Ireland. The best explanation I could give of exactly what made mild curing so revolutionary was the overall system that he developed by taking known techniques from his time and ordering it in a better way so that the outcome of the work would be better. You can see how I tried to avoid the conclusion that Oake pioneered the multiple re-uses of the old brine! I now believe that the former statement is still correct related to his ordering of the different components in the work of curing bacon in a better way and that it holds up to evaluation and scrutiny, but by far the biggest feature in his new system was the repeated re-use of the old brine. For this reason, I now choose to retain the original articles I have written and I will simply amend it with a note referencing this article and my better and fuller conclusion on the matter.

Another point that must be made and which is probably far more important than I ever realised is that the genius of Oake was not just what he used in his brine, but what he omitted. From the Sessional Papers, Volume 34, Page 204, Great Britain. Parliament. House of Commons,1902, we have the statement about Oake’s invention “to meet the increased demand for mild – cured goods without the use of modern preservatives.” This means that Oake is not just responsible for the repeated reuse of the old brine but for omitting any other preservative from bacon. It was then his work that was directly responsible for steering the course of the development of curing technology away of artificial preservatives and keeping the process, unbeknownst to him, close to the natural processes which take place in meat in dead matter and in living animals and humans. Sure, at this time Oake and Harris used borax or boric acid as preservatives in their hams, but Oake identified another preserving principle from nature which we now know as nitrite!

Its Roots

The first clue I got that there was something distinctly different to Oakes system of continued reuse of the brine from anything that was in use at the time came to me from an 1830 edition of The Complete Grazier. The report says that wet cure is more expensive than dry cure unless the brine is re-used. First, the meat is well rubbed with fine salt. A liquor is then poured over the meat and “though the preparation of such brine may, at first sight appear more expensive than that prepared in the common way, yet we think it deserves a preference, as it may be used a second time with advantage if it be boiled, and a proportionate addition be made of water, and the other ingredients above mentioned.” (The Complete Grazier, 1830: 304)

The concept of reusing the power of old brine is something that has been known in England from at least the 1820s or possibly many years earlier. The Complete Grazier (1830) says that liquid brine may appear to be more expensive than if it is done “in the common way” which in the context should refer to dry curing or rubbing a mixture of dry ingredients onto the meat. The edition of the Complete Grazier referred to is from the 5th edition which means that by this time, the description may already be 5 years old if it appeared in the 1st edition. Notice the comment that the brine can be used “a second time.” The continued reuse of the brine was not what the author in the Complete Grazier was describing. The practice of reusing old brine in England of 1820 and 30 was a far cry from the complete system of William Oake from the same time in Ireland where the multiple (continues) re-uses of old brines were part of Oakes complete mild cured system.

I must also add that in the system that Oake developed the brine was no longer boiled after every use which has a major impact on the microorganisms responsible for the reduction of saltpetre which is added before the brine is re-used. By not boiling the brine after every use, a distinct microflora develops.

The inspiration to re-use old brine was European with its roots in Westphalia in Germany. William Youatt who compiled the Complete Grazier restates this process in his 1852 work, Pigs: A Treatise on the Breeds, Management, Feeding and Medical Treatment of Swine; with directions for salting pork, and curing bacon and Hams. He says that “the annexed system is the one usually pursued in Westphalia : — ” Six pounds of rock salt, two pounds of powdered loaf sugar, three ounces of saltpetre, and three gallons of spring or pure water, are boiled together. This should be skimmed when boiling, and when quite cold poured over the meat, every part of which must be covered with this brine. Small pork will be sufficiently cured in four or five days; hams, intended for drying, will be cured in four or five weeks, unless they are very large. This pickle may be used again and again, if it is fresh boiled up each time with a small addition to the ingredients. Before, however, putting the meat into the brine, it must be washed in water, the blood pressed out, and the whole wiped clean.”

Youatt repeats the re-use of the brine in the publication just mentioned. He writes, “In three weeks, jowls, &c, may be hung up. Taking out, of pickle, and preparation for hanging up to smoke, is thus performed: — Scrape off the undissolved salt (and if you had put on as much as directed, there will be a considerable quantity on all the pieces not immersed in the brine; this salt and the brine is all saved; the brine boiled down [for re use].” Notice that his 1852 description is far more “matter of fact” and he does not go into all the explanations and caveats he did in the 1830 description and his reference to pickle . . . used again and again is a progression from the 1830 reference.

The incorporation of this facet of curing brines was undoubtedly not as advanced as it was in Ireland in the 1820s and 30s. Mild cured bacon was separately listed in newspapers of the time related to price and market conditions. The very first reference goes back to 1837 to a report from Antrim, Northern Ireland.  It is fascinating that following this initial reference, Antrim completely disappears from the map and Limerick and Waterford takes over. This report simply said about bacon arriving from Ireland and that the Bacon market was dull the past week but (except) for “a small parcel of mild cure.”  (Belfast News-Letter (Belfast, Antrim, Northern Ireland) 21 July 1837)

Before this date, mild cured bacon is not mentioned. Remember that bacon was a commodity with prices regularly quoted in newspapers like maize and other farming commodities in certain publications. The second reference is in 1842 reported in the Provisions section of Jackson’s Oxford Journal which would regularly report on bacon prices from Ireland. In a mention about produce from Ireland, it says, “in the bacon market there is no great alterations; heavy bacon is more inquired after, and all fresh mild cure meets a fair demand.”  Heavy bacon seems to be used as opposed to mild cure.  (Jackson’s Oxford Journal (Oxford, Oxfordshire, England) 17 September 1842, p4)

The progression in the references, all related to bacon from Ireland and all focussed on amongst other, Limerick and Waterford.  An 1845 report said that “choice mild-cured Bacon continues brisk.” (Jackson’s Oxford Journal (Oxford, Oxfordshire, England) 26 July 1845, p4.)

An 1853 report from Ireland itself is very instructive. From Dublin, a report says “We are glad to observe that several Dublin curers are now introducing the system of mild cure in bacon as well as hams, in consequence of the great difference had in price.  (The Freeman’s Journal, (Dublin, Dublin, Ireland) 11 Feb 1853, p1)

From this, it would seem that we are justified in retaining the most likely place for the invention of mild cure to have been in Northern Ireland, sometime just before 1837.  (see my addendum to this work, Addendum A, Occurrences of “mild cure” in English Newspapers.

Following Reports About Oake and his Son

Report from The Freeman’s Journal (Dublin, Dublin, Ireland) 23 Sep 1853, Fri, Page 4

There is a reference in The Freeman’s Journal (Dublin, Dublin, Ireland), 23 September 1853 reporting that the previous Wednesday, letters from London “announced the disposal of the provisions contract for the royal navy, 12 000 tierces (casks) of pork and 4000 tierces (casks) of beef.” The short notice says that “we have the satisfaction to add that half the pork contract was taken for Irish account, and a considerable portion will be made up in Limerick, by Shaw and Duffield, William G. Gubbins, William Oake, and Joseph Matterson.” The article is quoting the Limerick Chronicle and shows that Oake had tremendous commercial success.

We also know that at least one of his sons was involved in the business with him, but not in Ireland. A notice was posted in Manchester Weekly Times and Examiner (Manchester), Saturday, 28 September 1889 of the death of William Harwood Oake from Gillingham, Dorset “elder son of the late William Oake of Limerick“, aged 49.  This means that WH Oake was born in 1840 and if we presume William Oake from Limerick had him when he was 20, William was probably born around 1820. I later revised this estimate, taking more information into account and it seems that he was born around 1807.

From Daily News (London, Greater London, England) 18 Jul 1885, Sat Page 3 about the dissolvent of the partnership of the firm Oake Woods Waring. The new firm Oake Woods was created from this.

In The Bristol Mercury and Daily Post, Western Countries, 18 July 1885, page 8, a notice appeared for the dissolution of a partnership between William Howard (Harwood??) Oake, John Woods, and William Waring trading as Oake, Woods, and Waring, at Gillingham, Dorset. If the address is not a clear link to the son of William Oake from Limerick in Ireland, the commodities they traded in is the final proof and a picture is emerging of an imminent “bacon” family. They were, according to the notice, bacon and provision merchants. The partnership was dissolved due to Waring retiring. At first, I thought that if (and there is good reason to suspect this), that William Oak from Limerick is the inventor of tank curing, this would indicate that by 1885 the process has not been exported to England since his son is selling the bacon which is, probably being imported from Ireland.

The circumstantial evidence is strong. William Oake had a substantial bacon curing operation and was able to do it at prices so far below curers in Britain that they were able to secure a large part of a lucrative Navy contract. The cost compared to dry salt curing is one of the main benefits of tank curing is compared to dry salting. The driving force for these was then, as it is today, cost and quality, but mainly cost. The other one that goes hand in hand with cost, is speed. Tank curing or mild curing is much faster than dry salting.

Britain was the main market for Irish bacon and it stands to reason that the Irish would have been very protective over their technology. It makes sense that he set his son up to trade their bacon in England and did apparently not export the technology to England.

I discovered that my conclusion is only partly correct. His son and partners may have started selling Irish bacon produced by his dad but it quickly changed into a fully-fledged bacon curing operation itself. It turns out that the Gillingham, Dorset was a curing operation where auto curing was employed.

Talking about the Gillingham station, The Dorset Life reports that “the effect on agriculture was the rise in the number of Gillingham farmers; 12 in 1842; 34 in 1859; 45 in 1875. In 1860 and 1893 the station platform was extended to cater for the vast numbers of milk churns that were brought in each day. Close to the railway was Oake Woods & Co., bacon curers. Pigs arrived in cattle trucks to be delivered just yards away to the bacon factory. Next to Oake Woods was the Salisbury, Semley & Gillingham Dairy which acted as a collection depot and purchased milk from farmers whose production was in small quantities.” (Dorset Life. 2016)

This factory became intimately associated with Wiltshire bacon curing. They won first prize as well as the silver medal at the annual Dairy Show held in the Agriculture Hall, Islington. (Cassell, 1894)

William Oake, his Son and Possible Relatives

Information that I could find about William Oake, his son and possible relatives. I will continue to update this section. A death notice appeared for Harriette Oake who passed away on 27/07/1844, Henry Street. She was the wife of William Oake who was the Commander of the Eleanor which was a trader between the port and London port. This could be the parents of William Oake from Limerick.

There is a record of the death of William Oake on 24/08/1859 Thomas Street, a provision merchant, buried at St. Munchin’s

William Harwood Oake from Gillingham Dorsetpassed away on 28 September 1889.

There is an interesting reference to William Oake, a master butcher who lived in Perth, Perthshire, in Scotland referring to records for 1939 and 1940. A direct descendant? (Leslie’s Directory,1939-1940)

Auto Curing

So far the timeline that was fixed in my mind was that the continued re-use of the old brine was adopted by C & T Harris in the last half of the 1800s or possibly the very early years of the 1900s. The one fact that did not fit my timeline was auto curing. I learned that reusing old brine was part and parcel of the auto curing system of bacon production which, by 1861 was already in use in England, Sweden, Denmark, and Canada. If this was the case, how did Harris only got introduced to the system so late?

Let us first understand what auto curing is. The process is described as follows. The pig is slaughtered in the usual way and the sides trimmed and chilled. After chilling, it is laid out in rows on a sort of truck that exactly fits into a large cylinder of steel 32 feet long, 6 feet in diameter and which will hold altogether 210 sides. When the cylinder is filled, the lid, weighing 3 ½ tons (7000lb. Danish) is closed and hermetically sealed by means of hydraulic pumps at a pressure of 3 tons to the square inch.

A vacuum pump now pumps all the air out which creates a vacuum of 28 inches. It takes about an hour to pump all the air out. The brine channel which leads to the brine reservoir, holding around 6000 gallons of brine is now opened. The brine rush into the chamber and as soon as the bit of air that also entered has been extracted again, the curing starts. It happens as follows.

The brine enters the cylinder at a pressure of 120 lbs. per square inch. It now takes between 4 and 5 hours for the brine to enter the meat completely through the pores which have been opened under an immense vacuum. When it’s done, the brine runs back into the reservoir. It is filtered and strengthened and used again. This is very clearly the continued reuse of old brine. I was baffled.

A feature of the system is that it allows the bacon to be shipped overseas immediately, assuming that maturation would happen en route as was usual. The time for the total process is around three days. On day 1 the pig can be killed, salted on day 2 and packed and shipped on day 3.

There are two brine reservoirs. The one is used with a stitch pump to inject brine into the sides as usual before they are placed in the cylinder and the second tank is used. The largest benefit of this system is the speed of curing and many people report that the keeping quality of the bacon and the taste is not the same as bacon cured in the traditional way.

The system cured the meat in a short time, partly because of the vacuum and the penetration of the brine into the muscle, but also because it too used the power of the old brine which is based on the reduction of nitrate to nitrite. The vacuum had an impact in rather keeping the brine inside the meat and sealing the meat fibres over the areas where holes were created during injection and brine normally leached out again.

It clearly is a progression of the mild cured system but who invented it? The brine is distributed into the meat through step one and not primarily by what they call the “opening of the meat pores.”

There is a reference from another source that meat cured in this way is more tender. The system allowed for a 3% to 4% brine pick up which would have added to the bacon being much more tender than with dry curing.

Capital Structure

The following article appeared in The Morning Post (London, Greater London, England) 23 Nov 1889 reporting on new companies (Limited) which has been registered recently. The firm opted for public funds to finance the imminent international expansion.

The Morning Post (London, Greater London, England) 23 Nov 1889

The Gillingham, Dorset Operation and Oake-Woods’ Patent

Oake’s son and partners were responsible for setting up the curing operation in Gillingham, Dorset, making it clear that they were not just re-selling Irish bacon cured by Oake’s father, but they actually used the auto cure technology.

The Journal of the British Dairy Farmers’ Association (1887) reports that Oake, Woods and Company won a bronze medal for their British Mild Cured Bacon. This being the case, we know for certain that mild cured technology, including the repeated re-use of the old brine which was the cornerstone of the system, was in wide use in Britain by 1887 which hones in on the time when C & T Harris acquired the technology. It must have been well before 1887. The second important point to note is that Oake, Woods and Company not only used auto curing but also mild curing.

An article appears in The Age, Melbourne, Australia in 1898 which describes the proliferation of the system. It reports that the leading factories in Canada, Denmark and Sweden are all adopting the new auto-cure process because the article produced by it means is superseding all other brands in the largest market in the world” which at this time was England. The author of the article gives us a date when the curing operation of Oake, Woods and Company, Ltd was started in Gillingham, Dorset using auto curing. He refers to them as “curers of Wiltshire Bacon” which was in operation for 18 months by 1895 taking the establishment of the auto curing line to 1896. We know that by 1861 it was already in use in England, Sweden, Denmark, and Canada. It was, however in the 1890s when international patents were taken out and it would appear as if the expansion plans were truly global including the Scandanavian countries just mentioned but also the USA, South Africa and New Zealand.

A certain Mr Down, “the patentee of the process” described the process in his own words which are reported in great detail. It is a tedious description and the reason why it was so successful is attributed to incorrect factors, but it is nevertheless instructive and gives the full description of the process. Those who are interested can read the full article at https://www.newspapers.com/clip/80931212/auto-cure/. I received a mail from Will Dean who writes that Mr Down was the managing director of Oake Woods in the 1890s. His full name was Evan Roberts Down.

Stanier elaborates on this information provided by Down. He says that the factory and offices close to the railway station was established in 1847. Vitally he credits William Harwood Oake, son of William Oake from Limerick for the invention of auto cured bacon. He writes, “Oake (referring to William Harwood) invented the ‘Auto-Cure’ method of curing bacon under pressure in cylinders, for which the Danes paid a £4,000 annual royalty. It seems then, that the factory was established in 1847 and sometime between then and 1861 he invented auto curing. Very importantly, the Danes who obtained the system of mild curing which was invented by his dad paid him a royalty for the use of his technology. This fact along with the reference to Mr Down as the patentee, informs us that he very well protected the invention. By 1896 it was in full operation in Gillingham.

Dean who looked at the actual patents told me in private communication that he “had always thought [the process patented by Oake Woods] sounded extremely similar to the “tanalising” process for treating timber – amusingly this is actually mentioned in one of the patents.” He also provided me with copies of the actual patents.

Auto Cure Patents






Special thanks to Will Dean who sourced these and sent them to me.

The fact that Down is clearly listed as the inventor in these patents is of considerable interest. It may be that he takes the place of the inventor, who had to be listed as filing the application simply on account of William Harwood Oake having passed away on 28 September 1889. Down may in fact have been responsible for improvements to the system in addition to the reality that Oake was not around in the 1890s to file the application.

We return to product quality briefly and an observation related to the Gillingham site is in order. We know that water quality was very important to William Oake. Stanier mentions related to this site that “water was pumped from a well, and extensive cellars beneath the factory were said to be the best in the country for curing-by hanging bacon in the smoke of smouldering hardwoods. 150 were once employed but the factory closed in about 1980.” He makes it clear that he is talking about the same factory we referred to above when he writes that “the United Dairies milk and cheese factory remains next door along Station Road.”

Food Flavourings, Ingredients, & Processing, Volume 1, 1979 likewise confirms the 1861 date of the invention of the auto cure system. The invention was featured at the Paris show in 1867. The 1897 Diplomatic and Consular Reports, Morocco, Harrison and Sons, mentions that the system was brought out not just by Oake but by his company, Oake, Wood & Co.

Two personal sidenotes are in order related to Down. Will Dean tells me that his family own the house which belonged to, and was built for a “certain Mr Down.” This is the same E. R. Down who filed the patents for Oake-Woods and who ran the firm in the 1890s. A second note is that Evan Down’s son was killed in WW1. I include the information because throughout my work on bacon I strive to link the human story to the profession and art of meat curing. It goes hand in hand and is the basis for the double emphasis in my work on the history of bacon, Bacon & the Art of Living. For this reason, I site a reference also given to me by will Dean that provides fascinating background information on the Down family where the story is told of Captain William Oliphant DOWN MC. For his actions he received the military cross and including this reference in a work on bacon is an honour! In Bacon & the Art of Living, I include many stories from the Anglo Boer war. It seems as if there is nothing like war to remind us about the value and joy of living! A distant second is the epic story of bacon!

International Expansion

The matter of international sales of this patented system is very interesting. Henry, M. (1897) reports in a section called “A tip to Bacon Curers”. “SINCE the beginning of May this year experiments have been going on with a new method of curing bacon at the Ystad bacon factory in Sweden, and the results that have been attained have been so successful that it has been adopted at the Landskrona factory also, which belongs to the same owner. Mr Philip W. Heyman, of Copenhagen, the well-known curer of bacon, is adopting the same method, too, at two of his Swedish factories, and five of his Danish factories, and other bacon factories in Sweden and Denmark are making arrangements for having the same method introduced. The auto-cured bacon is treated in the following manner: The meat is cooled in the usual way and placed in large strong iron cylinders that can hold about 200 sides of bacon at one and the same time, and the lids are closed and can be kept closed by water pressure. The advantages claimed for this method, which is patented, are, besides others, the following: The auto-cured bacon will retain the juice of the meat, by which it becomes more nutritious and tender and of milder and more agreeable flavour than bacon cured according to the usual method, and it is easier to digest and keeps for a longer time than the latter so that it need not be ” forced off ” in sale even during hot weather. It will lose no more in weight than other bacon when smoked. Swedish auto-cured bacon has been sent “unbranded” for some time to London from the above-mentioned factory, together with other bacon cured according to the usual method, and has been referred to the latter, having attained about a couple of shillings per cwt, higher price. The first bale of branded auto-cured Swedish bacon, marked “Down’s auto – cure patents, Sweden, ” has been forwarded to the official representative for Sweden, Dr Hugo Wedin, of Lancaster Avenue, Manchester, ” for showing, ” having arrived last week, and has been inspected and tested by a number of merchants interested in the bacon trade here. It is expected that this bacon will soon find an increased sale on its own merits.” (Henry, 1897)

The elaborate quote gives us an insight into the extent of the propagation of the system due to international interest. I retained the description of the process to remove all doubt that we are talking about William Harwood Oake’s system and the advantages have been re-stated. From the quote, one wonders if the annual royalty of £4,000 paid by the Danes for the system was paid by Mr Philip W. Heyman or by some Danish association. The publication in 1897 seems to point to the system being introduced into Scandinavia closer to the end of the 1800s.

There is a report from the Queensland Agricultural Journal: Volume 2, Jan 1898, Queensland Department of Primary Industries which says that “A NEW process of bacon – curing ( says the Australasian ) has been brought under the notice of the Minister for Agriculture in Victoria, named the “ Auto – cure Process of Bacon – curing, ” which has been adopted by some of the large bacon factories of Sweden, and by Messrs . Oake, Woods, and Co., Gillingham, Dorsetshire, who have employed it for the last eighteen months in the production of Wiltshire bacon.” The article then makes the interesting statement that “the new process will be used on a considerable scale in Canada and Denmark”

A year later, The Journal, Volume 2 by South Australia’s Department of Agriculture (1899) reports that “in Sweden and Dorsetshire (England), at the factory of Oake, Wood & Co., at Gillingham, a new process under the name “auto cure” has recently been adopted. About seven hours only is required to cure meat, which retains its albumen in an almost unchanged condition, so that the meat is tender, mild, and sweet. The process is carried on in air-tight cylinders of considerable capacity. The meat is then impregnated with brine under considerable pressure. The cost of apparatus to treat 150 sides at a time is said to be £780 in Britain.”

From New Zealand comes information that the same patent was lodged on 3 September 1896 number 8750 E. R. Down from Gillingham, Dorset, Eng. for cylinder or vessel for curing bacon and hams. (Appendix to the Journals of the House of Representatives of New Zealand) It seems likely that similar applications were filed around the world.

An 1893 reference from the NZ official yearbook mentions that a very definite expectation existed among farmers that the trade of raising pigs will meet the demand of local meat curers and the trade is expected to increase rapidly. It reports that an unnamed firm, referred to as “one of the largest suppliers in the UK of mess pork to the navies of the world and the mercantile marine operations” sent an agent to New Zealand in order to investigate the viability of setting up a branch in the colony. The agent was there a couple of months and was making inquiries as to the prospect of opening up a branch establishment. Reference is made to a trial that he ran to test the quality of the New Zealand pig for their purposes. The trial was done by preparing some carcasses by a process patented by the firm. It is this last statement that makes me suspect it to be Oake-Woods that is referred to. Market research, done clandestinely before the patent application is lodged seems very plausible. It would fit the scenario where an actual application was done and granted three years later in ’96. I am sure that like today, foreign patent applications was an expensive process and the approach would seem reasonable. The close time between the report of the clandestine work and the actual granting of a patent, the reference to an existing international footprint to supply the navies of the world and the fact that the head office was in England makes it almost certain that this reference is to Oake-Woods doing market research before filing the application.

The approach of protecting the process with a patent, followed by appointing local producers to use the system under license is an extremely effective way of expanding internationally. Oake-Woods was one of the only firms that could do it based on the fact that their process was highly patentable. The reason for this is that theirs was not only a process as was the case with mild cured bacon of William Oake but involved very specific equipment. A process is impossible to protect as the case of William Oakes mild cure system illustrated beautifully. The moment unique equipment enters the equation, the entire situation changes and it becomes highly patentable! No other firm to my knowledge had both a totally unique process as well as totally unique equipment going along with the process at this time. A process is only protected till your staff leaves. It was true then as it is true today! To my knowledge, Oake-Woods had the most expansive international coverage of any bacon and ham curing company at the time by far!

The agent of the company in question in New Zealand ran the trails and then shipped these to his principals in England. He received a cablegram which stated that the meat and the curing were done to “perfection.” As a result of this, arrangements were made for extensive trade throughout the colony. The English firm was prepared to erect factories at a cost of £20,000 each in areas where they have a reasonable expectation to secure 2,000 pigs per week. (The NZ Official Yearbook, 1893) I wondered if this was not C & T Harris for a long time but Oake-Woods fits the profile of the unnamed company in question much better.

Through a Gillingham, Dorset Facebook group, Helen Shorrocks contacted me with the following interesting recollection of a South African operation. She writes, “My Grandad worked for them (Oakes William & Co.) all his life, I believe he was head butcher and was offered a job in South Africa as a young family man with the company as they had a factory out there. My Grandmother wouldn’t go.” The same modus operandi would have been used in South Africa where a local company was granted a license to use the technology after it was patented.

Conclusion

The Oak family is responsible for giving us two powerful and historically significant systems of curing. The first being mild curing by William Oake and the second was auto curing by William Harwood, his son. The key feature of both systems is the repeated re-use of the brine where the microflora is retained for as long as possible and the brine was only boiled under very specific conditions. The second, auto curing, adds vacuum and pressure with the accompanying befits. This is a remarkable journey and we salute the work of William Oake and his son.

Notes

(1) Mild Cured System

I quote the entire section from The Journal of Agriculture and Industry of South Australia.  A better treatment of tank curing of that time is as far as I know, not in existence.  I can only imagine the Irish immigrants who brought this technology to Australia.  After quoting it, I will make a few comments on the system.

“Bacon-Curing under the Factory System.

Like the dairying industry in the latter years, the manufacture of bacon and hams has undergone great changes. The old expensive system of dry-salting has been almost entirely superseded by the less expensive method of curing with pickle in tanks. This method is not only less expensive, but it is the safest and most profitable for the climate of the Australian colonies.

There is at the present time a new process coming into vogue, which is attracting considerable attention amongst bacon-curers. The process is called the “mild cure.” The discoverer of the new process of curing was, it appears, an eminent chemist — the late Mr William Oake. of Ulster. In an experiment, it is said he discovered that the antiseptic properties of salt were to be found apart from chloride of sodium (salt), and that the obnoxious effects of dissolving the albumen in the curing process could, therefore, be avoided. This is supposed to be the key to the new system of curing. By the new process of treatment, it is said that the bacon and hams, although thoroughly cured with the very essence of salt, still retain all the albumen originally in the meat, and yet do not taste salty to the palate. By the new process, the lean of the cured bacon remains soft and juicy, and natural in color; and the best proof of the value of the system is in the fact that where the mild cure has been adopted the bacon and hams will keep for any length of time in any climate. A great deal of labor, it is said, is saved by the new process, while the article put on the market is declared to be much superior in taste and flavor and quality to bacon cured on the old system.

Whatever may become of the new process, whether a success or not, it is certain that the time has now gone past for farmers to kill and cure for sale their own pigs to best advantage. The trade now requires an article well got up and of uniform quality to bring the highest prices, and as a rule, farmers have not the convenience for such work, and therefore are unable to compete against factories where they have all the latest appliances. It is therefore advisable for farmers either to co-operate and build a factory or to sell their pigs to some individual or company in the trade.

A factory with a capacity for working from 120 to 150 pigs per week, with refrigerating room and all machinery required, can be erected for about £1,000, and pigs of an average weight of 125lbs. can be killed, cured, smoked, and made ready for placing on the market at a cost of 4s. per head. In these times of keen competition and low prices, to make bacon-curing a profitable industry- no bacon should be held longer than from six weeks to two months, and hams from three to four months — the longer it is held the more weight it loses, and very often does not improve in quality.

The following is the system adopted in curing bacon with pickle. It is necessary to have a number of tanks, either built of brick and cement, slate, or wood. If timber is the most easily got, 2 1/2 in. planks well put together will answer. These tanks, if made 5ft. square by 40in. deep, will hold fifty ordinary sized pigs. Tanks sufficient for one week’s killing, with one spare tank for turning over the bacon, will be required.

Pigs that are to be killed should be kept without food for twelve or fourteen hours, and during that time should be yarded up adjoining the slaughter house. In no case should pigs be driven or heated in any way just prior to killing. From the yards to the killing pen a small race can be made, where from six to eight at a time can be run in and killed ; and the best method of killing is to stun the pig by a smart blow on the forehead, halfway between the eyes and the top of the head, with a hammer or similar weapon ; then, before the pig can struggle, turn him square on his back, place a foot on each side of the head, facing the animal, holding the head down to the floor by placing the left hand on the snout. Now place the point of the knife on the animal’s throat, at the same time looking over the carcass and pushing the knife in a straight line in the direction of the root of the tail. If you do not stick just right the first time, you will see why when the pig is opened. A little observation will enable you to become an expert pig sticker.

Pig Tank Curing.png

The killing pen should be raised from the ground about 2ft. 6in., and the floor allowed about 2in. fall. The blood will then flow all into one corner, where a receptacle can be placed underneath, and the blood all saved and used or sold for manure. From the floor of the killing pen the pigs can be drawn easily into the scalding vat, which should be placed adjoining the killing pen. A good size for the scalding vat is 6ft. long, 4ft. wide, and 2ft. 6in. high, and if a steam pipe is laid on from the boiler into the scalding vat the water can always be kept at a regular temperature — the best heat for scalding is 160°. Adjoining the scalding vat should be placed another vat of similar dimensions for cold water. After the pig is scraped it should be dropped into the vat of cold water, which will cleanse and cool the carcass and get the final scrape before being drawn up by the gamble on to the aerial tram, where the internals are removed and the backbone cut out, and then run into the factory, where they are allowed to hang till the following morning, when they are cut up into flitches or full sides, according to the size of the pigs.

As the carcasses are cut up the portions are laid on the floor of the factory (which should be made of concrete or flagged), flesh uppermost, and lightly powdered over with saltpetre, so as to drain off any blood. It can then be placed in the tanks for salting in the following manner: — Sprinkle the bottom of the tank with salt, then put in a layer of sides or flitches, sprinkle saltpetre over them lightly, and then salt and sugar. The next layer of sides or flitches is put in crosswise, and served in the same way, and so on until the tank is full. Then place a lid to fit inside the tank (inch battens 3in. apart will do); fix an upright on top of the lid to keep the bacon from rising when putting in the pickle. The pickle to be made as follows: — To every 1Olbs. of salt add 8lbs. of dark-brown sugar, lib. of spice, and 1/2lb. of sal-prunella. Make it strong enough to float an egg; let it settle for some time, then skim, and it is ready to go on to the meat.

Explanatory note by Eben:  Note Sal-Prunella is, according to Errors of Speech or Spelling by E. Cobham Brewer, Vol II, published by William Tegg and Co, London, 1877, a mixture of refined nitre and soda.  Nitre, as used at this time was refined saltpetre used in the manufacturing of explosives.

At the end of forty-eight hours turn the meat over into another tank, taking care to put the sides that were on top in the bottom of next tank, treating it as regards saltpetre, salt, and sugar exactly the same as at first, and using the same pickle. It can then remain until the seventh day from when first put in. It can then be taken out, and stacked on the floor of the factory, putting some salt between each layer, but do not stack higher than four sides deep, until it has been on the floor for some days when it should be turned over, and stacked higher each time until the fourth week from the day it went into the tanks; the bacon will then be cured.

The bacon can then be placed in tanks containing cold water, and allowed to soak all night. Wash well with a brush, then hang up to dry, and when properly dry it can be trimmed and smoked.

As hams require slightly different treatment from the bacon, separate tanks are required. Before placing the hams in the tank rub over the face of each one a thin layer of brown sugar. When the first layer is placed in the tank sprinkle over with saltpetre and salt, same as with the bacon, treating the balance the same as at first until the tank is full. Make the pickle same as for bacon, and leave the hams same time in tanks. Always retain the same pickle for the hams, and in no case use the bacon pickle for hams. The same pickle can be used for many years — the older the better; it only requires, when it becomes somewhat muddy, to be boiled and clarified. I have seen pickle which had been used in one factory for sixteen years, and that factory produces some of the best bacon and hams in Australia.

Explanatory note by Eben:  This means that tank curing or “mild cure” as it was called, was in use in Australia at least by 1880.

Smoking Bacon and Hams.

The smokehouse should be built according to the intended output of bacon and hams, and the walls of the building should not be less than 12ft. high. One of the principal things in smoking bacon is to have the smoke as cool as possible before coming into contact with the bacon and to assist this it is well to put a floor 6ft. 6in. or 7ft. from the ground, just allowing a slight opening between the flooring boards to allow the smoke to make its way up to where the bacon is hung. The flitches or hams should be hung as close together as not to touch, so as to allow the smoke to penetrate every portion. A small slide can be put in the gable of the smokehouse to regulate the smoke as required. A place should be made in the centre of the floor, say 6ft. by 3ft., where the sawdust is placed. This is lighted, and if the door is kept closed there will be no flame, but the sawdust will smoulder and cause a great quantity of smoke. From twenty-four to forty-eight hours will suffice to properly smoke the bacon if the weather is suitable, after which it may be packed and forwarded to market.

Where teatree (Melaleuca) is obtainable it is excellent for smoking ; it imparts a flavor to the bacon which is much appreciated by many people.

A Conclusion is offered

Mild-cure Bacon. — In all of the large cities of Britain and the European continent, the public demand is for mild-cure bacon. The system of cure is very simple and perfect, but requires expenditure of at least £1,000 on the plant for carrying it out. By this process the albumen of the meat is retained and is not coagulated, so that the bacon is devoid of excessive salt, is by no means hard or dry, and there is no loss of weight in the curing. A factory costing £2,000 to construct could easily cure 400 pigs per day. The process takes about a month to complete, but after the first day there is no further labor involved.”

References

The Age. Melbourne, Victoria, Australia29 Mar 1898, Tue, Page 7

APPENDIX TO THE JOURNALS OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF NEW ZEALAND . SESSION II . , 1897 . VOL . III .

Leslie’s Directory for Perth and Perthshire, 1939-1940, By J. Bartholomew, Edinburgh. Published by the proprietor.

Belfast News-Letter (Belfast, Antrim, Northern Ireland) 21 July 1837

The Bristol Mercury and Daily Post, Western Countries, 18 July 1885, page 8

Cape of Good Hope (Colony). Dept. of Agriculture, VOL . VIII . 1896. Published for the Department of Agriculture, Cape of Good Hope by WA Richards & Sons, Government Printers, Castle Street, Cape Town.

Cassell. The Official Guide to the London and South Western Railway: The Royal Route to the South and the West of England, the Channel Islands, Europe and America, Cassell and Company, ltd Jan 1894

Diplomatic and Consular Reports, Morocco, 1897. Harrison and Sons.

Dorset Life. 2016. Gillingham railway station.

William Douglas & Sons Limited, 1901, Douglas’s Encyclopedia, University of Leeds. Library.

Errors of Speech or Spelling by E. Cobham Brewer, Vol II, published by William Tegg and Co, London, 1877

Farmer, F. M.. Fannie Farmer. 1896. Cook Book. Skyhorse Publishing.

Food Flavourings, Ingredients, & Processing, Volume 1, 1979

The Freeman’s Journal, (Dublin, Dublin, Ireland) 11 Feb 1853, p1

The Freeman’s Journal (Dublin, Dublin, Ireland), 23 September 1853

Jackson’s Oxford Journal (Oxford, Oxfordshire, England) 17 September 1842, p4

Jackson’s Oxford Journal (Oxford, Oxfordshire, England) 26 July 1845, p4.

The Journal of the British Dairy Farmers’ Association: For the Improvement of the Dairy Husbandry of Great Britain (1887), Volume 3

The Journal of Agriculture and Industry of South Australia, edited by Molineux, General Secretary of Agriculture, South Australia, Volume 1 covering August 1897 – July 1898 and printed in Adelaide by C. E. Bristow, Government Printer in 1898.

The Journal, Volume 2 by South Australia. Department of Agriculture. Vol II, No. 1. Edited by A Molineux, F. S. L., F. R. H. S, General Secretary Agriculture. Bureau of S. A., August 1898, to July 1899, Government Printers. 1899.

Henry, M. (1897). Food and Sanitation. Vol 8, No 230.

Manchester Weekly Times and Examiner (Manchester), Saturday, 28 September 1889

The Queensland Agricultural Journal, Issued by the direction of the Hon. A. J. Thynne, M. L. C. , Secretary for Agriculture. Edited by A. J. Boyd, F.R.G.S.Q. Vol. II. PART 1. January 1898. By Authority: Brisbane: Edmund Gregory, Government Printer.

Stanier, P. 1989. Dorset’s Industrial Heritage. Twelvehead Press

Worth, R. N.. Jan 1888. Tourist’s Guide to Somersetshire: Rail and Road. E. Stanford

Chapter 12.01: The Fathers of Meat Curing

Introduction to Bacon & the Art of Living

The story of bacon is set in the late 1800s and early 1900s when most of the important developments in bacon took place. The plotline takes place in the 2000s with each character referring to a real person and actual events. The theme is a kind of “steampunk” where modern mannerisms, speech, clothes and practices are superimposed on a historical setting.  Modern people interact with old historical figures with all the historical and cultural bias that goes with this.


The Fathers of Meat Curing

June 1959

Dear Tristan,

Amsterdam is one of the greatest cities on earth and for someone with your adventurous spirit, it is perfect. I remember that you had a small cannabis garden back home in Cape Town. This makes your move to Amsterdam all the more appropriate! You already know the culture.

Hashish, another name for cannabis, has been used since antiquity as an anesthetic. It was described in the “Arabian Nights” by the name bhang. Bhang was smoked like a cigarette or taken orally in tablet form. Some mix it with sugar and eat it like candy and still, I heard that some create a green liquid from it to serve as a drink. I love your passion for the natural world and your desire to make money! Follow your dream! 🙂

T-man, since you and your sister have been entreating me to complete my work on bacon, I decided to begin with a review of everybody that I found over the years who had an impact on unravelling the mystery of meat curing. Many of the men and women did this without even realising the value of their discoveries to the inquisitive bacon factory or production manager.

I will complete this work, but you and Lauren have to promise me that before you eventually publish my work, you will add the most recent discoveries to my letters in this section of the work. This way, it will remain current and useful to the curing professional or the layperson who wants to know bacon curing or those who are simply interested in a great story will know they have the latest version with all the facts available to us!

Nitric Oxide

A study of curing is a study in the interaction between nitrogen, oxygen with a meat protein, myoglobin, with an auxiliary role for blood proteins, haemoglobin. It is about oxygenation, protonation, and reduction. It has recently been discovered that there exists a close correlation between certain reactions in human physiology and meat curing – the exact same processes are involved which means that in the basic meat curing reaction, it so happens that we merely mimic a biological process in our bodies. I decided to begin my letters from the Union of South Africa by giving you an overview of some of the men and women who contributed to our understanding of the curing process and their important contributions.

In the letters following, I will circle back and go into some detail into the important discoveries which I touch on in this overview. There have been many important advances in our understanding of the curing reaction over the years since 1893 and they all begin with a far greater understanding of proteins on the one hand and nitrogen compounds and their role in curing on the other hand. We discovered, for example, that meat curing begins with a bacterial reduction of saltpetre (nitrate) to nitrite and then a chemical reduction of nitrite to Nitric Oxide (NO). It is the interaction of this molecule with protein that gives the meat its reddish/ pinkish colour and the important protein that it interacts with, in the muscle, turns out to be myoglobin.

Here I must caution you that early work was done by giving the interaction of nitric oxide with a protein found in blood, haemoblobin (Hemoglobin – American English; haemoglobin (British English).  This should not alarm you. Let me explain what I mean.

Haemoglobin and Myoglobin

One of the proteins in the blood cell is haemoglobin. It is a red protein that is responsible for transporting oxygen in our blood. Early researchers in meat curing did their trails on it. In recent years we discovered that the curing reaction is not so much the effect of curing agents on haemoglobin, as it is in reality, the reaction with a meat protein found in all muscles, myoglobin. The oxygen is passed from the haemoglobin in the blood to the myoglobin, located in the muscle. We can say it is the cell oxygen reservoir. When you work out and the blood oxygen delivery is not enough, it temporarily provides oxygen.

The reason for using haemoglobin was “mostly a matter of convenience” and “a matter of necessity since myoglobin was not isolated and purified until 1932 (Theorell, 1932).” “In spite of the differences between haemoglobin and myoglobin, Urbain and Jensen (1940) considered the properties of haemoglobin and its derivatives sufficiently like those of myoglobin to allow the use of haemoglobin in studies of meat pigments.” (Cole, Morton Sylvan, 1961: 2)

These are then some of the fathers of meat curing and processes that were elucidated by them. In the case of Da Vinci, he is one of many people who’s work provides a link back to our ancient past and the art of meat curing that is thousands of years old. Our art is built, in huge part, on the foundations the following people laid.

7000 BCE to 3000 BCE

Good evidence suggests that meat curing has been practiced with sodium or potassium nitrate at various locations around the world where it naturally appears as a salt. Four locations stand out. The Atacama Desert in Chile and Peru, the Tarim Basin in Western China, the Dead Sea, and Egypt. It is in the Tarim Basin, where I believe, it was first developed into the art that we recognise today with a level of sophistication in the application of saltpetre by the early Christian Era that has not been fully appreciated until recently (1987).

LEONARDO DA VINCI

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Leonardo da Vince (1452–1519) described a method of preserving the cadavers for his own dissection and study. (Brenner, E.; 2014) The mixture he used consisted of turpentine, camphor (scent masking), oil of lavender (scent masking), vermilion (colouring agent), wine, rosin (a resin used as an adhesive), sodium nitrate, and potassium nitrate. In his mix, for preservation, he relied on sodium and potassium nitrate and turpentine. It is clear from these and other examples that the preserving power of nitrates was well known, well before modern-day scientific rigour would come to the same conclusions. The knowledge of the particular taste imparted, the colour formation and the preserving power of curing through nitrate, nitrite and nitric oxide has been harnessed for thousands of years.

GLAUBER, PRIESTLY, CAVENDISH, DAVEY

It is generally believed that nitric oxide, the chemical compound responsible for meat curing, was discovered by Joseph Priestly in 1772. This is not completely true. Before the time of Priestly, the production of nitric oxide was known through the reaction of nitric acid (CodeCogsEqn(7)) with any one of a number of commonly available metals. Nitric acid was, for example, known in the 13th century Europe and was known as aqua fortis. A known way of making it was was to react sulphuric acid and potassium nitrate as was developed by Johann Glauber (1604 – 1670). It was observed that a gas was formed when nitric acid was poured over copper, iron, or silver by a number of natural philosophers including Johannes van Helmont (1579 – 1644), Robert Boyle (1627 – 1691) and Georg Stahl (1660 – 1734). The last two noticed that this gas forms brown fumes when it comes in contact with the atmosphere.

Priestly’s contribution was immense in terms of identifying NO as a distinct chemical entity, separate from other gasses or “airs.” Priestly made important discoveries related to NO and was able to characterise it, but it was the eccentric and brilliant Henry Cavendish (1778 – 1810) who showed that NO is a composition of nitrogen and oxygen. Humphrey Davey (1778 – 1829) showed the diatomic nature of the compound (Butler, A. R., Nicholson, R.; 2003).

CARL WILHELM SCHEELE

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In 1777, the prolific Swedish chemist Scheele, working in the laboratory of his pharmacy in the market town of Köping, made the first pure nitrite. (Scheele CW. 1777) He heated potassium nitrate at red heat for half an hour and obtained what he recognised as a new “salt.” He realised that there was more than one “acid of niter.” He distinguished phlogisticated acid of niter or nitrous acid (HNO2), as it became known in the 1800s, from nitric acid (HNO3) as being a weaker volatile acid produced by the reduction of nitric acid. He also showed that niter, when strongly heated, lost oxygen, and left a salt that readily decomposed into a volatile acid when treated with acid. (http://nitrogen.atomistry.com/)

The two compounds (potassium nitrate and nitrite) were characterised by Péligot and the reaction established as 2KNO3→2KNO2+O2. (Péligot E. 1841: 2: 58–68) (Butler, A. R., and Feelisch, M.) (Butler, A. R., and Feelisch, M.)

ANTOINE-LAURENT DE LAVOISIER

Antoine de Lavoisier (1743 – 1794), the father of modern chemistry did landmark work on nitric acid. In 1790 he coined the terms nitrate and nitrite. In his work on nitric acid, he noted that different oxidation states of nitrogen have been known for some time. The term niter was allocated to these compounds by Macquer and Beaumé, but Lavoisier changed this to nitrites and nitrates “as they are formed by nitric or by nitrous acid.” (Lavoisier, A; 1965: 217)

CARL REMIGIUS FRESENIUS

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A private laboratory was founded in 1848 in Germany by C. R. Fresenius (his doctoral advisor was none other than Justus von Liebig). One of the first recorded tests of nitrite as a meat preservative took place at his laboratory. (Morton, I. D. and Lenges. J.,1992: 142)

JUSTINUS KERNER

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Kerner in Germany makes the link between Saltpetre and food safety particularly in relation to the prevention of botulism. After studying many outbreaks of botulism, he identifies the omission of saltpetre from the curing brine as the common denominator in the various outbreaks. (1817, 1820, 1822) (Peter, F. M. (Editor), 1981.)

HÜNEFELD

Hünefeld in 1840 observed a crystalline substance in the blood of an earthworm thus discovering haemoglobin. “Reichert, von Kolliker, Leydig, Budge, Kunde, and many others noted that blood from various species yielded a similar crystalline substance. As early as 1852 Funke described the method of laking blood with water and then inducing crystal formation with alcohol and ether. Laking is defined as “the physical or chemical treatment of blood to abolish the structure of the red cells and thus form a homogeneous solution. Laking is an important preliminary step in the analysis of haemoglobin or enzymes present in red cells.” Although he prepared only small quantities of haemoglobin, the principle of this method has been widely used” for many years. (Ferry, R. M.; 1923)

HUMPHREY DAVY

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Humphrey Davy (1778 – 1829) in 1812 (cited by Hermann, 1865) and Hoppe-Seyler (1864) was the first to note the action of nitric oxide upon haemoglobin. (Hoagland, R.; 1914: 213)

HERMANN

Hermann studied the properties of the compound formed in the reaction between haemoglobin and nitric oxide. He discovered the compound Nitric Oxide-Hemoglobin (NO-Hemoglobin) in 1865 and it was supposed that it existed only in a laboratory. Until the work of Haldane, the compound has not attracted much attention. (Haldane, J. 1901)

Hermann showed the spectrum of oxyhemoglobin and NO-hemoglobin. “The blood saturated with nitric oxide was found to be darker in colour than either arterial blood or that saturated with carbon monoxide.” (Hoagland, R.; 1914: 213)

T. LAUDER BRUNTON

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In 1867, Brunton identifies nitrite as a treatment for angina, the first nitrovasodilator. His story is interesting and I quote a section edited by Hurst, J. W. from a 1989 article that appeared in Clinical Cardiology.

“Brunton learned of amyl nitrite from faculty members at Edinburgh who were interested in this substance that had been synthesised in 1844 by the French chemist Antoine Balard.” (Hurst, J. W.; 1989) Antoine-Jerome Balard achieved this when he passed nitrogen fumes through amyl-alcohol. An interesting liquid was formed. It had a pungent smell and when he inhaled it, it made him blush. He told a friend that he is a shameless character and nothing makes him blush. He speculated that the compound dilated the blood vessels and caused a drop in blood pressure. Bruton thought that anything that dilated the blood vessels of the skin may have the same effect on the heart. (Dormandy, 2006)

“London physician Benjamin Ward Richardson discussed possible medical uses of amyl nitrite at meetings of the British Association for the Advancement of Science between 1863 and 1865. Arthur Gamgee, a recent Edinburgh graduate, also studied the physiological effects of amyl nitrite and encouraged Brunton to continue these investigations when he discovered that inhalation of the substance reduced arterial tension as measured by the sphygmograph.” (Hurst, J. W.; 1989)

“While a house physician at the Edinburgh Royal Infirmary, Brunton became impressed with the lack of effective treatment for angina pectoris. Although the popularity of therapeutic bleeding had declined by the late 1860s, it was still advocated for the treatment of angina by some authors. When Brunton bled patients with angina some of them seemed to improve. He explained, “As I believe the relief produced by the bleeding to be due to the diminution it occasioned in the arterial tension, it occurred to me that a substance which possesses the power of lessening it in such an eminent degree as nitrite of amyl would probably produce the same effect, and might be repeated as often as necessary without detriment to the patient’s health.” Brunton began to study the effects of amyl nitrite on patients in the Edinburgh Royal Infirmary. When it was administered to patients with chest pain thought to represent angina, the discomfort usually disappeared in less than a minute. This was accompanied by facial flushing – an outward sign of the effect of amyl nitrite on the vascular system. Brunton published his observations on the value of amyl nitrite in angina in Lancet in 1867. Amyl nitrite was rapidly accepted by practitioners as an effective agent for angina pectoris.” (Hurst, J. W.; 1989)

The reason for this inclusion is the fact that amyl nitrite, like alkyl nitrites, as discovered by Brunton, is a very effective vasodilator. How it achieves this is that alkyl nitrite is a source of nitric oxide, which signals for relaxation of the involuntary muscles. Some of the physical effects are a decrease in blood pressure, headache, flushing of the face, increased heart rate, dizziness, and relaxation of involuntary muscles.

It has been discovered that nitrites and nitric oxide perform this function in the human body as a normal course of physiology. The reduction step of nitrite to nitric oxide which is the final step in meat curing turns out to be an essential mechanism in the human body that makes life possible. The full effect of Brunton’s discovery and the link with NO formation would not be realised until 1987 (Salt – 7000 years of meat curing).

There is another interesting reason. A friend of mine, Gero Lütge, a 3rd generation German Master Butcher grew up in the German town of Braunschweig in Lower Saxony, Germany.

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Apprenticeship book of Otto Lütge, qualified butcher in 1927.

If anyone can tell you anything about meat, it is Gero and as someone who inherited his trade from his father and grandfather, he is a rich source of historical anecdotes, illustrations, and information! He tells the story of his grandfather, Otto Lütge, who used to buy nitrite for meat curing, from the pharmacy. That would have been somewhere between the years 1950 and 1970 before it actually was regulated by law.

He confirmed that it was indeed nitrite and not nitrate that his grandfather added. The colour was more intense and stable, but health issues were a big concern, in particular, cancer from which he himself passed away.

Butchers could have bought nitrate also from the pharmacy. Following Bruton’s application of amyl nitrite for chest pains, William Murrell experimented with glyceryl nitrate to treat angina pectoris and to reduce blood pressure. After Murrell published on it in 1879, it became widely available as a remedy. It was officially known as glyceryl trinitrate, but due to a longer curing time, butchers would have preferred nitrite and in all likelihood, if they bought it through pharmacies, it would have been amyl nitrite. Fascinatingly, this indicates that there is a possibility that amyl nitrite was used in meat curing.

ARTHUR GAMGEE

On 7 May 1868, Dr. Arthur Gamgee, who studied the physiological effects of amyl nitrite along with Brunton at the University of Edinburgh, brother of the famous veterinarian, Professor John Gamgee (who contributed to the attempt to find ways to preserve whole carcasses during a voyage between Australia and Britain), published a groundbreaking article entitled, “On the action of nitrites on the blood.” He observed the colour change brought about by nitrite. He wrote, “The addition of … nitrites to blood … causes the red colour to return…” Over the next 30 years, it would be discovered that it is indeed nitrites responsible for curing and not the nitrates added as saltpetre.

MEUSEL, GAYON, AND DUPETIT

The important reduction process of nitrate to nitrite was identified by E. Meusel (1875) who was the first to associate microorganisms with nitrogen losses. He noted that antiseptic-sensitive agents identified as mixed populations of bacteria in soil and natural waters reduced nitrates to nitrites and even further. (Meusel, E. 1875) Gayon and Dupetit coined the term denitrification in 1882. (Gayon, U., and G. Dupetit; 1883) It was this knowledge that was the basis of Polenske’s speculation about the source of nitrite in curing brine and cured meat. (See Saltpeter: A Concise History and the Discovery of Dr Ed Polenske)

POLENSKE

Dr. Ed Polenske (1849-1911), working for the Imperial Health Office in Germany, made the first discovery that would lead to a full understanding of the curing action. He prepared a brine to cure meat and used only salt and saltpetre (nitrates). When he tested it a week later, it tested positive for nitrites.

The question is where did the nitrites come from if he did not add it to the brine to begin with. He correctly speculated that this was due to nitrate being converted by microbial action into nitrite. He published in 1891. For a full discussion on this landmark article, see Saltpeter: A Concise History and the Discovery of Dr Ed Polenske

NOTHWANG

Following Dr. Polenski’s observation, the German scientist, Nothwang confirmed the presence of nitrite in curing brines in 1892 but attributed the reduction from nitrate to nitrite to the meat tissue itself. The link between nitrite and cured meat colour was finally established in 1899 by another German scientist, K. B. Lehmann in a simple but important experiment.

LEHMANN

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Karl Bernhard Lehmann (1858 – 1940) was a German hygienist and bacteriologist born in Zurich.

In an experiment, he boiled fresh meat with nitrite and a little bit of acid. A red colour resulted, similar to the red of cured meat. He repeated the experiment with nitrates and no such reddening occurred, thus establishing the link between nitrite and the formation of a stable red meat colour in meat.

K. B. Lehmann made another important observation that must be noted when he found the colour to be soluble in alcohol and ether and to give a spectrum showing an absorption band just at the right of the D line, and a second band, often poorly defined, at the left of the E line. On standing, the colour of the solution changed to brown and gave the spectrum of alkaline hematin, the colouring group.

KIßKALT

In the same year, another German hygienist, one of Lehmann’s assistants at the Institute of Hygiene in Würzburg, Karl Kißkalt (1875 – 1962), confirmed Lehmann’s observations and showed that the same red colour resulted if the meat was left in saltpetre (potassium nitrate) for several days before it was cooked.

HALDANE

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The brilliant British physiologist and philosopher, John Scott Haldane weighed in on the topic. He was born in 1860 in Edinburgh, Scotland. He was part of a lineage of important and influential scientists. Haldane contributed immensely to the application of science across many fields of life. This formidable scientist was for example responsible for developing decompression tables for deep-sea diving used to this day.

“Haldane was an observer and an experimentalist, who always pointed out that careful observation and experiments had to be the basis of any theoretical analysis. “Why think when you can experiment” and “Exhaust experiments and then think.” (Lang, M. A., and Brubakk, A. O. 2009. The Haldane Effect)

S. J. Haldane applied the same rigour to cured meat and became the first person to demonstrate that the addition of nitrite to haemoglobin produce a nitric oxide (NO)-heme bond, called iron-nitrosyl-hemoglobin (HbFeIINO). He showed that nitrite is further reduced to nitric oxide (NO) in the presence of muscle myoglobin and forms iron-nitrosyl-myoglobin. It is nitrosylated myoglobin that gives cured meat, including bacon and hot dogs, their distinctive red colour and protects the meat from oxidation and spoiling. This is how he discovered it. Remember the observation made by K. B. Lehmann that the colour of fresh meat cooked in water with nitrites and free acid to give a spectrum showing an absorption band just at the right of the D line, and a second band, often poorly defined, at the left of the E line.

Haldane found the same colour to be present in cured meat. That it is soluble in water and giving a spectrum characteristic of NO-hemoglobin. The formation of the red colour in uncooked salted meats is explained by the action of nitrites in the presence of a reducing agent and in the absence of oxygen upon haemoglobin, the normal colouring matter of fresh meats. He showed that the redox reaction occurs in meat during curing (1901).

Haldane finally showed the formation of nitrosylhemochromogen from nitrosylhemoglobin (nitrite added to haemoglobin) when thermal processing has been applied and identified this as the pigment responsible for the cooked cured meat colour. He attributed this formation to NO-hemoglobin denaturing into two parts namely hemin (the colouring group) and the denatured protein (1901).

HOAGLAND

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Ralph Hoagland was the Senior Biochemist, Biochemie Division, Bureau of Animal Industry, United States Department of Agriculture in Chicago. Prior to this appointment, Hoagland was the department head of the Minnesota College of Agriculture (part of the University of Minnesota), appointed in 1909. Presently, the College of Agriculture is the College of Biological Sciences. (http://cbs.umn.edu/ and The Bismarck Tribune; 1912)

In 1908 he published results obtained upon studying the action of saltpetre upon the colour of meat and “found that the value of this agent in the curing of meats depends upon its reduction to nitrites and nitric oxide, with the consequent production of NO-hemoglobin, to which compound the red colour of salted meats is due.” He found that “saltpetre, as such, [had] no value as a flesh-colour preservative.” (Hoagland, R. 1914.)

The results of his 1914 publication are summarised by himself as follows:

a. The colour of uncooked salted meats cured with potassium nitrate, or saltpetre, is generally due, in large part at least, to the presence of NO-hemoglobin, although the colour of certain kinds of such meats may be due in part or in whole to NO-hemochromogen. (Hoagland, R. 1914.)

b. The NO-hemoglobin is produced by the action of the nitric oxide resulting from the reduction of the saltpetre used in salting upon the haemoglobin of the meat. (Hoagland, R. 1914.)

c. The colour of cooked salted meats cured with saltpetre is due to the presence of NO-hemochromogen resulting from the reduction of the colour of the raw salted meat on cooking. (Hoagland, R. 1914.)

BARCROFT AND MULLER

They did not discover the link between nitrite and methaemoglobin, but they were the first to venture an opinion in 1911 on the quantitative relationship that exists between nitrite added and the formation of methaemoglobin. (reported by Greenberg, L. A. et al.; 1943) This is a form of haemoglobin where the iron in the heme group is in the ferrous (CodeCogsEqn (1)) state and not in the ferric (CodeCogsEqn (2)) state. In this state, it can not bind oxygen and in the body, an enzymic action is required to convert it back to haemoglobin.

The reason why haemoglobin turns brown is that nitrite is a very strong heme oxidant. It is the same reason why meat (in particular comminuted meat) that has been injected or tumbled with nitrite also turns brown. This capacity of nitrite increases as the pH decreases. Nitrite itself may be partially oxidised to nitrate during the process of curing and during storage. (Pegg and Shahodi, 2000)

LADISLAV NACHMÜLLNER

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In 1915, at age 19, Ladislav Nachmüllner invents Praganda, the first legal commercial curing brine containing sodium nitrite in the city of Prague. He says that he discovered the power of sodium nitrite through “modern-day professional and scientific investigation.” He probably actively sought an application of the work of Haldane. He quotes the exact discovery that Haldane was credited for in 1901 that nitrite interacts with the meat’s “haemoglobin, which is changing to red nitro-oxy-haemoglobin.” (The Naming of Prague Salt)

MITCHELL AND COLLABORATORS

In February 1916, H. H. Mitchell, H. A. Shonle and H. H. Grindley from the Department of Animal Husbandry at the University of Illinois, Urbana, published “The Origin of the Nitrates in the Urine,” showing that mammals produce nitrate.

LEWIS AND MORAN

In 1928, these researchers suggested that nitrite had antimicrobial efficacy. This was later confirmed by others. (example Evans and Tanner, 1934; Tarr, 1941, 1942, 1944). This becomes one of the great examples of the discovery and continued re-discovery of the same fact by successive civilisations. Beginning with Lewis and Morgan, the antimicrobial efficacy of nitrite was now being subjected to a modern scientific scrutiny despite thousands of years of evidence to the facts. (Peter, F. M. (Editor), 1981)

BROOKS

The reaction of nitrite through the formation of nitrous acid and “its reaction with deoxyhemoglobin to form nitric oxide (NO) and methemoglobin was more fully described by Brooks in 1937. (Gladwin, M. T., et al.; 2008)

DOYLE

The mechanism and unusual behaviour of the reaction of nitrite with deoxyhemoglobin and nitric oxide formation are further described by Doyle and colleagues in 1981.” (Gladwin, M. T., et al.; 2008)

STEINKE AND FOSTER

In 1951 they became the first to demonstrate conclusively the antimicrobial efficacy of nitrite in meat products when added at the levels in use today by commercial curing operations. (Peter, F. M. (Editor), 1981)

H. C. HORNSEY

In 1956 he demonstrated that the characteristic red pigment of cooked cured meat could be extracted completely by an 80% acetone-water mixture. This made the collection of data on the electronic absorbance and reflectance of the cooked cured meat pigment possible and provided an invaluable tool for future researchers. (Hornsey, 1956)

JOHN KENDREW AND MAX PERUTZ

“In 1958 and 1960 molecular biologist John Kendrew published “A Three-Dimensional Model of the Myoglobin Molecule Obtained by X-ray Analysis” (with G. Bodo, H. M. Dintzis, R. G. Parrish, H. Wyckoff,) Nature 181 (1958) 662-666, and “Structure of Myoglobin: A Three-Dimensional Fourier synthesis at 2 Å Resolution” (with R. E. Dickerson, B. E. Strandberg, R. G. Hart, D. R. Davies, D. C. Phillips, V. C. Shore). Nature 185 (1960) 422-27). These papers reported the first solution of the three-dimensional molecular structure of a protein, for which Kendrew received the 1962 Nobel Prize in chemistry, together with his friend and colleague Max Perutz, who solved the structure of the related and more complex protein, haemoglobin, two years after Kendrew’s achievement.” (www.historyofinformation.com) This becomes a crucial tool to progress our understanding of the interaction of nitrite and nitric oxide with the meat protein.

SALVADOR MONCADA AND LOUIS IGNARRO

A phenomenal discovery was made when nitric oxide was identified as a key signalling molecule in human physiology, showing that meat curing is a “natural process”. “Lining almost all blood vessels on the inside is a layer of cells known as the endothelium. A very important function of the endothelium was first reported in 1890 by Furchgott and Zawadzki. The presence of acetylcholine (a small biologically active molecule) in the bloodstream affects vasodilation and it was generally assumed that acetylcholine acted directly upon vascular muscle. However, this was found not to be the case. Furchgott and Zawadzki showed convincingly that that acetylcholine acted, not upon the muscle of the artery, but upon the endothelium and the endothelium produces a “second messenger” which then acts upon the muscles to effect relaxation. This second messenger was christened “the endothelium-derived relaxing factor” (EDRF).” (Cullen, C, Lo, V.; 2005)

During the 1980’s, an intense effort was effected to identify the EDRF. It was initially assumed that it would turn out to be a complex molecule like a hormone. This speculation enhanced the surprise when the chemical nature of the molecule was finally determined. It turned out to be a small diatomic molecule called Nitric Oxide (NO). “That it had a physiological role, in a process as important as vasodilation, came as a complete surprise.” (Cullen, C, Lo, V.; 2005)

“The discovery was made simultaneously by a group at the Wellcome Research Laboratories in Beckenham led by Professor Salvador Moncada and by a group in the USA led by Professor Louis Ignarro. The 1998 Nobel Prize in Physiology and Medicine was awarded for this discovery. Once nitric oxide had been detected in one physiological process it was found to have roles in many others, from inflammation to crying.” (Cullen, C, Lo, V.; 2005)

The debate on the safety of nitrites and nitrates in meat curing is not settled by these developments. What it does is to bring to bear much greater interest upon nitrite and nitric oxide and their role in human physiology, including the health risks associated with their intake. It is nevertheless an astounding fact that meat curing has, through the ages, kept so close to natural physiological processes.

On the Shoulders of Giants

These formidable scientists laid the scientific foundation for the full understanding of the mechanism behind curing. All questions have still not been answered, but we continue to build on their work. It shapes our understanding of the action of nitric oxide on blood and muscle protein. Meat curing is, in the end, a natural process that has been practised for thousands of years.

This is a remarkable fact, Tristan, which I can not over-emphasize. What we realise in meat curing is that it follows the most natural reactions in meat, so important that without those exact same reactions taking place in our bodies continually, life would not be possible! Early man discovered that the most perfect dish is one that is cured with a process that exactly mimics physiological processes in our bodies. How remarkable is that! The men listed above, each made a vital contribution to the discovery of the complete process and without these many lifetimes of scientific work, we would not have understood meat curing. Almost in parallel with these men, many countless butchers have done countless small experiments in the form of trials in their individual butcheries and contributed to the full scientific understanding by the diligent application of their trade!

There is a fundamental lesson here. We do not live in isolation. We stand on the shoulders of many diligent students of life and nature before us and we do well to go back to the origin of every important discovery. The most basic understanding of anything is fundamental to every subsequent discovery. This is true about bacon as well as the art of living.

It is June in Cape Town and the storms lash the Cape. It is impressive to see the power of the ocean. I enjoyed putting this list of men and their contributions together as it gave me a chance to review much of their work. This remains on of the most exciting projects I can dedicate my time to.

Lots of love from Cape Town,

Dad and Minette.


Further Reading

The Fathers of Meat Curing

Concerning the direct addition of nitrite to curing brine

The Naming of Prague Salt


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Notes

References

Extracts from:

Concerning the direct addition of nitrite to curing brine

The Naming of Prague Salt

Additional information references:

The Bismarck Tribune (Bismarck, North Dakota); 10 July 1912; page 2.

Brenner, E.. 2014. Human body preservation – old and new techniques Erich Brenner. J. Anat.(2014) 224, pp316–344 doi: 10.1111/joa.12160

Butler, A. R., Nicholson, R.. 2003. Life, Death and Nitric Oxide. Royal Society of Chemistry.

Butler, A. R. and Feelisch, M. New Drugs and Technologies. Therapeutic Uses of Inorganic Nitrite and Nitrate From the Past to the Future. From: http://circ.ahajournals.org/content/117/16/2151.full

Cole, Morton Sylvan, “Relation of sulfhydryl groups to the fading of cured meat ” (1961). Retrospective Theses and Dissertations. Paper 2402

Cullen, C, Lo, V.. 2005. Medieval Chinese Medicine: The Dunhuang Medical Manuscripts. Routledge Curzon.

Dormandy, T.. 2006. The Worst of Evils: The Fight Against Pain. Yale University Press.

Ferry, R. M.. 1923. STUDIES IN THE CHEMISTRY OF HEMOGLOBIN.
Department of Physical Chemistry, in the Laboratory of Physiology; Harvard Medical School, Boston
Gladwin, M. T., Grubina, R., Doyle, M. P.. 2008. The New Chemical Biology of Nitrite Reactions with Hemoglobin: R-State Catalysis, Oxidative Denitrosylation, and Nitrite Reductase/Anhydrase. Acc. Chem. Res., 2009, 42 (1), pp 157–167, DOI: 10.1021/ar800089j, Publication Date (Web): September 11, 2008, American Chemical Society

Greenberg, L. A. Lester, D., Haggard, H. W., 1943. THE REACTION OF HEMOGLOBIN WITH NITRITE, From the Laboratory of Applied Physiology, Yale University, New Haven, Received for publication, September 10, 1943.

Gayon, U., and G. Dupetit. 1883. La fermentation des nitrates. Mem. Sot. Sci. Phys. Nat. Bordeaux Ser. 2. 5:35-36.

Haldane, J. 1901. The Red Colour of Salted Meat.

Hoagland, R. 1914. Cloring matter of raw and cooked salted meats. Laboratory Inspector, Biochemie Division, Bureau of Animal Industry. Journal of Agricultural Research, Vol. Ill, No. 3 Dept. of Agriculture, Washington, D. C. Dec. 15, 1914.

Hornsey, H. C. “The Colour of Cooked Cured Pork. I. Estimation of the Nitric oxide-Haem Pigments”. J. Sci. Food Agric. 1956, 7, 534-540.

Hurst, J. W., 1989. M. D., T. Lauder Brunton, 1844- 19 16, w. B. FYE, M.D Cardiology Department, Marshfield Clinic, Marshfield, Wisconsin, USA. Clin. Cardiol. 12, 675-676 (1989)

Lavoisier, A. 1965. Elements of Chemistry. Dover Publications, Inc. A republication of a 1790 publication

Mitchell, H. H.., Shonle, H. A., Grindley, H. S.. 1916. THE ORIGIN OF THE NITRATES IN THE URINE, From the Department of Animal Husbandry, University of Illinois, Urbana

Morton, I. D. and Lenges. J. 1992. Education and Training in Food Science: A Changing Scene. Ellis Hornwood Limited.

Meusel, E. 1875. De la putrefaction produite par les batteries, en presence des nitrates alcalins. C. R. Hebd. Seances Acad. Sci. 81:533-534.

Peter, F. M. (Editor), 1981. The Health Effects of Nitrate, Nitrite, and N- Nitroso Compounds. Part 1. National Acadamy Press

Pegg, R. B. and Shahidi, F.. 2000. Nitrite curing of meat. Food & Nutrition Press, Inc.

Péligot E. 1841. Sur l’acide hypoazotique et sur l’acide azoteux. Ann Chim Phys.; 2: 58–68.

Scheele CW. 1777. Chemische Abhandlung von der Luft und dem Feuer. Upsala, Sweden: M. Swederus.

Photo Credits:

L Da Vinci: https://www.codeavengers.com/c/gabrielj/leonardodavinci.html

Carl Scheele: http://www.explicatorium.com/biografias/carl-sheele.html

Justinus Kerner: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Justinus_Kerner

C. R. Fresenius: https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carl_Remigius_Fresenius

Humphrey Davy: https://global.britannica.com/biography/Sir-Humphry-Davy-Baronet

Lehmann: http://www.kumc.edu/

J S Haldane: https://en.wikipedia.org

T. LAUDER BRUNTON: Hurst, J. W., 1989. M. D., T. Lauder Brunton, 1844- 19 16, w. B. FYE, M.D Cardiology Department, Marshfield Clinic, Marshfield, Wisconsin, USA. Clin. Cardiol. 12, 675-676 (1989)

Hoagland. Popular Science. 1912.

Photo References

Chapter 12.00: The Union Letters

Introduction to Bacon & the Art of Living

The story of bacon is set in the late 1800s and early 1900s when most of the important developments in bacon took place. The plotline takes place in the 2000s with each character referring to a real person and actual events. The theme is a kind of “steampunk” where modern mannerisms, speech, clothes and practices are superimposed on a historical setting.  Modern people interact with old historical figures with all the historical and cultural bias that goes with this.


The Union Letters

Sea Point, Cape Town,
1959

The quest to understand Bacon and the Art of Living has by 1959 consumed 66 years of my time on earth. I lived through three major wars. The second Anglo Boer War was fought between 11 October 1899 and 31 May 1902 and the First and the Second World War which occurred respectively between 28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918 and 1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945.

When the sun sets over the Atlantic, Minette and I sit in our Seapoint apartment, watching it cast its deep orange cloak over our world. We play chess or cards on the balcony which has been turned into a sunroom when we enclosed it with glass a few years ago. We slowly sip on Gyn and remiss about the old days. In the morning we walk along the Sea Point promenade to stay active. We still regularly hike on Table Mountain but not as often as we should.  At night we stay home and enjoy each other’s company.

Tristan and Lauren

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Tristan and Lauren during the construction of our first factory.

Tristan and Lauren have each gone their own way.  Tristan followed his own passion when he joined a travel firm based in Australia.  Lauren studies B Com. Tristan completed B Com which he did part-time. They both outgrew the difficulties associated with ones childhood and have their own amazing families to take care of.

Woody’s Bacon

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The new Woodys logo. Willem Klynveld managed its creation.

Oscar and I grew Woodys into the largest supplier to retail in South Africa of own branded products for outlets like Pick ‘n Pay and Checkers producing 15 tonnes of the best bacon on earth every day.  We both decided its time to bid our baby farewell when Oom Koos and Duncan took the company over during the depression years and we both decided to follow other meat-related ambitions.

Letters from the Union – Therapy for an Old Man

The kids kept asking me for years to write down my memories from 1893 to 1959 and together with the letters I wrote them, Dawie Hyman, David de Villiers Graaff, and Oscar when I was abroad, learning the art of producing the best bacon on earth compile it into a book. After many years of dragging my feet, I finally decided to take them up on the request. The final idea came together at a time when both Tristan and Lauren were both living in Europe and New Zealand. This time it was not me on a quest around the world to unravel the secrets of bacon curing. It was the two kids travelling and I could write to them, not from Europe but now from home while they are living abroad. I find it difficult to make small talk on the telephone. Writing them about events following 1893 was the perfect structure I was looking for to build my letters around. So I picked the story up where I left off in 1893 when I wrote them my last letter about bacon from New Zealand. They were both pleased with the suggestion since it gives us regular contact and I fulfil their request for completing my work on bacon.

Imperial Cold Storage & Supply Co.

Prospectus ICS

The prospectus of the company replacing Combrink & Co. in 1899.

David de Villiers Graaff ultimately changed the name of Combrinck & Co. to the Imperial Cold Storage and Supply Co.  He made his fortune at least three times. The one time was when the city wanted to expand the railway station at the bottom of Adderly Street and needed to relocated Combrink & Co.. The location where they wanted to move the butchery business to as well as the money in compensation were both in dispute. After a process of arbitration, an astronomical amount of  £55 000 was awarded to them on 2 March 1895. David approached the high court to endorse the outcome of the arbitration process. The matter was heard on 9 March 1895 by the chief justice John Henry de Villiers and Justice Thomas Upington who found for Combrink & Co. and the  £55 000 was endorsed and made an order of the court.  This provided the initial financial basis for the development of their consumer goods empire.

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The old railway entrance at the Cape Town Headquarters of the ICS.

The second instance was the outbreak of rinderpest, a dreaded disease afflicting cattle that annihilated an estimated 2,500,000 cattle and untold numbers of game across southern Africa. Its spread into South Africa started around 1895.  David’s answer was to import frozen meat from Australia and to distribute it to cold storage facilities to be erected throughout the region. In order to finance this elaborate scheme, early on in 1897, David and his one brother, Jacobus Graaff started thinking of floating a limited liabilities company. On 4 May 1899, the South African Supply & Cold Storage Co. Ltd. was registered with a nominal capital of £450 000.

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Oxen being slaughtered “roughly” in the field. They were then hoisted up with slaughter poles and cut into joints for cooking. (From Ice Cold In Africa)

It allowed David to erect cold storage facilities across Southern Africa and the chance to import vast quantities of meat into the Colony and later into the Union of South Africa. During the Anglo Boer War, the Imperial Cold Storage and Supply Company won the tender to supply the British forces with meat. With the refrigerated railway cars that David saw in Chicago when he visited Philip Armour’s packing plant, he was the only firm that had the capacity to take on such an enterprise. Apart from this, the company became one of the largest meat processing companies in the world.  Our friend eventually sold his shares and the name of the company was changed to ICS during the Great Depression.

The company was in financial trouble by 1934 due to hardship that probably goes back to 1925.  Anglo-American corporation became its biggest shareholder with the total share capital of the company increased to GB£2.2 million (equivalent to £436,000,000 in 2010). The company worked closer and closer with Tiger Oats which was, back then, also a subsidiary of Anglo-American corporation.  (1)

Dawie Hyman

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Eben, Dawie and Tristan at Truth Coffee.

Dawie Hyman returned to America where he transitioned from working for the Community Chess in Los Angeles and the Twin Cities of St Paul and Minneapolis to establish his own company supplying solutions in the manipulation of data. After Minette and my visit to New Zealand, we never made it to America as our partners in Cape Town needed our urgent participation in setting up the bacon company and its processing plant. We did eventually make it to Los Angeles many years later, but the objective of the visit was related to further training in areas outside the narrow scope of bacon which consumed me for so many years.

Family

My mom and dad both passed away. My dad passed away after a motor accident on the way home from a vacation in Natal and my mom, after a long sickbed where she struggled with dementia. My brother, Elmar, became a lawyer and later turned his attention to real estate and the retirement industry. Juanita, his wife, kept working as an optometrist, raising Pieter Willem and Handre, their beautiful two boys. Andre, our older brother left the forestry business and entered the personal protection industry. Fanie and Luani, Minette’s brother-in-law and her twin sister, continue to live in Cape Town and their two kids, Liam and Luan went on to have successful careers in their own right.

Union of South Africa

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The Times, London, England, 11 October 1910

South Africa became a Union in 1910 and there is talk right now that it will sever its ties with Brittain and form a fully independent Republic. I have my own mixed feelings about it and see the attitude of many white people as desiring nothing more than to have independence in order to secure a continuation of slavery just in another disguise. I remember how this happened with the institution of a system of indenture after slavery was abolished and the Transvaal Republic looked for ways to continue the diabolical practice. There were reports of slave markets, now in a new form, but effectively the same thing continues to exist in Southern Africa right up to the end of the 1800s. The English waged the First Anglo Boer war based on an assertion that this system was nothing less than slavery by another name.

I insert the opening paragraph of Louis Botha’s speech when we became a Union. It shows the deeply embedded racist undertones that existed even in the thinking of people even of the statue of General Louis Botha.

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The Buffalo Sunday Morning, 14 August 1910, the opening paragraph of a speech by Louis Botha.

While the Black people got a raw deal, the Union gave unprecedented power to former foes of the British Empire, the Boers.

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The Guardian, London, 1 June 1910, a day after the Union was proclaimed.  Celebrating the new political power now largely in the hands of the Afrikaners.

The achievement of the Boer nation was remarkable and this fact should never be underestimated. Here are two more extracts from the newspaper article quoted above, from the Manchester Guardian. It deals with the fact that a Union was a better option than a Federation and how this gave greater autonomy to the former Boer republics.  It highlights another remarkable fact of the Union of South Africa in the following clipping from the paper.

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This unification of the Afrikaner and English South Africa became a focal point for both Botha and Smuts. The respect from the British that became the basis of their new approach to the Boer nation was built upon respect gained in the Anglo Boer war. In December 1889, in a piece I wrote from Johannesburg entitled, Seeds of War, I recount my meeting of a Boer called Daniel Jacobs.  One night at a dry riverbed outside Kimberly, he asked me if we could camp together for the night. He was travelling alone and our transport party provided him with the security in numbers for the night which lone travellers lack. He was on his way to Johannesburg on government business. I kept in contact with Daniel and after the Boer War, he shared the following fascinating account with me which illustrates my point.

He told me the story of one Gustav Baumann who was born on 21 November 1858 in Bloemfontein. His dad immigrated from Germany and was one of the first residents of  Bloemfontein. Gustav was a land surveyor in the Free State and later became Chief Surveyor General. His daughter published a book on her father’s memories after his passing, The Lost Republic: The Biography of a Land Surveyor by Gustav Baumann and Elfrieda Bright. He was a very compassionate person.

He matriculated from Grey College and even though his mother tongue was Afrikaans, he learned English while in school. During the War with England, he fought on the side of the Boers and was captured when Bloemfontain fell in English hands. Pres. Steyn, the president of the Boer Republic of the Free State instructed him to stay behind and to hand the Free State land title deeds to the English forces.

After the war, he met the Boer warrior and folk hero, General de Wet.  He told Daniel, (2) “Meeting old General de Wet after the war, I asked him why, after Bloemfontein and Pretoria had been captured and we knew we could never win the war, he still went on fighting: ‘Mr. Baumann,’ he said, ‘we kept on because we had to knock respect for our people into the British!’ This is exactly the point I am making about the basis for the English treatment of the Boer nations following the war. It was predicated on respect. His daughter later wrote about her father (2), “Gustav Baumann, who was an old friend of de Wet’s, and who had the greatest admiration for the old warrior…”

He also made another point of something that my great grandfather, JW Kok referred to which I wrote about in October 1960 where I celebrate The Castlemain Bacon Company from Australia as a producer of some of the finest bacon on earth. Here, he makes mention of the fact that some of the Boers who were captured early on in the war were accused of “ill-discipline.” 

de wet et al

Nico Moolamn describes this as “surely… one of the classiest photos in my collection. As dyed by friend Tinus le Roux. For my book “Thank you, general.” Commandant Flip de Vos, Genl De Wet and Veldkornet Alfred Thring at Kroonstad. ABO era.

Gustav Baumann recounts the following about the ill-discipline of the Boers early on in the campaign.  “The lack of discipline, especially in the early stages of the war, was appalling. My brother Herbert was a veld-kornet with the forces investing Kimberley. He was visited by a veld-kornet of the Transvaal Forces. While they were drinking coffee together, a messenger arrived from the Hoft-Commandant (Highest Commandant) for the Transvaler: Commandant Cronje wants to see you at once.” “And who the devil is Cronje to order me about?’ he demanded. ‘Tell him I’ll come when I am ready.’ He finished his coffee and left at his leisure.” He later writes that “…after three years of fighting the men still in the field had learned the art of war.”

Irrespective of the achievements of the Boer, the separation of races and the exploitation of black people and their exclusion from decisionmaking and government never stopped in South Africa but things went from bad to worse when the National Party came to power in 1924 for a short time and again in 1948 which lasted to 1994.  It was in 1948 when a new word was coined to describe the policies of the new government – “apartheid”.  I can see no positive outcome to the scheme and fail to understand how the white population can continue to think that a future is possible that is built upon the exploitation of our fellow human beings and excluding them from determining their own future.  On the other hand, the Boers got a deal, pretty close to what they were fighting for over many years.  South Africa remains a deeply divided land with great opportunities as was proven by David de Villiers Graaff, despite tremendous personal challenges and the diabolical system instituted by the National Government which kept the black man in bondage.

I believe that the unequal distribution of the resources of this great land will come home to haunt every people living here. The English will lose their “little England” and the Boers their “God-given independence” and little Holland with its straight and orderly lines, their language and their church. The peoples from whom they have taken so much by force and illegitimately will grow up to be united and strong enough to fight back. They will leave their care-free existence to forge peoples organised like the superpowers who lord it over them right now and will one day throw the joke off with no regard for Brittain or Holland or the ideal of “self-preservation to the exclusion of all others,” so well exemplified by the Afrikaner. They are training generations of people to hate with a burning fire!  Will they ever be able to withstand what is coming their way?

Bacon Curing and the first Union Cabinet.

It is remarkable that beacon curing and the meat trade featured very prominently in the first Union Cabinet.

Louis Botha’s 1910 cabinet. Supplied by Linda Fouché‎.

Gen Louis Botha was the man who championed the course for the development of the meat industry in South Africa. He had a great ally in David de Villiers Graaff who created ICS which became Tiger Brands. FR Moor is 3rd from the left, back row, looking to his right. His younger brother, JW Moor was the chairman of the farmers cooperative that became Eskort. Botha opened the Eskort factory in Estcourt, Natal shortly before he passed away. The first curing system that Eskort used was the Wiltshire cure associated with Tank Curing.

Through the presence of Botha, De Villiers Graaff and Moor one can see the two South African cold meat giants, Enterprise and Eskort, the largest bacon producer in South Africa represented in the first cabinet.

Meat Curing Focus

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Photograph from L V Praagh, The Transvaal, and its Mines, 1906, p.321, of the curing room of a cold storage and butcher’s shop in  Fordsburg, Johannesburg.

My focus remained steadfastly on understanding the chemistry of meat curing to aim Woodys in the right direction. In recent years I became intensely interested in the development of meat curing and preservation in Africa during pre-colonial times. This is a project on its own to reduce to writing at a future time. When I am done with my work on bacon and the good Lord grants me health and a few more years, I will take this project up for there are amazing tales related to it that have never been told!

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Unie van Suid-Afrika, Departement van Landbou en Bosbou, Hulpboek vir Boere in Suid-Africa, 3de en uitgebreide uitgawe, saamgestel deur D. J. Seymore (Redakteur)

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Unie van Suid-Afrika, Departement van Landbou en Bosbou, Hulpboek vir Boere in Suid-Africa, 3de en uitgebreide uitgawe, saamgestel deur D. J. Seymore (Redakteur)

Bacon & the Art of Living

The letters that follow tell the rest of the story of Bacon & the Art of Living written from South Africa to my children who are living abroad.

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When I’m not working (curing meat) or exploring with Minette, this is my life!


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(c) eben van tonder

Bacon & the art of living” in book form
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Notes

(1) In March 1982 Barlow bought a large interest in Tiger Oats and the controlling share in Imperial Cold Storage. In October 1998 Tiger Brands (Tiger Oats Limited) bought out Imperial Cold Storage.  It swallowed up ICS in its own portfolio of brands and subsidiaries.

(2)  The quotes and references all came from The Lost Republic The Biography of a Land Surveyor by Gustav Baumann and Elfrieda Bright which was brought to my attention and quoted by Daniel Jacobs.

References

Brooke Simons, Phillida (2000). Ice Cold in Africa: The History of Imperial Cold Storage & Supply Company Limited. Cape Town: Fernwood Press.

Gustav BaumannElfrieda Baumann.  1940. The Lost RepublicThe Biography of a Land-surveyor.  Bright Faber & FaberFree State (South Africa)

Chapter 11.02: Oake Woods & Co Ltd in New Zealand and Other Amazing Tales

Introduction to Bacon & the Art of Living

The story of bacon is set in the late 1800s and early 1900s when most of the important developments in bacon took place. The plotline takes place in the 2000s with each character referring to a real person and actual events. The theme is a kind of “steampunk” where modern mannerisms, speech, clothes and practices are superimposed on a historical setting.  Modern people interact with old historical figures with all the historical and cultural bias that goes with this.


Oake Woods & Co Ltd in New Zealand and Other Amazing Tales

June 1893

Dear Kids,

There is a Māori proverb that says, “A grey hair held between the finger and thumb is an infinitesimally trivial thing, yet it conveys to the mind of man the lesson of an everlasting truth.” Such is the wisdom of the Māori. They have their own unique set of proverbs; a strong and proud race with sophisticated laws and customs which rivals the modern cities of Europe in complexity and detail. These existed since long before there was any European contact.

New Zealand is an exceptional place to be with a beauty that is unimaginable. The developments from around the world of refrigeration and the production of bacon by the most modern ways reached these far shores of the earth. The three ways that I see this happening is in the quick development of refrigeration storage facilities at all major locations on the Islands, in the fact that I suspect C & T Harris to be looking to establishing curing works here and in the local pig breed, I found in the Island, very popular among the Māori people.

Harris Agent Cropped

Cold Storage in New Zealand

The Dunedin works of the New Zealand Refrigerating Company is the first cold storage installation in operation on these shores. The Dunedin works are only a bit larger than those in Christchurch, Wellington, Napier, Auckland, Timaru, Oamaru, and Invercargill. In total, there are 21 works on the two islands. The business was only started in 1882 in a small way and has since then increased tremendously. Currently, they are responsible for the export of a million carcasses of sheep and lambs per annum, with a total stock of about eighteen million.

The shipping companies could, in the early day of the trade, insist that a required quantity of sheep be supplied to their steamers. The freezing companies set up agreements with farmers on the back of the requirements from the steamers to take up the bulk of the space.

Since those early years, speculators stepped in, at least here on the Middle Island, who started buying the sheep from the farmers for cash which obviously suited the farmers better than having to wait for the steamers to take up their stock from the freezing facilities which only stored the goods. The shipping companies lost the constant supply from the farmers and the farmer is now shielded from the risk of competing with the English market. I heard from farmers that the bulk of the sheep sent from the Middle Island was sold in this way, especially in Christchurch and at the Bluff; and as for the farmers, they got their cash sooner and was able to negotiate good prices with the traders.

New Zealand has then, like Australia and South Africa became part of the New World, which is able to supply the old with its produce.

Oake Woods & Co Ltd in New Zealand 1

As is the case around the world, pigs are a very useful dance partner of the dairy industry. Berkshire is the most popular breed on these islands. The large and small breeds of White Yorkshire are also bred, but they are not as popular as the black pigs. Many farmers don’t breed the pigs; they only rear and fatten them which has proved to be a very lucrative business. The New Zealand pigs are heartier than those from England and unlike the English pigs, they only need a good grass paddock, with an abundance of roots, a small quantity of unthreshed pea-haul for finishing them a few weeks before the killing, and of course, lots of water with good shelter from the sun during the warmest summer months.

Minette and I visited a few large pig farmers who farm close to Cheviot and Gore Bay. I was pleasantly surprised to meet an old friend from South Africa working on another large pig farm very close to Cheviot. We visited Brendon and his lovely wife, Belinda. Their children are a blessing, not only to them but to all who know the Buckland family. The amazingly gifted poet and artist, Rachel is the oldest, then the very unique and beautiful Ruth, Hanna who is spontaneous and joyful, 3rd; the super energetic and joyful Hezekai is 4th, followed by the completely unique and lovely Asher and finally, Anastasia who is still a baby – uniquely adorable. Of all the people I have met on earth, this amazing family perfectly exemplifies what we have been taught a Christian should be and we count the time spent with them as one of the biggest highlights of our trip. They don’t walk around preaching but their lives are worth imitating in every respect!

Bredon tells me that there is a very definite expectation among farmers that the trade of raising pigs will meet the demand of local meat curers and the trade is expected to increase rapidly. Brendon is the kind of man who keeps his word and I suspect that his source asked him not to divulge the name of the firm involved but he told me that one of the largest suppliers in the UK of mess pork to the navies of the world and the mercantile marine operations, sent an agent to New Zealand in order to investigate the viability of setting up a branch in the colony. The agent has been here for some time now, a couple of months at least, and is making inquiries as to the prospect of opening up a branch establishment. He ran a trial to test the quality of our pigs for their purposes. The trial was done by preparing some carcasses by a process patented by the firm. He then shipped these to his principals in England. He received a cablegram which stated that the meat and the curing were done to “perfection.” As a result of this, arrangements are being made for extensive trade throughout the colony. The English firm is prepared to erect factories at a cost of £20,000 each in areas where they have a reasonable expectation to secure 2,000 pigs per week. (The NZ Official Yearbook, 1893)

At first, I thought that this was the famous firm from Gillingham, Dorset, Oake Woods & Co. Ltd. Later I learned that it was the London based firm of Mr Aron Vecht, the Intermarine Supply Co. (The Journal of Agriculture and Industry, 1899)

We have seen that pork industries are very beneficial to dairy and brewery industries since it provides a way to dispose of low-value by-products such as whey protein, a by-product in cheese making and brewery waste which otherwise has to be discarded. Another reason why a healthy pork industry is a benefit to the farmer is that it provided an effective way to deal with inferior grain which may be converted into mutton and pork. It is not a good practice to pay freight on inferior samples of grain; it will pay far better to convert it into mutton and pork, which may be driven to market on four legs, instead of four wheels. The rule applying to our dairy produce—namely, that it should be of the finest quality—applied with equal force to grain intended for shipment.

The Kunekune

To my great surprise, we found a pig breed on the Islands, very popular amongst the Māori, that looks almost exactly like the Kolbroek breed of the Cape. Kunekune is a Māori word meaning “fat and round” and it perfectly describes this adorable and mild-tempered animal.

Let me first show you what I mean when I say that they look exactly like the Kolbroek.

-> Compare the Kune Kune photos, courtesy of the Empire Kunekune Pig Association of New York (https://www.ekpa.org/).

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-> Compare these with the Kolbroek, photos with the courtesy of Zenzele Farm in South Africa. (http://www.zenzelefarm.com/Kolbroek.html)

Kolbroek
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I wonder if the Kolbroek which came to the Cape of Good Hope is, in essence, the same pigs (group or breed) that also arrived at the shores of New Zealand? How does it happen that these pig breeds look so strikingly similar? I wonder if I, as a foreigner and not a Kunekune, Kolbroek or pig breeding expert can venture a guess how it could have happened that these animals look so similar.

Form of the Kunekune Compared with Drawings from England

Compare the form of the Kune Kune with the Berkshire and Large White’s.  The similarities are very interesting.

Uniting the Kolbroek, the Kunekune, the English East Indian Company, and China

We know that the Kunekune has Chinese genes. An obvious link between the Kunekune, the Kolbroek, and China from the 1700s is the English East Indian Company and possibly the English navy. The English East Indian Company is the most obvious organisation of that time who facilitated trade between England and China. It makes sense that they were responsible for populating England with Chinese pigs. It also stands to reason that it was an English East Indian ship that was responsible for ferrying the fletching nucleus of pigs of what would become the Kolbroek to Kogel Bay at Cape Hangklip where runaway slaves possibly took over the small herd which swam ashore off the sinking Colebrook and were responsible for initially preserving them.

If the Kunekune came to New Zealand around the same time and also from an English East Indian ship or from the English navy; if the New Zealand pigs were also taken on board from Gravesend as the evidence seems to suggest was the case with the Kolbroek pigs; if the pigs were not breed-pigs like the Berkshire or the Buckinghamshire but, as I suspect, village pigs from Kent; this will explain the Chinese connection and how these seemingly very close relatives made it to both South Africa and New Zealand. One would expect to find evidence in the genetic makeup of the breeds, both Chinese and European origins.

Considering the facts before us leads to this very intriguing and neat conclusion and would settle the matter of the origins of the Kolbroek based on the strong similarities between the Kolbroek and the Kunekune. It would preclude the possibility that the Kolbroek “evolved” through a complicated cross bearding of Chinese or Portuguese, Spanish or Dutch breeds with South African wild boars or even warthogs. Let’s delve into the facts.

China

I have written to you previously about the development of the English Pig when Minette and I met Michael in Liverpool while we stayed at the Royal Waterloo Hotel. I do not wish to repeat myself except to remind you that around eight thousand years ago, pigs in China made a transition from wind animals to the farm. They started living off scraps of food from human settlements. Humans penned them up and started feeding them which removed the evolutionary pressure they had as wild animals living in the forest. They were bred by humans instead of being left in the forests to breed naturally and to fend for themselves. This led to an animal that is round, pale, short-legged, pot-bellied with traditional regional breeding preferences that persist to this day. (White, 2011)

In contrast to the Chinese custom, in the West, the scavengers were treated differently. There is evidence that pigs were initially exploited in the Middle East around 9000 to 10 000 years ago. These denser settlements of the Neolithic times in the fertile crescent did not pen the animals up but ejected them from their society. The pigs may have been a nuisance or competed with humans for scarce resources such as water. Genetic research shows that the first pig exploitation in Anatolia (around modern-day Turkey) “hit a dead end.” (White, 2011) The pigs that were domesticated here all died out.

The pigs in Europe and England were kept in the wild for extended periods of time. Various European populations developed techniques of mast feeding (Mast being the fruit of forest trees and shrubs, such as acorns and other nuts). Herds were pushed into abandoned forests and feeding them on beechnuts and acorns that are of marginal value to humans. (White, 2011)

The practice of pannage, as it is called, is the releasing of livestock-pigs in a forest, so that they can feed on fallen acorns, beech mast, chestnuts or other nuts. One of the requirements for a Chinese/ European pig breed to have survived either in South Africa or New Zealand as a distinct breed is that the pigs did not become part of the general pig population, dealt with according to European custom, but, instead, was kept according to Chinese traditions in pens. The “pressure” to keep them in pens instead of letting them run wild as was the custom at the Cape, I believe was that the pigs were received by runaway slaves who knew pig husbandry and kept the pigs penned up as they did with other domesticated animals on their hideouts as a way to keep them “close” and out of sight of the general farm population for fear of being detected by authorities and the slaves be re-captured. The question is if there existed similar pressure in New Zealand.

The most likely candidate to have taken the pigs from England to the Cape was the Colnebrook in 1778 and Captain Cook, who is known to have released pigs on islands he visited, is the most likely candidate to have ferried the ancestors of the Kunekune to New Zealand. The pigs that he released on the middle Island who was not penned up but roamed the forests became feral and their characteristics changed to revert back to the wild state. We know that crossbreeds between Chinese and European breeds appeared in England well before the 1778 sailing of the Colebrook for the Cape of Good Hope and the three visits of Cook to New Zealand, in 1769-70, 1773 and 1777.

Kunekune

We have already seen that the Kunekune and the Kolbroek can be one pig breed for all intent and purposes. What is there that we know about the genetics of the Kunekune? A paper was presented by Gongora, et al., at the 7th World Congress on Genetics Applied to Livestock Production, Montpellier, France, (2) entitled
Origins of the Kune Kune and Auckland Island Pigs in New Zealand.

They introduce their paper as follows, directly addressing the matters of interest to us. “Migrating Polynesians first introduced pigs from Asia to the Pacific islands (Diamond, 1997), but it is not clear whether they reached New Zealand. European sailors and settlers introduced pigs into New Zealand in the 18th and 19th centuries, many of which became feral, but few records were kept of these introductions (Clarke and Dzieciolowski, 1991a; 1991b). It is believed that the European settlers introduced contemporary domestic animals originating either directly or indirectly from Europe (Challies, 1976).” (Gongora, 2002) It is this last possibility that is of interest to us. If the DNA evidence supports this possibility, it opens up the link with the Kolbroek since both pigs have prominent Chinese in their DNA and both possibly originating from Europe.

One must be careful here since Cook got pigs from many parts of the world and others are known to also have sent pigs to New Zealand. The possibility, for example, that the Kunekune came from pigs that Captain Cook released on the South Island in 1773, obtained from Tonga and Tahiti, and, therefore, undoubtedly of Polynesian origin (Clarke and Dzieciolowski, 1991a) remains. (Gongora, 2002)

Gongora, and coworkers et al. (2002) reports that the “unequivocal Asian origin of the Kune Kune mitochondrial sequence is consistent with the pigs being taken from Asia to New Zealand by the Polynesian ancestors of present-day Maoris, but maybe better supported by the well documented introduction of Polynesian pigs into New Zealand by Captain Cook in 1773.” (Gongora, 2002) This is, of course, the most obvious conclusion.

However, the possibility of the introduction of this Asian mitochondrial sequence via a European breed, which acquired Asian mitochondria by introgression in the 18th century in Europe is as good a possibility as the aforementioned. (Gongora, 2002) Gongora says that “such introgression explains the clustering of the Large White and Berkshire sequences with Asian pigs” as can be seen from the graph below.

Kune Kune Lineage.png

Nucleotide substitutions and gaps are found in 32 porcine mtDNA D-loop sequences. The Kune Kune clusters with Asian domestic pigs are most closely related to Chinese and Japanese breeds. The Auckland Island sequence clusters with domestic European breeds (Gongora, 2002). Auckland Island is situated south of New Zealand and it is thought that the pigs that were released there may have the same origin as the Kunekune.

Analysis of additional Kune Kune sequences as well as more Polynesian sequences may help distinguish the first two possibilities from the third. Finding unambiguous Polynesian sequences may be difficult though, as Giuffra et al. (2000) found that a feral pig sequence from Cook Island in Polynesia clustered with European domestic pig sequences. Analyses of nuclear gene sequences in conjunction with mtDNA sequences will also help in discriminating between European and Asian origins as for the porcine GPIP gene in the study of Giuffra et al. (2000). Analysis of microsatellite marker allele frequencies using the standard ISAG/FAO marker set (Li et al., 2000) will also assist in deciphering the relationships of these populations of pigs and are already underway for the Auckland Island population and are planned for the Kune Kune pigs. Jointly these studies will illuminate the history of Pacific island pigs, their geographic origins and genetic diversity.” (Gongora, 2002)

They conclude by stating that “Kune Kune pigs have Asian mitochondrial DNA but at this stage we cannot distinguish between i) Polynesian introduction of Asian pigs, ii) European introduction of pigs from Asia/Polynesia or iii) introgression of Asian mtDNA into European pigs in Europe in 17th century and subsequent introduction of these “European” pigs into New Zealand.” (Gongora, 2002) The link with the Kolbroek may give a hint of what actually happened.

A cursory survey of Captain Cook and pigs confirm the fact that he released pigs on the islands. He did this at more than one time. The pigs could even have been from the Cape Of Good Hope. On this 3rd voyage to New Zealand in 1776, he was met by a ship in Cape Town who accompanied him to New Zealand. The ship was the Discovery, commanded by Charles Clerke. “The Discovery was the smallest of Cook’s ships and was manned by a crew of sixty-nine. The two ships were repaired and restocked with a large number of livestock and set off together for New Zealand [from Cape Town] ( December).” (http://www.captcook-ne.co.uk)

We also know that pigs were sent to New Zealand from Australia. In 1793, Governor King of Norfolk Island gave 12 pigs to Tukitahua, one of two northern Māori chiefs who had been kidnapped and taken to Norfolk Island. By 1795 only one animal was left. King then established relations with the northern chief Te Pahi, and sent a total of 56 pigs in three ships in 1804 and 1805. It is probably from these, and from being gifted between tribes, that pigs became established in the North Island. From 1805 Māori were trading pigs to Europeans.” (https://teara.govt.nz)

Still, it is unlikely that the Kunekune came from animals that were merely “released” on the islands. These animals reverted to the feral state. I also suspect that, as was the case along the South African coast, pigs that were given as a gift or traded were probably consumed. There must have been a reason, planning, purpose and some instruction that accompanied the exchange of pigs into the hands of a leader who could command the breeding of the animals. Such an example exists, and as we will see later, it relates to the one voyage of Cook that started at Gravesend.

“Two pigs were gifted to Māori by de Surville at Doubtless Bay in 1769. During Cook’s second and third voyages, a number of boars and sows were released – most in Queen Charlotte Sound, but two breeding pairs were given to the Hawke’s Bay chief Tuanui.” Cook’s first visit to Hawked Bay was in 1769 sailing in the Endeavour as part of his first Pacific voyage (1768-1771). We know that he released pigs on the South Island. “Wild pigs, in the South Island at least, may have originated from Cook’s voyages, and are generally known as Captain Cookers.” (https://teara.govt.nz)

Below is a portrait of Tuanui (also known as Rangituanui), principal chief of Ngati Hikatoa. The drawing by W. Hodges. Engrav’d by Michel. Published Feb 1st, 1777 by Wm. Strahan New Street, Shoe Lane, and Thos. Cadell in the Strand, London. No.LV. 1777

Tuanui, (also known as Rangituanui), principal chief of Ngati Hikatoa 1777.png

Cook gave him breeding pigs, a very interesting fact. There are accounts from New Zealand where Māori’s tried to pen up wild animals with no success. A leader such as Tuanui is exactly the kind of exchange one would expect to develop into the Māori-pig or the Kunekune.

Oral Tradition

I have great respect for oral traditions. Over the years I have seen how tenacious phrases and stories are over time, persists. It seems to me that the shorter the phrase, the simpler it is to pass on and, oftentimes, the more revealing it is of an actual event. This is more or less my approach with the Kolbroek and I was eager to see just how entrenched the theory is that Captain Cook released, not just any pig, but pigs from England on the shores of New Zealand that could have been the start of the Kunekune.

Searching through old newspapers yielded the following. From The Age (Melbourn, Victoria, Australia) (3) it was reported that “when Captain Cook landed in New Zealand during one of his great voyages of discovery, he set free on the shore several pigs which had been brought all the way from England to provide fresh meat on the voyage.” The wild pigs of New Zealand are according to the author, also descendants of the pigs that Cook released here. The link with England is of particular interest.

The Courrier (Waterloo, Iowa), 7 April 1886 calls the Māori Pig, “a descendant of one of Captain Cooks Pigs it may be – a swine, black but not completely, ill-shaped and clumsy, but apparently a perfectly happy pig leading, as he does, the life of a free and independent gentlemen, as does his mater, the Maori landowner and rejoicing in the grubbing up of abundant and gratuitous fern roots.” There is no reference to the pigs being from England and the author mentions the link between the Māori pig and Captain Cook as a possibility, but there can be little doubt we are talking about Kunekune here.

Studying old drawings can assist us as it does in our study of the development of pig breeds.

new zealand pigs.png

The image above can easily be a young Kunekune but then again, it could be any one of a number of smaller Chinese breeds. Photo by King, 2015).

The Gravesend Connection

The diary of events leading up to Cook’s first voyage gives us a connection with Gravesend.

Jul.18Mon.Pilot arrives to take Endeavour to the Downs.
 21Thu.Sails from Deptford for Gallions Reach.
 30Sat.Sails from Gallions Reach to Gravesend.
 31Sun.Sails from Gravesend.
Aug.3Wed.Endeavour in the Downs.
 7Sun.Cook joins Endeavour to commence Voyage.
 8Mon.Sails for Plymouth.

(from https://www.captaincooksociety.com)

Cook’s second and third voyage was undertaken, not from Gravesend, but another location in Kent, The Downs. This means that in 1768 Captain Cook took pigs on board the HMS Endeavour, and in 1778, a mere 9 years later, the East Indiaman, Colebrook, took pigs on board from the exact same location in Kent. Could these have been Chinese Pigs, crossed with the same large English breed, possibly from the same boar resulting in the Kolbroek and the Kunekune?

Here is a possible reconstruction of events from my imagination. Village pigs at Gravesend in Kent, during the early 1700s, received a dominant pig boar that the villagers used to service their sows. This boar was probably owned by a wealthy local landowner. Beginning in the 1700s, Old English pig breeds were crossed with Chinese pigs, probably brought to English shores by the English East Indian Company. The navy used Gravesend to stock their ships with livestock, as did the English East Indian Company. Captain Cook took on board some of these pigs that managed to survive the journey without making it onto the sailers menu, all the way to New Zealand where they were given as a present to a powerful Maori chief who bred them. They later became the legendary Kunekune pigs.

It was the same kind of pigs that went aboard the East-Indiaman, the Colebrook, who sank off Cape Hangklip. Pigs from the sinking ship swam ashore at Kogel Bay, was taken in by runaway slaves (drosters) and became the legendary Kolbroek breed of the Cape of Good Hope.

The breeds, as they exist today, share so many similarities that if one would simply look at them, one would say it is the same breed. One feature of the Kunekune which I have never found on the Kolbroek is that some of them develop a “wattle” or “tassel,” a fleshy appendage hanging from the lower jaw near the neck. This trait is becoming rate, but some of them have it. A veterinarian once told me that this tassel links them very directly with pigs that were found along the silk road in China. Much more work remains. Evidence may prove reality to be far removed from my imagination, but look at what we learned!

The Harris Family of Cheviot

My theories about the origin of the Kunekune may or may not be accurate, but what is certain is that New Zealanders are “salt of the earth” kind of people. No wonder the Buckland family loves this place. It fascinates me that the largest employer in Cheviot is the Harris family has been instrumental in the establishment of the biggest bacon curing operation in New Zeland. I can find no obvious link between the Harris family in Cheviot and the Harris clan from Calne. We had the privilege to get to know Nick and his brother Bryan Harris from Cheviot. Bryan showed me the best way to kill a pig. I showed up unannounced at their abattoir one day. He told me he was insanely busy, but he has done exactly what I did by showing up unannounced at meat plants in many parts of the world to learn from them and he has never been refused a tour or an audience with the right people. Based on his own experience he paid it forward and spend an entire morning with me, despite his tough schedule, showing and teaching me. He introduced me to the work of an American lady who designs abattoirs in such a way as to ensure very little stress for the animal. His energy and love for his work are infectious. Nick, like Bryan, worked in their butchery in the town of Cheviot that was started by their dad while he qualified as a chartered accountant. As such he is uniquely gifted to teach me about accounting and the pork business. From Nick, I learned the basics of accounting applied to the pork industry and how one links what happens on the floor to the accounting records in the office. More than that, he is an excellent farmer with loads of top management experience. I wish I met these two brothers when I left school! They are an amazing wealth of information and reminds me of the Māori proverb I started the letter with which says that “a grey hair held between the finger and thumb is an infinitesimally trivial thing, yet it conveys to the mind of man the lesson of an everlasting truth.” Such is Nick and Bryan Harris!

The largest pork producer in England is C & T Harris. The largest bacon producer in New Zealand is closely connected to the Harris family and, as you will see later, the Harris family of Australia is responsible for a massive bacon curing operation in Castlemaine. The coincidence is staggering and the tale of the Harris family of Australia I leave for a future conversation! Whichever way you look at it, in the world, no other single surname has been as closely associated with bacon as Harris!

After Cheviot, we spend time with Stu and Simon who are senior managers at Hellers. Stu runs production and Simon manages the operation. They too are salt of the earth kind of men. It was Easter Friday when I showed up at the Heller factory for the first time and both Stu and Simon gave me an amazing welcome. Since then, they became good friends and confidants. People that I have the freedom to discuss our Cape Town plans and who always give clear and unbiased advice.

Minette and I fell in love with New Zealand as we have never experienced anywhere else in the world. The biggest reason is the people of this amazing land even though the land itself is of a beauty that is unrivaled. It was an honour to have married here and to forge a close connection with the people of this land. New Zealand has a unique place in the world community who have contained on its shores, the basic ingredients of bacon curing and living life to the fullest. We are stunned by the experience of the land and its people. I am excited about the prospect that one day you guys will visit these shores and have your own amazing experiences. I think we are building up a set of confidants around the world who will assist us to face any challenge that may be thrown our way at Woody’s.

Lots of love from Christchurch,

Dad and Minette.


Further Reading

Chapter 03: Kolbroek where the story starts.

Read with Chapter 09.15 The English Pig where I deal with the source of pigs for Gravesend where live pigs were loaded onto ships.


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Notes

(1) The source does not state that the firm from England that set up the New Zealand operation was Oake Woods & Co. Ltd.. Considered at face value, they are a very good contender. A patent was lodged on 3 September 1896 number 8750 by E. R. Down from Gillingham, Dorset, Eng. for cylinder or vessel for curing bacon and hams. (Appendix to the Journals of the House of Representatives of New Zealand) It seems likely that similar applications were filed around the world. The trials were done in 1893. It fits the timeframe very well. I discuss this in detail in William and William Harwood Oake.

(2) Publication date, August 19-23, 2002

(3) Publication date, 14 July 1939.

References

APPENDIX TO THE JOURNALS OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF NEW ZEALAND . SESSION II . , 1897 . VOL . III .

Sinclair, J. (Ed). 1897.Pigs Breeds and Management. Vinton and Co, London

Harris, J. (Ed.). c 1870. Harris on the pig. Breeding, rearing, management, and improvement. New York, Orange Judd, and company.

The New Zealand Official Yearbook, 1893.

The Age (Melbourn, Victoria, Australia) of 14 July 1939, p 5.

Biology online. Retrieved 15 February 2013.

The Courrier (Waterloo, Iowa), 7 April 1886

Gongora, J., Garkavenko, O., Moran, C.. 2002. From the 7th World Congress on Genetics Applied to Livestock Production, August 19-23, 2002, Montpellier, France, Paper entitled
Origins of the Kune Kune and Auckland Island Pigs in New Zealand.

Green, G. L.. 1968. Full Many a Glorious Morning. Howard Timmins.

The Journal of Agriculture and Industry, Volume 3, 1899, By South Australia. Department of Agriculture, C. E. Bristow, Government Printers

King, C. M.., Gaukroger, D. J., Ritchie, N. A. (Editors), 2015. The Drama of Conservation, Springer.

The phylogenetic status of typical Chinese native pigs: analyzed by Asian and European pig mitochondrial genome sequences. Journal of Animal Science and Biotechnology volume 4, Article number: 9 (2013).

White, S.. 2011. From Globalized Pig Breeds to Capitalist Pigs: A Study in Animal Cultures and Evolutionary History, Vol. 16, No. 1 (JANUARY 2011), pp. 94-120, Published by: Oxford University Press on behalf of Forest History Society and American Society for Environmental History, https://www.jstor.org/stable/23050648


Photo References

Chapter 11.01: Our Manuka Bay Wedding!

Introduction to Bacon & the Art of Living

The story of bacon is set in the late 1800s and early 1900s when most of the important developments in bacon took place. The plotline takes place in the 2000s with each character referring to a real person and actual events. The theme is a kind of “steampunk” where modern mannerisms, speech, clothes and practices are superimposed on a historical setting.  Modern people interact with old historical figures with all the historical and cultural bias that goes with this.


Our Manuka Bay Wedding

June 1893

Dear Kids,

The trip to New Zealand from England, past Cape Town was the most exciting sea voyage I have ever undertaken.

On the ship, we met the most interesting lady who would play a major role in the lives of Eben and Minette, Ange Davidson. Like us, she was travelling from England to New Zealand. Ange loved the story of our engagement. A keen mountaineer, she identifies with our mountain and as a lover of nature, she was fascinated with the input from the Bushman and Korana. Angie happened to be registered in New Zealand with the government to perform weddings. She turned out to be 100% the right person for our union! She is in touch with what really matters in life, mature, outgoing and a keen outdoors, mountain person! A true inspiration in her own right, she has summited Mt. Cook, the highest mountain in New Zealand that stands at a height of 3,724 meters. This peak is on Minette and my wish list which means we know exactly what skill it requires. We love the same things; emotionally and spiritually we connect; she was perfect! (4)

Minette left to get a refill on coffee when Ange told me that she is a celebrant and if we are interested, she can marry us. It was a most excellent suggestion! All this happened before we got to Cape Town. I was careful not to say anything to anyone, wanting to surprise Minette. Not even you guys knew! I was so scared someone would say something! I took Luani in my confidence. Well, I had to try and find the right size ring and a wedding dress – all without Minette finding out about it and who better to ask for help than her twin sister. Luni gave me one of her dresses which would fit Minette and a ring to use for the ceremony.

I thought I was being very clever, but to my surprise, when I saw Ange again after we boarded the steamer for our final leg of the journey from Cape Town to the small village of Queens Town, she had serious concerns. She urged me to tell Minette what I am planning before we land in New Zealand. “This is a big day for both of you and Minette will want her own input into what she is going to wear and how the ceremony will be conducted,” she pleaded with me. She had me write out our wows and what it is I wanted her to say. Every few days she asked me if I have spoken to Minette about the plans. (1)

She told us about the small village where she lives called Cheviot. Very close to it are two amazing beaches. One is Gore Bay and the other Manuka Bay. I initially suggested we have a ceremony at Gore Bay. I was insanely excited. (3)

I managed to control my excitement and not tell Minette. Suddenly the coast of New Zealand was in sight and as we sailed past the North Island, I realised that Ange is right. I have to tell Minette.

One afternoon I took a double shot of Whiskey for courage and started my very important discussion with Minette. Or was it a confession?! 🤔😁 I asked her what she would say if I told her that I planned the biggest surprise imaginable for her in New Zealand – a wedding on one of the most remote beaches on earth.  The first human footsteps walked on the beach at Manuka Bay very recently.

Minette and I are very much alike. She completely loved the idea! She is also a very level headed person and asked me if I looked into the legalities of getting married in New Zealand as foreigners. Of course, these were the last things I thought of!

We resolved to tackle these matters when we get to Christchurch. I immediately became very thankful for Ange’s advice when Minette told me that while I am figuring the legal stuff out, she will go dress shopping and then we can both go and look for rings. As much as she loved the Luani options, she wanted to make it more personal. I love it how she felt so close to her sister with her dress and ring with us. It was as if Luani was there with her all the time!

We finally docked at Christchurch. The City is situated in the agricultural plains of Canterbury where it is connected with the Port of Lyttelton by a railway, which required the construction of a long and very costly tunnel through the hills surrounding Lyttelton. It was constructed in 1850 as a bridle path for riding or leading horses (as is inferred in the name). The early European settlers used it as the route from the port to new settlements on the northern side of the Port Hills.

Lyttelton Harbour is breathtaking! More beautiful than anything we have ever seen! Later, when we made it back to Christchurch we hiked almost completely around the bay which is situated in a volcano and the hike is along the crater rim. (2)

Christchurch 1893

Christchurch, 1893

SCRAMBLE IN CHRISTCHURCH

Minette and I fell in love with Christchurch from the first time we rode into the city through the surrounding hills. Even while we were still on the steamer, we decided that we will be doing a lot of hiking. However, not much hiking was done in the week leading up to the big day. I was at a local bacon company, which I will write to you about in my next letter, while Minette did dress shopping. Her dress-lady of choice was herself as inspirational as any of the amazing people who guided us through this adventure.

Part of the ceremony required rings. No sooner did we start shopping for it when we realised that even a basic ring in New Zealand is the cost of a small Mediterranean Island! We opted for token rings with a promise to re-visit this back in Cape Town with Free Range Jewels! After fruitless attempts to even find basic rings, the universe destined us to meet up with the most inspirational lady, daughter to a truly remarkable entrepreneur. Both he and his daughter exemplify triumphing against all odds. We spent a long time swapping stories and the matter of rings was concluded. Not only rings but rings with deep meaning in how we got it and from whom.

Concluding the legal requirements was another story. We had to do it all in a certain way to make our wishes binding under both South African and New Zealand law. This proved to be much more difficult than I envisaged and it all came to a great end with an elderly Oscar, a veteran senior advocate, and one of the only notary’s public we could locate on Friday afternoon to sign our marriage contract before we set out for Cheviot. Our wedding was on Saturday morning. Oscar, a grandfather figure, gave us sound advice, looked out for Minette’s interests in a final wording change in the contract and sent us on our way. The next morning we would get married!

THE TREEHOUSE LODGE

We did a last-minute booking in Cheviot at the Tree House Lodge of Sanna and Ellis. Unlike any other place, we have ever stayed, our home for the next few days was a small and very cosy room with a private bathroom, showers and a bed, suspended close to the ceiling with a ladder to climb up and down. Our own hobbits cove with a very friendly dog, a cat with a slight attitude and receiving a scrumptious breakfast every morning in a small basket, waiting for us outside our door with Gore Bay Kanuka Honey, homemade peanut butter, freshly baked bread and cereal from the amazing hosts on earth!

A friendship formed between us and Sanna and Ellis. We were scheduled to go on a hike after the wedding ceremony, but bad weather set in and they messaged us to say that they prepared the room for us again and we are welcome to spend the next two nights with them if we decide against the hike. That arrangement suited us brilliantly and Sally Handyside, our host for the hike graciously agreed to refund us our booking money! She will definitely see us on a future trip!

Over the next few days, we spend hours visiting, listening to Ellis and Sanna’s adventures and sharing ours. They are a famous couple but I don’t want to mention who they are. The thing that bonded us was not the National Geographic persona of Ellis, but their love for nature and the outdoor, their indomitable spirits and their belief that if one is going to do something, it should be done excellently. I told Ellis that he builds his house and creates his documentaries in exactly the way I believe food should be produced. Naturally and with care and excellence! This couple set the right tone for Minette and my life together and the perfect inspiration for our new venture!

THE BIG DAY

The big day.jpg

The rainy weather was setting in fast. Skies were dark and the wind picked up. Temperatures dropped. Around 9:00 on Saturday morning, the 28th, the bubbly Nike Newton showed up at the hobbits cove to do Minette’s hair. The brief I gave her telephonically on what to do was completely inadequate, but between Minette, Sanna, and Nike, they managed and Minette was looking beautiful! I got dressed in the pants I bought for our engagement and never got to wear on account of getting back from the mountain too late, I white shirt that we bought that week in Christchurch and off we went to Gore Bay Beach. Ange text me to say that the next beach is even more remote than Gore bay and we should meet at Manuka Bay beach.

We did not immediately find the beach, but an old man directed us further down and opened the gate. The storm was about to hit with full force. The skies were even darker. He jokingly asked if we are going diving and we shouted back in the wind, “We are getting married today!” “I will be your best man,” he replied. “I have a suite in the cupboard at home.”

The scene was one from a movie. In the cold, we took off our shoes and walked across the black pebbles to the small party of four awaiting us on the beach. Minette’s blue dress was beautiful against the dark background if the black beach, the skies, and the waves. I looked at her and thought how amazingly beautiful she is! There was not a single person on the beach beside us. It was perfect!

the big day 2.jpg

What follows is the actual content of the ceremony which I wrote on the steamer with major input from Ange over the previous few weeks; in between rushing to make the next transport. (5) Finally, the moment arrived. Ange had to raise her voice to be heard over the waves and the wind.

She started by welcoming us in the native tongue.

“E tu ake ana ahau ke te tautoko I nga mihi ki te Kaihanga.
E mihi ana ki nga maunga, nga moana, nga roto, nga awa me nga wahi tapu o tenei rohe.
Tenei te mihi ki a tatou katoa e hui tahi nei. Tena koutou, tena koutu, tena koutou katoa.”

She translated.

“I stand to support the greetings to our creator. I also greet/acknowledge the mountains, sea, lakes, rivers and sacred areas of this district.
I greet all of us gathered here together. I greet you. I greet you all.”

Kia ora, and Haere mai. Welcome. Today, on this beach, you are to be married.

“Minette and Eben, your true church is the mountains and valleys, the rivers and the deepest forests. These are the cathedrals where you worship. Every stone and insect, the content of the sermons you hear; every sunrise you witness from a mountaintop, the opening prayer. Each glorious sunset, the closing hymn.”

“Here, in nature, you hear a subtler music and see wider visions and are inspired by a loftier spirit. The tempest and the calm day alike is the inspiration and voice of the living god who empowers and revives you. Inspires you to live more fully. Love more completely. Lust with even greater fire! Embracing each, to breathe this great air together.”

“Your union happened without any ceremony or by human will. The powers that unite you are the same powers that we see and hear and feel around us here this morning. It is therefore fitting that nature should witness your formal union today. Not in a city or a man-made shelter, but in the bleak and cold autumn coastline of New Zealand. As Browning put it: “Here, here’s their place; Where meteors shoot; Clouds form; Lightnings are loosened; Stars come and go.””

She gave each of us the opportunity to re-tell the story of how we met and fell in love. “Where is it that you first noticed him and her”, “When was it that you started to fall in love?” “What makes you soul mates?”

“Minette Bylsma, do you choose Eben van Tonder as your husband and promise to do everything in your power to create a loving and lasting marriage?”

“Eben van Tonder, do you choose Minette Bylsma, as your wife, and promise to do everything in your power to create a loving and lasting marriage?”

“As chosen life partners, do you both promise to support and enhance each other’s unique identity through love and nurture, and allow each other individual freedom within this marriage?”

“Who is carrying the wedding rings?”

“These wedding rings serve as a symbol of the vows you have just taken. As circles, they are the symbol of the sun, the earth and the universe, and of whole and perfect unity. They are an outward and visible sign of the inward and invisible love which binds your hearts together. In your marriage, may you enjoy the wholeness of life, spirit, and purpose!”

“As you place these rings on each other’s fingers, repeat these words”

“Eben, please repeat after me:

eben to minette.jpg

“I give you this ring as a symbol of my love and trust, and the promise that we have made today. “

“Minette, please repeat after me:

minette to eben.jpg

“I give you this ring as a symbol of my love and trust, and the promise that we have made today.”

“This morning, many mountains and valleys from around the earth bare testimony of your love. I now call them as my witness with the spirit of your parents, grandparents, and great-grandparents, your brothers, and sisters, the children you love, and your dearest friends. These are witnesses of your eternal union and hear me when I now declare you husband and wife.”

“In the presence of all these many witnesses, Eben and Minette, please seal your union with a kiss.”

“Here are two cloaks. Wrap each other in these as the outward manifestation of your love always folded around the other. Feel the love, the warmth, the security, and strength. Wear these as we sign the official marriage papers.”

They sang a beautiful traditional love song. Angel voices in harmony with the waves and the wind! In my arms, my beautiful bride!

“Minette and Eben, you have declared your love for each other and exchanged your vows. Now you shall say to the world, this – is my husband, this – is my wife.”

“May the love that has brought you together, continue to grow and enrich your lives. May it give you courage, wisdom, and peace in your future together.”

It was magical! Words fail! Life became complete at that moment!

Anna took photos. She, like every single person who was involved in making this an unforgettable day, has been amazing.  As if nature and life itself taught us that we are gifts to each. Minette and I to each other, but broader to people around us.

The ceremony all done, we settled in for the wedding feast. The setting was not a grand banquette hall, but the grass and flowers next to the beach. Our chairs were wooden stumps and the blankets spread out over the grass. Here we shared stories and got to know our amazing witnesses and new-found friends. As we walked back to our cars, it started raining. Everything was perfect!

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The New Zealand adventure was a celebration of nature and the best of humanity. Every single person we met along the journey was exceptional. The lady in our favourite Cheviot coffee shop who herself got engaged on Table Mountain many years ago. The supermarket cashier who offered us her transport so that we could get to the next town when she told us there are no banks for us to draw money. She offered for us to stay with her and her young son until we are able to make other plans. Of course, this was not necessary. We had transport and a very cosy hobbits cove to stay, but the fact that she offered! What a way to get married and to continue our life together! Every person we met touched our lives!

When we were alone, after the wedding, when Ange, Anna, and our witnesses were gone, Minette gave me two poems. One is Nuptials by John Agard. The first two stanzas stand out.

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“River, be their teacher, that together they may turn their future highs and lows into one hopeful flow

Two opposite shores feeding from a single source. Mountain, be their milestone, that hand in hand they rise above familiarity’s worn tracks into horizons of their own Two separate footpaths dreaming of a common peak.”

I re-read the last two lines again. “Two separate footpaths, dreaming of a common peak!” Such a perfect description of our separate lives, united by shared love!

The other is Us Two by AA Milne

“Wherever I am, there’s always Pooh, There’s always Pooh and Me. Whatever I do, he wants to do, “Where are you going today?” says Pooh: “Well, that’s very odd ‘cos I was too. Let’s go together,” says Pooh, says he. “Let’s go together,” says Pooh.

“What’s twice eleven?” I said to Pooh. (“Twice what?” said Pooh to Me.) “I think it ought to be twenty-two.” “Just what I think myself,” said Pooh. “It wasn’t an easy sum to do, But that’s what it is,” said Pooh, said he. “That’s what it is,” said Pooh.

“Let’s look for dragons,” I said to Pooh. “Yes, let’s,” said Pooh to Me. We crossed the river and found a few- “Yes, those are dragons all right,” said Pooh. “As soon as I saw their beaks I knew. That’s what they are,” said Pooh, said he. “That’s what they are,” said Pooh.

“Let’s frighten the dragons,” I said to Pooh. “That’s right,” said Pooh to Me. “I’m not afraid,” I said to Pooh, And I held his paw and I shouted “Shoo! Silly old dragons!”- and off they flew.

“I wasn’t afraid,” said Pooh, said he, “I’m never afraid with you.”

So wherever I am, there’s always Pooh, There’s always Pooh and Me. “What would I do?” I said to Pooh, “If it wasn’t for you,” and Pooh said: “True, It isn’t much fun for One, but Two, Can stick together, says Pooh, says he. “That’s how it is,” says Pooh.

FINALLY

I set out to find the secret of making the best bacon on earth and in the process, I not only started to discover the secret of bacon but also the magic of life. I can not imagine life without Minette! We started separately and had many issues to work through. Our relationship started as kids playing in the streets of old Cape Town and swimming in the Cape waters after dark. It grew through many days on Table Mountain and the mountains surrounding the Cape.  Despite our differences, what kept us together has always been stronger than what pushed us apart. All these years later, I can say, “So wherever I am, there’s always Pooh, There’s always Pooh and Me. She is my greatest adventure, my highest passion, my most intimate moments.  She is my art of living!”

Our wedding gave us a chance to express our sincere thanks to the special people who are part of our lives and whom we met on this remarkable trip; who made our wedding beyond description; and unforgettable! To the Creator who arranged things better than we could have planned and given us a send-off like no other. To our friends and family, especially the kids and Minette’s parents, her sister, and brother, who encouraged us, thank you for allowing us to do this far away and for all the love and messages. We love you guys and will treasure your words forever!

Minette blows me away! I’m madly in love with her! The fact that she was game for this unique wedding tells a story in itself! This was not for other people. This was for us! It was perfect!

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Good Wishes from friends

Here are some of the well-wishes from friends around the world.  Adriaan and the Woody’s staff did this one! Thank you, guys! It was the best surprise to get the wishes from you guys!! Hanro Rossouw, Charl Le Roux, Valery Cloete, Debbie. Meneer Adriaan Oberholzer – wow! Baie dankie!

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My friends Oscar and Trudie Oscar En Trudie Klynveld and Trudie sent us this beautiful message.

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Willem Klynveld sent us this beautiful message.

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The message from our friends in Nepal, Ayush Rajbhandari and Silika Shakya Rajbhandari did not want to play, but we really appreciate the message! We were thinking of you guys!

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Another friend of ours, Dawie Hyman sent us a mad message but I subsequently lost it.  I am sorry Mr. Dawie!  However, we will see you very soon in America.  After we discovered everything else that life is teaching us on these amazing shores of New Zealand, we are coming to visit you!

Elmar and Juanita sent us a beautiful voice message which I will also try and combine into one message and post here.

There are many friends who sent us messages through other media. Kokkie Kok, Oom Jan, ek sal Oom s’n soek en ook hier post. Baie dankie. Oom se woorde het soveel beteken!

Last, but not least, my old friend and colleague, Ehrhardt Meyer.

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The message you guys sent us, Tristan and Lauren was very special.  We love you guys dearly.  You are our heartbeats and our soul!  Here is what you sent us:

Congratulations Eben and Minette on getting married yesterday!! I’m so happy for you two and it’s about bloody time!

You two have been through so much and it’s truly amazing to see how close you two have gotten over the years. I know you make each other super happy and I’m glad I could be around to see it ❤️ welcome officially to the family Minette ( even though you’ve been apart of it for so long 😏), really glad you’re in Lauren van Tonder and mines life❤️

I hope you two are having an amazing time in New Zealand, but hurry it up back so we can celebrate! Love both of you big time 🔥

Wedding Album

Landing in New Zealand was exciting.  Of course, we were brought here not only by the invitation of Stu but by the opportunity to see C & T Harris becoming a truly global company. More about this in my next mail.  For now, there is still a whole lot of “art of living” left before I return to the secrets of bacon!

The time we spend in Cape Town was again indescribable.  We miss you guys dearly and wish you were here with us.

Lots of love from Cheviot!

Dad and Minette


Further Reading

Our Amazing Wedding on Manuka Beach, Cheviot, New Zealand


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(c) eben van tonder

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Notes

(1) Up till this point, Minette knew nothing about the plans. Ange strongly suggested that I tell Minette sooner rather than later. As the plane came in for landing I told Minette, “How about us getting married next weekend? In Cheviot? On the beach?” In a clear sign that we belong together, she was immediately insanely excited!

(2) Planning had to be quick! Luani, Minette’s sister liked the plan and gave me a dress and a ring to use. I picked the dress up the day before our flight. I did the application to the government online, two days before our flight out. In between the quick arrangements, I found time to call her parents and her brother and told them about the plan.

(3) In NZ, to select a marriage officer, one must also choose a location and all these have to be done well ahead of time. I was completely out of time! I was looking for a place outside Christchurch, somewhere remote. Christchurch is to city-ish for our liking. My first choice was Te Anau in the south, but I knew we would not have time to drive there. I did not like the look of the places south of the city. I wrongfully thought an old buddy of mine, Brendon and his family lives up in the Cheviot area and remember him telling me its the middle of nowhere. It turned out that I was wrong in thinking that he lives there, but right that it was the middle of nowhere and a beautiful and unspoiled location (in retrospect, I realise he was not even talking about Cheviot!) It is an amazingly wild area and the best thing about it is that it has a marriage officer, Ange!

(4)  She has done the Kepler hike which Minette and I did two years ago in two days!

(5) Also, between flights; during flights; in an airport lounge in Dubai

References

Encyclopedia of New Zealand, The Bridle Path,2010.

Photos

Christchurch, 1893. Lena Fuller, watercolor study of Christchurch signed and dated 1893

 

Chapter 11.00: Letters from New Zealand

Introduction to Bacon & the Art of Living

The story of bacon is set in the late 1800s and early 1900s when most of the important developments in bacon took place. The plotline takes place in the 2000s with each character referring to a real person and actual events. The theme is a kind of “steampunk” where modern mannerisms, speech, clothes and practices are superimposed on a historical setting.  Modern people interact with old historical figures with all the historical and cultural bias that goes with this.


Letters from New Zealand

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The Calne experience came to an end, just as dramatically as it started. Upon our return from Dublin, Oscar was already waiting for us in Calne. We had an amazing time with John Harris, Mike Caswell, Anita Waite, and Susan Bodington. Minette and I decided to take Stu up on his invitation to visit New Zealand before we visit Dawie in America.

Lord Lansdowne on Saltpeter (3)

One afternoon, Mr Petty from Bowood called on us. Lord Landsdowne returned the previous day and invited Minette, Oscar and me to dinner. It was a grand affair and reminded me of the send-off that we received from Jeppe when we left Denmark. It was an honour meeting Lord Landsdowne. He struck me as a very intelligent man and a great sportsman! I could tell that his heart was in Canada! Of course, we discussed the saltpetre trade until deep in the night and as Viceroy of India, he knew quite a bit about the inner workings of the saltpetre trade.

I thought that where Denmark was my introduction to saltpetre and mild cured bacon, England was my schooling in salt, refrigeration, sugar, and mechanisation of every process on the bacon production floor. Pale dried bacon, arterial injection and the development of the English pig rounded an unforgettable time off in England. With our host that evening, the matter of saltpetre was back on the agenda!

Lord Landsdowne spend so much time in India that he acquired a unique birds-eye view of the world saltpetre trade. He told us that he knows that we have been well taken care of in England and that we received all the help we would need to plan our Bacon Processing plant in Cape Town. On his part, he has been informed that in Denmark we looked into the matter of the history of saltpetre and its use in meat curing and he was eager to have a discussion on the subject. I needed no persuasion. I rushed to my room to get my ever-present notebook and when I re-joined the dinner party, I prompted our host to continue.

“By far the largest natural known natural deposits of saltpetre to the Western world of the 1600s,” Lord Landsdowne started, “were found in India and the East Indian Companies of England and Holland plaid pivotal roles in facilitating its acquisition and transport. The massive nitrate fields of the Atacama desert and those of the Tarim Bason were still largely unknown. In 1300, 1400 and 1500 saltpetre had, however, become the interest of all governments in India and there was a huge development in local saltpetre production.”

“In Europe, references to natron emerged from the middle of the 1500s and were used by scholars who travelled to the East where they encountered both the substance and the terminology. Natron was originally the word that referred to saltpetre. Later, the word natron was changed and nitron was used.”

“At first, the saltpetre fields of Bihar were the focus of the Dutch East Indian Company (VOC) and the British East Indian Company (EIC). The VOC dominated the saltpetre trade at this point. In the 1750s, the English East Indian Company (EIC) was militarised. Events soon took place that allowed for the monopolization of the saltpetre trade.  In 1757 the British took over Subah of Bengal; a VOC expeditionary force was defeated in 1759 at Bedara; and finally, the British defeated the Mughals at Buxar in 1764 which secured the EIC’s control over Bihar. The British seized Bengal and took possession of 70% of the world’s saltpetre production during the latter part of the 1700s. (Frey, J. W.; 2009: 508 – 509)”

Lord Landsdowne had an interest in bacon curing due to a business that he recently invested in and the fact that Harris set their curing business up on his lands. He told us with great authority that “the application of nitrate in meat curing in Europe rose as it became more generally available. Later, massive deposits of sodium nitrite were discovered in the Atacama Desert of Chile and Peru and became known as Chilean Saltpeter. This was only a re-introduction of technology that existed since 2000 BCE and possibly much earlier.”

I was very excited about this statement. I recounted what I learned in Denmark. That “the pivotal area where saltpetre technology spread from across Asia, India and into Europe, is the Turpan-Hami Basin in the Taklimakan Desert in China. Here, nitrate deposits are so substantial, that an estimated 2.5 billion tons exist, comparable in scale to the Atacama Desert super-scale nitrate deposit in Chile. (Qin, Y., et al; 2012)  (The Tarim Mummies of China)  Its strategic location on the silk road, the evidence of advanced medical uses of nitrates from very early on and the ethnic link with Europe of people who lived here, all support this hypothesis.”

The main course was served and Lord Landsdowne continued. “Large saltpetre industries sprang to the South in India and to the South East in western China. In India, a large saltpetre industry developed in the north on the border with Nepal – in the state of Bihar, in particular, around the capital, Patna; in West Bengal and in Uttar Pradesh (Salkind, N. J. (edit), 2006: 519). Here, it was probably the monsoon rains which drench arid ground and as the soil dries during the dry season, capillary action pulls nitrate salts from deep underground to the surface where they are collected and refined. It is speculated that the source of the nitrates may be human and animal urine. Technology to refine saltpetre probably only arrived on Indian soil in the 1300s. Both the technology to process it and a robust trade in sal ammoniac in China, particularly in western China, predates the development of the Indian industry. It is therefore unlikely that India was the birthplace of curing. Saltpetre technology probably came from China, however, India, through the Dutch East Indian Company and later, the English East Indian Company became the major source of saltpetre in the west.”

“To the South East, in China, the largest production base of saltpetre was discovered dating back to a thousand years ago. Here, a network of caves was discovered (1) in the Laojun Mountains in Sichuan Province. Meat curing, interestingly enough, is also centred around the west and southern part of China. Probably a similar development to the Indian progression.”

“In China, in particular, a very strong tradition of meat curing developed. Saltpetre was possibly first introduced to the Chinese sometime before 2000 BCE. Its use in meat curing only became popular in Europe between 1600 and 1750 and it became universally used in these regions towards the end of 1700. Its usage most certainly coincided with its availability and price.” Lord Landsdowne told us that he has not compared price and availability in Europe with the findings on its use in meat curing which is based upon an examination of German and Austrian kook books by Lauder  (2), but he is confident that when he gets to it one day, the facts will prove the same.

“The Dutch and English arrived in India after 1600 with the first shipment of saltpetre from this region to Europe in 1618. Availability in Europe was, generally speaking, restricted to governments who, in this time, increasingly used it in warfare. (Frey, J. W.;  2009) This correlates well with the proposed time when it became generally available to the European population as the 1700s from Lauder.” I again interjected that I believe that a strong case is emerging that the link between Western Europe and the desert regions of Western China was the place where nitrate curing developed into an art. The exact place, I believe, in Western China is the Tarim depression.

For hundreds, if not thousands of years, very typical use of saltpetre in dry-cured meat would be in “a mixture of salt and saltpetre which would be liberally rubbed over the meat. As it migrates into the meat, water and blood are extracted and drained off.  The meat is usually laid skin down and all exposed meat is plastered with a mixture of salt and saltpetre. Pork bellies would cure in approximately 14 days.” (3) (Hui, Y. H.,  2012: 540) He laughed and said to me, “By this time, Eben, Oscar and Minette, I don’t have to tell you this. It is you who can give me an overview of the different curing systems that have been used through the ages!”

We talked and shared stories till deep into the night. The evening ended too soon and I wondered if I would ever see Bowood and Lord Landsdowne again. 

Oscar was impressed with the work we have done. He had ample time with the engineering manager of C & T Harris and took with him back to Cape Town a suitcase full of engineering drawings and factory plans. Whenever we had a spare moment, we would work on the plans for our own small factory in Cape Town and he made sure to discuss the layout and factory flow with the people who matter before he left. He enjoyed Lord Landsdowne and Bowood! 

Farewell to England

Within a week we all set sail from England to Cape Town from where Minette and I would take another steamer to New Zealand.  In Cape Town, we spend a week with Tristan and Lauren and my parents. We managed another week with Minette’s parents and of course saw her twin sister, Luani, her husband Fanie, and Liam and Luan, their adorable kids almost every day.  I spend an afternoon with Oscar and David de Villiers Graaff where we took him through our factory plans, careful not to reveal too much to him. On Wednesday evening, 31 May 1893 we celebrated at the newly constructed Mount Nelson Hotel in Cape Town. The big novelty was that it was the first hotel in Cape Town with running hot water. (4)

Photo of Mt Nelson, curtesy of Didi Basson. c 1900

New Zealand Awaits

On 1 June 1893, Minette and I greeted our families and set sail for the shores of New Zealand. What insane adventures await us and what great lessons to learn about bacon. What Minette did not know was that it would become more an “art of living” trip even though, at this point, I am not sure where our adventure with bacon ends and “the art of living” starts. It all blended for us into one!

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Let me set the stage for what is to come. In New Zealand Minette and I would not only have some of our most memorable adventures, we would also get married.

The southern coast of Africa – a unique place where human ghosts as old as 80 000 years walk the beaches. Minette and I got engaged here, celebrating those most ancient inhabitants on top of Table Mountain.

We chose a land where human ghosts only appeared around 1000 years ago to get married. The south island of New Zealand. Until the arrival of Polynesian colonists, who became the Māori people, the land didn’t know the footsteps of humans.

Even after the first colonists arrived on the South Island of New Zealand, they only moved through the Cheviot Hills and on its beaches very occasionally as nomadic hunters 730 years ago. Their main seat of occupation being the Kaikoura Coast. The Cheviot coast, including Manuka Bay where we got married, was less preferred for hunting and fishing. This makes the area one of the oldest permanently uninhabited places on earth. A fitting place to celebrate our union which we never saw as a celebration of humanity but rather nature. (Wilson; 1993)

When another group of colonist arrived recently in the form of Europeans, they thought the land to be completely uninhabited. Allen Giles wrote of his early years on Mount Parnassus in 1890 that the “Virgin South Island produced a feeling of “frightful loneliness.” He described it as “a brand new land… untouched by the ghosts of men and their traditions. There appeared never to have been men. All was clean, pure and emotionless; unsullied by man’s occupation.” (Wilson; 1993)

Hints of what the Cheviot area looked like before the fires of the Polynesians resulted in the replacement of forests with grasslands and scrubs that have been discovered in Treasure Downs. The discovery happened in 1986 when a farmer discovered moa bones on his farm in the hills east of Cheviot township. Moa is the giant flightless bird, endemic to New Zealand, hunted into extinction by the Maori and by 1440 the extinction was complete. (Perry; 2014) What was revealed through an official archaeological dig is that there once was a small, deep lake in a natural basin in limestone hills. The lake had a peaty margin, fed by underground springs. About 5000 years ago the dominant species had been matai (a black pine, endemic New Zealand), pokaka (a native forest tree of New Zealand), manuka, and flax and fern. Well preserved moa bones were also found in the former lake. (Wilson; 1993)

The Hurunui River Mouth – A Food Gathering Station

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Close to Manuka Bay is the Hurunui river mouth. Duff identified it as the location of a Māori food-gathering station. Other artefacts found at the river mouth were a number of adze-heads. They were made from baked argillite originating from the Nelson are and their shape identified them as from the moa-hunter period, six to eight centuries ago. In 1946, a farmer ploughed up a forty-eight kg block of obsidian on his farm at the river mouth. The block was used to make flake tools, even though most of these tools discovered at the river mouth were of flint rather than obsidian.

Manuka Beach – a stopover location

On Manuka Beach, Māori ovens and artifacts have been found. (Wilson; 1993) These ovens are found throughout the region and Nick Harris reports that there are Maori ovens on his farm in the area. These earth ovens were called hāngī or umu. Hāngī sizes varied depending on what was cooked – joints from moa and seals required large ovens, whereas fish or kūmara (sweet potato) could be cooked in smaller ovens. (Teara.govt.nz) These earth ovens were basically a pit, dug in the ground. Stones were heated in the pit with a large fire and baskets were placed on top of the stones. Everything was covered with earth for several hours before uncovering. Exact cooking times and pit design varied depending on what must be cooked and is in use till this day. The origin of the technology is Polynesian. (Ministry for Primary Industries, May 2013 and Genuine Maori Cuisine, 2012)

Ange Montgomery pointed out that there are karaka trees planted in the Cheviot area. The tree is native to the north island and its seeds were planted by the Māori at stopover places as a food source. Another clear indication locals using the area during migration and other movements. Apart from its fruit, this fascinating tree was used as a bait tree. It attracted other animals to feast on its fruits which in turn was caught for food. “Karaka kernel is highly toxic. Under the orange skin of the fruit is an edible pulp. The danger lurks in the kernel or stone of the fruit which contains the toxic alkaloid karakin.

The pulpy flesh can be eaten and to this day people harvest the berries and enjoy them. Some even use the flesh to make an alcoholic karaka drink. The Maori used to use the poisonous kernels as well. They used a special method to prepare the kernels which include soaking, boiling and soaking again as well as cooking in a hangi for 24 hours.” (stuff.co.nz). Ange points out how amazing it is that people were able to work this kind of thing out. The power of observation and careful analysis of the natural world by ancients never ceases to amaze me in a rushed world where we have largely lost this ability!

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New Zealand and Ancient Preservation Technology

In New Zealand, food was preserved amongst others, using fat. There is a story related to Lake Grassmere or Kapara-te-hau as the Maori’s call it. There is an account of the great chief, Te Rauparahara coming from the north “to take ducks to preserve in fat for winter food.” (theprow.org.nz)

The Māori preserved meat through smoking, sun drying, potting in fat and chilling by dropping containers with meat into water. Sweet potatoes were stored in underground pits, but whether they used these pits for meat is something I do knot know. Mutton birds were placed in inflated kelp and preserved in their own fat. Folded bark from the totata tree was used as containers to store meat, being preserved in fat. (Canterbury Museum)

Added salt would have been part of the diet of Māoris at the coast from seawater when they ate seafood. When they lived inland, no salt would have been added to their diet. Their source of sodium would have been that which is in the meat itself. This means that their diet was somewhat similar to the San and Khoikhoi of Southern Africa who also did not use salt, but there is evidence that they were occasionally exposed to salt traders from the north.

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The Polynesians

We were about to arrive at a land I knew nothing about and I was keen to learn as much as I could on the voyage from South Africa to New Zealand.  Who were the Polynesians who populated New Zealand?

I was fascinated by these proud and unique people and believed they had much to teach me. The examples given above would inspire me and I was eager to understand where these people came from. Which other influences shaped their later practices.

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First, we need to define what area we are talking about when we refer to Polynesia. “Polynesia is … the islands found roughly in a triangle formed by Hawaii, Aotearoa-New Zealand and Easter Island (Rapa Nui).” (Matisoo-Smith, L. and Denny, M.;2010)

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The Islands of Polynesia (from Matisoo-Smith, L. and Denny, M.;2010)

Now we can start looking at the neighborhood in which Polynesia is located. We begin by looking at human migration globally before we focus in on Polynesia and its neighborhood. Which were the original homelands of the people of Polynesia that would have impacted on their culture and technology?

Out of Africa

Let us remind ourselves of the current thinking of human migration through the ages to put the Polynesian migration into context. Many of my friends will take issue with the model presented below, but it will at least open the discussion.

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The dispersal of anatomically modern humans out of Africa. (Graph from Matisoo-Smith, L. and Denny, M.;2010)

Current data seems to indicate “a migration of anatomically modern humans out of Africa around 150,000 – 100,000 BP (Years Before Present), moving east towards Asia and north into Europe. Part of this migration reached South-East Asia by 60,000 BP. Populations of these stone-age hunter-gatherers then expanded from Southeast Asia into the Pacific through New Guinea to Australia and the Bismarck Archipelago by about 45,000 BP. Once in Southeast Asia and Australia, the movement of humans into new areas stopped for nearly 30,000 years. A later wave of expansion out into the rest of the Pacific took place began around 3,500 BP. In this migration, the people went east to Samoa and Tonga and from there north to Hawaii, further east to Easter Island and south to New Zealand. This was the last major human migration event.” (Matisoo-Smith, L. and Denny, M.;2010)

New look at likely migration patterns into Polynesia

Where did the Polynesians come from, genetically and what cultural influences did they have? How dynamic was the interaction between the different Polynesian communities which will give us an indication of the dynamics in cross-cultural exchanges? These are important questions since answering them will allow us to hone in on the right culture, at the right time in an attempt to understand the earliest humans who lived in New Zealand.

Cultural and linguistic analysis identified the Polynesian’s to have originated from Taiwan around 4000 years ago. Recent studies rely on the insight from the more reliable genetic code of current occupants of these lands as well as coding from Polynesian rats, dogs, and chickens and contradict this theory.

Two studies are of interest to us. The first is work (5) conducted by Lisa Matisoo-Smith, Professor of Biological Anthropology at the University of Otago and Principal Investigator in the Allan Wilson Centre. Her research focuses on identifying the origins of Pacific peoples and the plants and animals that travelled with them, in order to better understand the settlement, history, and prehistory of the Pacific and New Zealand. Her research utilises both ancient and modern DNA methods to answer a range of anthropological questions regarding population histories, dispersals, and interactions. I rely on lecture notes published.

“Her work led her and her coworkers to suggest a new model for Polynesian origins, based on an existing framework for Lapita origins suggested by Roger Green in 1991. The first human settlers of Remote Oceania are associated with the Lapita culture, which first appeared in the Bismarck Archipelago in Near Oceania around 3500 BP. (An archipelago is a chain or cluster of islands formed from volcanic activity).”(Matisoo-Smith, L. and Denny, M.;2010)

“The Lapita culture is named after the distinctive patterned pottery, which was first found at a site called Lapita in New Caledonia. Anthropologists are very interested in who the Lapita people were and what role they played in the settlement of the Pacific.” (Matisoo-Smith, L. and Denny, M.;2010)

“Remnants of Lapita pottery are now found throughout many areas of Remote Oceania, which suggests that the Lapita people were the first to settle this area. The age of the pottery remains found in each area supports the idea that this settlement spread from west to east from Melanesia into Polynesia.” (Matisoo-Smith, L. and Denny, M.;2010)

“Evidence such as this suggests that the Lapita people are the ancestors of modern Pacific peoples, but questions remain about whether there could also have been contributions from other populations from Asia and Micronesia at later times.” (Matisoo-Smith, L. and Denny, M.;2010)

Here are the key ideas of the new model for Polynesian origins developed by Lisa and her colleagues, based on an existing framework for Lapita origins suggested by Roger Green in 1991:

1. The Lapita colonists in West Polynesia and the rest of Remote Oceania look very much like the current indigenous populations of Vanuatu, New Caledonia, and western Fiji.
2. Around 1500 BP a new population arrived in Western Polynesia with new and more typically Asian derived physical characteristics, and mtDNA lineages.
3. These new people also introduced new mtDNA lineages of commensal rats, dogs, and chickens.
4. There were intense and complex interactions with the existing Lapita-descended populations as they spread over West Polynesia.
5. This resulted in the formation of the Ancestral Polynesian culture, who then dispersed east, and north into the rest of Polynesia.

This possible scenario is shown in the figure below. The grey arrows show the initial Lapita expansion through Near Oceania and into Remote Oceania. The dotted arrows show the proposed arrival of new population (or populations) from Asia into West Polynesia. The black arrows show the settlement of East Polynesia and a back migration into Melanesia.

Population migration in Polynesia

A new model for the origins of Polynesians From: Addison, D. J., & Matisoo-Smith, E. (2010)

Secondly, I looked at a 2011 study by Soares, et al. (6), which proposes an East Indonesian origin for Polynesian migration. They talk about a ‘‘Polynesian motif’’ which they focused on in their research. The “motif” comprise a clade of mtDNA lineages that together account for >90% of Polynesian mtDNAs. Soares, et al. states that “for the last 15 years, it has been recognized that the age and distribution of this clade are key to resolving the issue of the peopling of Polynesia.”

They explain that “by analyzing 157 complete mtDNA genomes, they show that the motif itself most likely originated more than 6000 years ago (>6 ka) in the vicinity of the Bismarck Archipelago, [off the northeastern coast of New Guinea] and its immediate ancestor is older than 8000 years (>8 ka) and virtually restricted to Near Oceania (includes New Guinea, the Bismarck Archipelago, Bougainville, and the Solomon Islands). This indicates that Polynesian maternal lineages from Island Southeast Asia (Philippines, Indonesia, and Malaysian Borneo) gained a foothold in Near Oceania much earlier than dispersal from either Taiwan or Indonesia between 3000 and 4000 years ago (3–4 ka) would predict.

china, australia, etc.

Map Showing China, Taiwan, MSEA, ISEA, Near Oceania, and Remote Oceania

Their work shows that there was a spread back through New Guinea into ISEA, which most likely took place approximately between 4000 and 5000 years ago (~4–5 ka). A more plausible backdrop of the settlement of the Remote Pacific is a model based on the idea of a ‘‘voyaging corridor,’’ facilitating exchange between ISEA and Near Oceania (see map above).

The work further suggests “a convergence of archaeological and genetic evidence, as well as concordance between different lines of genetic evidence.” The authors state that their “results imply an early to mid-Holocene Near Oceanic ancestry for the Polynesian peoples, likely fertilized by small numbers of socially dominant Austronesian-speaking voyagers from ISEA in the Lapita formative period, approximately 3500 years ago (~3.5 ka)”. They claim that their “work can therefore also pave the way for new accounts of the spread of Austronesian languages.”

A Grand Adventure

I only sent two letters back home from New Zealand. They are very personal and I continued to learn. My letters were a way to keep my notes safe and, at the same time, try and lure my kids into this magnificent world!


Further Reading

Bacon Curing – a Historical Review


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Notes

(1)  The discovery was made in 2003.

(2)  Lauder published in 1991.

(3)  The discussion is entirely fictional.  Lors Landsdowne was a very intelligent man and very fond of sport, but this discussion never took place.  Everything is from the research of Eben on the subject.

(4) The hotel was the first time opened on Monday 6 March 1899

(5) Extracts from the Matisoo-Smith, L. and Denny, M. (2010) lecture notes.

Likely migration patters into Polynesia

“When looking at human settlement of the Pacific, anthropologists divide the Pacific into two regions namely Near Oceania, which was settled by humans by 30,000 BP and remote Oceania, which was not settled until around 3000 BP.” (Matisoo-Smith, L. and Denny, M.;2010)

Near and Remote Oceania

Near and Remote Oceania (from Matisoo-Smith, L. and Denny, M.;2010)

“The first human settlers of Remote Oceania are associated with the Lapita culture, which first appeared in the Bismarck Archipelago in Near Oceania around 3500 BP. (An archipelago is a chain or cluster of islands formed from volcanic activity).”(Matisoo-Smith, L. and Denny, M.;2010)

“The Lapita culture is named after the distinctive patterned pottery, which was first found at a site called Lapita in New Caledonia. Anthropologists are very interested in who the Lapita people were and what role they played in the settlement of the Pacific.” (Matisoo-Smith, L. and Denny, M.;2010)

“Remnants of Lapita pottery are now found throughout many areas of Remote Oceania, which suggests that the Lapita people were the first to settle this area. The age of the pottery remains found in each area supports the idea that this settlement spread from west to east from Melanesia into Polynesia.” (Matisoo-Smith, L. and Denny, M.;2010)

“Evidence such as this suggests that the Lapita people are the ancestors of modern Pacific peoples, but questions remain about whether there could also have been contributions from other populations from Asia and Micronesia at later times.” (Matisoo-Smith, L. and Denny, M.;2010)

The first study of Matisoo-Smith and Denny (2010) “looked at the variation in the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) of living populations of Pacific rats from islands around the Pacific. mtDNA is inherited only from the mother, therefore there is no mixing with the father’s DNA or recombination during meiosis. This means that differences in the mtDNA due to mutation can be traced back through the generations. Scientists use the variation in the mtDNA to work out the relationships between different populations.” (Matisoo-Smith, L. and Denny, M.;2010)

“The results of this study suggested that it is highly likely that there were multiple introductions of the Pacific rat to the Pacific Islands. This raised the question, “did these introductions all occur at the same time or at different times?” If they were at different times then this suggests that another group of people migrated into the Pacific sometime after the Lapita people.” (Matisoo-Smith, L. and Denny, M.;2010)

“This question cannot be answered by studying modern mtDNA, as variation in modern mtDNA only shows different origins,—it doesn’t show the timing. Ancient DNA, however, could be used to answer this question. Ancient DNA is any DNA extracted from tissues such as bone that are not fresh or preserved for DNA extraction later. When an organism dies, the DNA molecules immediately start to break down, which makes it difficult to extract good quality DNA for analysis. The hot and wet environment found in most of the Pacific makes it just about the worst area for DNA preservation. Despite this Lisa and other Allan Wilson Centre researchers have been able to obtain DNA from Pacific samples as old as 3000—4000 years.” (Matisoo-Smith, L. and Denny, M.;2010)

“If the age of the remains is known then the likely date of the introduction of new genetic material can be estimated. The team next investigated ancient DNA from the remains of Kiore (Pacific rat) found in different archaeological sites around the Pacific looking for patterns in the haplotypes in mtDNA. A haplotype is a combination of alleles that are located closely together.

Lisa found three distinct groups of haplotypes, – shown as Groups I, II and III in Figure 7.

Polynesian rat distribution

Distribution of the three groups of Pacific Rat haplotypes in Near and Remote Oceania. From: Matisoo-Smith, E., & Robins, J. H. (2004)

“Three clearly different haplotypes (or genetic groups) is an indication that these populations of rats are likely to have quite different ancestral origins. Group III does not fit the expected pattern. It shows no genetic link with the haplotypes found in Near Oceania. This suggests that this haplotype may be the result of a later introduction of the Pacific Rat into Polynesia sometime after the Lapita introduction.” (Matisoo-Smith, L. and Denny, M.;2010)

“To test this hypothesis Lisa and her team carried out similar studies of variation in both modern and ancient mtDNA in pigs and chickens. In both of these animals the results showed there are introductions that are consistent in geographic distribution and time of appearance in the archaeological record with a Lapita introduction. But other mtDNA studies on dogs of the Pacific, plus the rat and chicken data all indicate a second introduction. This suggests a second population migration out of Asia sometime after 2000 BP.” (Matisoo-Smith, L. and Denny, M.;2010)

“These results have led Lisa and her colleagues to suggest a new model for Polynesian origins. It is based on an existing framework for Lapita origins suggested by Roger Green in 1991. Here are the key ideas:

1. The Lapita colonists in West Polynesia and the rest of Remote Oceania look very much like the current indigenous populations of Vanuatu, New Caledonia and western Fiji

2. Around 1500 BP a new population arrived in Western Polynesia with new and more typically Asian derived physical characteristics, and mtDNA lineages.

3. These new people also introduced new mtDNA lineages of commensal rats, dogs and chickens.

4. There was intense and complex interactions with the existing Lapita-descended populations as they spread over West Polynesia.

5. This resulted in the formation of the Ancestral Polynesian culture, who then dispersed east, and north into the rest of Polynesia.

This possible scenario is shown in the figure below. The grey arrows show the initial Lapita expansion through Near Oceania and into Remote Oceania. The dotted arrows show the proposed arrival of new population (or populations) from Asia into West Polynesia. The black arrows show the settlement of East Polynesia and a back migration into Melanesia.

Population migration in Polynesia

A new model for the origins of Polynesians From: Addison, D. J., & Matisoo-Smith, E. (2010)

6. Extracts from a 2011 study by Soares, et al., proposing an East Indonesian origin for Polynesia and discounting the “Out of Taiwone model

A 2011 study by Soares, et al., proposes an East Indonesian origin. They talk about a ‘‘Polynesian motif.’’ The “motif” and its descendants comprise a clade of mtDNA lineages that together account for >90% of Polynesian mtDNAs. Soares, et al. states that “for the last 15 years, it has been recognized that the age and distribution of this clade are key to resolving the issue of the peopling of Polynesia.”

They explain that “by analyzing 157 complete mtDNA genomes, they show that the motif itself most likely originated more than 6000 years ago (>6 ka) in the vicinity of the Bismarck Archipelago, [off the northeastern coast of New Guinea] and its immediate ancestor is older than 8000 years (>8 ka) and virtually restricted to Near Oceania (includes New Guinea, the Bismarck Archipelago, Bougainville, and the Solomon Islands). This indicates that Polynesian maternal lineages from Island Southeast Asia (Philippines, Indonesia, and Malaysian Borneo) gained a foothold in Near Oceania much earlier than dispersal from either Taiwan or Indonesia between 3000 and 4000 years ago (3–4 ka) would predict.

china, australia, etc.

Map Showing China, Taiwan, MSEA, ISEA, Near Oceania, and Remote Oceania

Their work shows that there was a spread back through New Guinea into ISEA, which most likely took place approximately between 4000 and 5000 years ago (~4–5 ka). A more plausible backdrop of the settlement of the Remote Pacific is a model based on the idea of a ‘‘voyaging corridor,’’ facilitating exchange between ISEA and Near Oceania (see map above).

How did the cultural markers and the linguistic similarities between these regions and that of Taiwan develop? Soares, et al. suggests that there is evidence of further small-scale bidirectional movements across this region when Austronesian-speaking voyagers integrated with coastal-dwelling groups in the Bismarcks, perhaps stimulating the rise and spread of the Lapita culture and the dispersal of the Oceanic languages. “Other lineages from Southeast Asia are also found at low frequencies in Near Oceania, and still, others are candidates for dispersal from Taiwan into eastern Indonesia via the Philippines, but they did not reach Oceania. Some of these may have also been involved in the transmission of Austronesian culture and languages, although they evidently had no demic role in the founding of Polynesia.

Thus, although the results of the Soares, et al. study “rule out any substantial maternal ancestry in Taiwan for Polynesians, they do not preclude an Austronesian linguistic dispersal from Taiwan to Oceania between 3000-4000 years ago (3–4 ka), mediated by social networks rather than directly by people of Taiwanese ancestry but perhaps involving small numbers of migrants at various times.”

“The mtDNA patterns point to the possibility of a staged series of dispersals of small numbers of Austronesian speakers, each followed by a period of extensive acculturation and language shift. Overall, though, the mtDNA evidence highlights a deeper and more complex history of two-way maritime interaction between ISEA and Near Oceania than is evident from most previous accounts. Archaeological and linguistic evidence for maritime interaction between ISEA and Near Oceania during the early and mid-Holocene is strengthening, however, and it has been suggested that contacts might have been facilitated by sea-level rises and improvements in conditions on the north coast of
New Guinea. Early to mid-Holocene social networks between New Guinea and the Bismarck Archipelago are marked by the spread of stone mortars and pestles,
obsidian, and stemmed obsidian tools from approximately 8000 years ago (~8 ka) until
before or alongside the advent of Lapita pottery in the Bismarcks at around 3500 years ago (~3.5 ka). The absence of early Lapita pottery on New Guinea suggests major disruptions to preexisting exchange networks within Near Oceania before or at approximately 3500 years ago (~3.5 ka), with increasing social isolation of some areas and increasing interaction between others.”

“There is also emerging evidence from both archaeology and archaeobotany for the spread of domesticates during the mid-Holocene, before the presumed advent of Austronesian dominance from approximately 4000 years ago (~4 ka). Molecular analyses suggest that bananas, sago, greater yam, and sugarcane all underwent early domestication in the New Guinea region. These cultivars and associated cultivation practices diffused westward into ISEA, where the plants and linguistic terms for them were adopted by Proto-Malayo-Polynesian speakers upon their arrival approximately 4000 years ago (~4 ka). The vegetative cultivation of these plants evidently occurred within ISEA before any Taiwanese influences became significant.”

The work suggests “a convergence of archaeological and genetic evidence, as well as concordance between different lines of genetic evidence.” The authors state that their “results imply an early to mid-Holocene Near Oceanic ancestry for the Polynesian peoples, likely fertilized by small numbers of socially dominant Austronesian-speaking voyagers from ISEA in the Lapita formative period, approximately 3500 years ago (~3.5 ka)”. They claim that their “work can therefore also pave the way for new accounts of the spread of Austronesian languages.”

References

https://atc.archives.gov.tw/salt/english/02_history/01_story_a.asp?menu=1

Andersen, J. C.. 1928. Myths and Legends of the Polynesians. Dover Publications.

“Background Note: Vanuatu”. US Department of State. Archived from the original on 13 May 2008.
Bedford, Stuart; Spriggs, Matthew (2008). “Northern Vanuatu as a Pacific Crossroads: The Archaeology of Discovery, Interaction, and the Emergence of the “Ethnographic Present””.Asian Perspectives. UP Hawaii. 47 (1): 95–120. JSTOR 42928734

Burley, D. V., Tache, K., Purser, P., Balenaivalu, R. J.. 210. An archaeology of salt production in Fiji. ANTIQUITY 85 (2011): 187–200. http://antiquity.ac.uk/ant/085/ant0850187.htm187

Campbell, J. 1822. “A narrative of the second journey in the interior of that country.” Francis Wesley

Flad, R., Zhu, J., Wang, C., Chen, P., von Falkenhausen, L., Sun, Z., & Li, S. (2005). Archaeological and chemical evidence for early salt production in China. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America102(35), 12618–12622. http://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.0502985102

Haberkorn, G. 1992. Temporary versus Permanent Population Mobility in Melanesia: A Case Study from Vanuatu. The International Migration Review; Vol. 26, No. 3 (Autumn, 1992), pp. 806-842; Published by: Sage Publications, Inc. on behalf of the Center for Migration Studies of New York, Inc.; DOI: 10.2307/2546966; Stable URL: https://www.jstor.org/stable/2546966https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/how-much-sodium-per-day

Jean-Michel Dupuyoo, 2007, Notes on the Uses of Metroxylon in Vanuatu, Jardin d’Oiseaux Tropicaux Conservatoire, Biologique Tropical, 83250 La Londe-les-Maures, France, Metroxylon in Vanuatu Vol. 51(1) 2007, PALMS 51(1): 31–38, jmdupuyoo@yahoo.fr

HuangFusan (2005), A Brief History of Taiwan: A Sparrow Transformed into a Phoenix, Taipei: Government Information Office.

Matisoo-Smith, L. and Denny, M.. 2010. LENScience Senior Biology Seminar Series Rethinking Polynesian Origins: Human Settlement of the Pacific. Copyright © Liggins Institute. http://LENS.auckland.ac.nz

Nakayama, T., (1959), “Taiwan’s Buckskin Production and Its Exports to Japan in the 17th Century,” (translated into Chinese), Volumes on Taiwan Studies, no. 71. Taipei: Bank of Taiwan.

Roberts, J. A. G., 2011. A History of China, 3rd ed., Palgrave Macmillan.

From the article, “Salt Production at a Post-Lapita Village in Nadroga.” https://coralcoastfiji.org/fiji-tradition-culture/salt-production-lapita-nadroga

Soares, P., Rito, T., Trejaut, J., Mormina, M., Hill, C.,Tinkler-Hundal, E., Braid, M., Clarke, D. J., Loo, J-H., Thomson, N., Denham, T., Donohue, M., Macaulay, V., Lin, M., Oppenheimer, S., Richards, M. B.; 2011. Ancient Voyaging and Polynesian Origins, AJHG, Volume 88, Issue 2, p239 – 247, 11 February 2011.

Taiwan Today, Publication Date: December 01, 1991; The Last Salt Farmers; https://taiwantoday.tw/news.php?unit=12,29,33,45&post=22441Williams, T. 1858. Fiji and the Fijians. London: Alexander Heyland.Photo Credit: By Joseph Smit – http://www.50birds.com/extan/gextanimals10.htm, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=4383372

Photos

All photos from Maori lore, 1904, by Izett, James.

Chapter 10.15 The English Pig with links to the Kolbroek and Kunekune

Introduction to Bacon & the Art of Living

The story of bacon is set in the late 1800s and early 1900s when most of the important developments in bacon took place. The plotline takes place in the 2000s with each character referring to a real person and actual events. The theme is a kind of “steampunk” where modern mannerisms, speech, clothes and practices are superimposed on a historical setting.  Modern people interact with old historical figures with all the historical and cultural bias that goes with this.


The English Pig

February 1893

Dear Kids,

Travelling back from Dublin to Calne, Michael met us at the Royal Waterloo Hotel in Liverpool (1). It was great seeing him again and the first hour we recounted the events in South Africa around Minette and my engagement. He was out of town when we returned from Cape Town and John Harris received us at his house.

It was great seeing our old friend again. We grew very fond of his company and his obvious love for the subject is inspiring! We had much to tell him about our trip to Dublin, Dr Stamatis, the chance encounter with Stu and our lessons from the anatomy professor. After listening to our stories, Mike was disappointed that he could not accompany us to Dublin.

The Royal Hotel

The hotel where we stayed with Mike in Liverpool is an epic place in its own right. The area was originally called Crosby Seabank. Before 1815, the locals tell me that all there was out there were a few farms dotted along the coast and some fisherman villages pre 181.  Early in the 1800s, so the ever-informative Michael tells us, it gained a reputation amongst wealthy visitors for its beaches and clear water. This prompted the building of the Roya Hotel.

Construction started on Sunday 18 June 1815, the very day of the battle of Waterloo where the Duke of Wellington’s forces defeated Napoleon Boneparte. It effectively ended Napoleon’s rule as Emperor of France and marked the end of his Hundred Days return from exile.

The hotel was initially named the Crosby Seabank Hotel. On the first anniversary of the battle, it was renamed Royal Waterloo Hotel. The area grew in popularity and soon a railway line was laid and a station build and wealthy merchants and sea captains from Liverpool began to build homes there. Many of the street names given were associated with the battle and gradually the town became known as Waterloo.

After Minette and I shared our stories, the topic of discourse changed to the English pig. Mike felt that I still did not appreciate the importance of breeding in producing good bacon. He explained to me that the pig industry mostly situated in the south of England and as is the case today, followed on the heels of the dairy and the brewery industry.  Dairy farmers found that milk contains 20% whey proteins and 80% casein. Whey is a byproduct of the cheese industry. When milk is coagulated during the process of cheese making, whey is the leftover product and contains everything that is soluble from milk after the pH is dropped to 4.6 during the coagulation process. It is an excellent and inexpensive feed for pigs. The other very cheap source of food for pigs is brewery waste and a third source is an inferior grain that turns wheat that the farmer can not expect to get a good price for into high priced pork protein. 

As Mike was about to start telling the story, I quickly excused myself to grab my notebook. At the top of a new page I wrote the headline: The story of the English pig! Back in Calne, I was so mesmerised by the topic that I did much further reading on the subject. In this mail, I then supplement the information from Mike with what I found in the reading room at the Harris factory. Here is the story!

The story of the English pig!

Chinese vs English Pigs

It begins in China, many, many years ago. Wild boars (Sus Scrofa) from Europe and Asia roamed the land from antiquity. Around eight thousand years ago, pigs in China made a transition from wild animals to the farm. It was the creation of the domesticated pig (Sus scrofa domesticus or only Sus domesticus). They started living off scraps of food from human settlements. Humans penned them up and fed them which removed the evolutionary pressure they had as wild animals living in the forest. They were bred by humans instead of being left in the forests to breed naturally and to find for themselves. This led to an animal that is round, pale, short-legged, pot-bellied with traditional regional breeding preferences that persist to this day. (White, 2011)

Yu, et al (2013), reports that there are 88 indigenous breeds of pigs in China today. They investigated the origin and evolution of Chinese pigs using complete mitochondrial genomic sequences (mtDNA) from Asian and European domestic pigs and wild boars. “Thirty primer pairs were designed to determine the mtDNA sequences of, Xiang pig, Large White, Lantang, Jinhua, and Pietrain.” (Yu, 2013)

This is a great place to start because it not only speaks directly to our topic of pigs in China and their relationship with those in the West, but it also introduces us to very important concepts when you are talking about pig breeds.

The first new concept is that of phylogenetics. “Phylogenetics is the study of the evolutionary history and relationships among individuals or groups of organisms (e.g. species, or populations). These relationships are discovered through phylogenetic inference methods that evaluate observed heritable traits, such as DNA sequences or morphology under a model of evolution of these traits. The result of these analyses is a phylogeny (also known as a phylogenetic tree)—a diagrammatic hypothesis about the history of the evolutionary relationships of a group of organisms.” (Biology online. Retrieved 15 February 2013.) Yu and his coworkers investigated the phylogenetic status of Chinese native pigs “by comparing the mtDNA sequences of complete coding regions and D-loop regions respectively amongst Asian breeds, European breeds, and wild boars. The analyzed results by two cluster methods contributed to the same conclusion that all pigs were classified into two major groups, European clade and Asian clade.” (Yu, 2013)

A clade is “a grouping that includes a common ancestor and all the descendants (living and extinct) of that ancestor. Using a phylogeny, it is easy to tell if a group of lineages forms a clade. Imagine clipping a single branch off the phylogeny — all of the organisms on that pruned branch make up a clade.” (https://evolution.berkeley.edu)

It revealed that Chinese pigs were only recently diverged from each other and are distinctly different from European pigs. Berkshire was clustered with Asian pigs and Chinese pigs were involved in the development of Berkshire breeding. The Malaysian wild boar had distant genetic relationships with European and Asian pigs. Jinhua and Lanyu pigs had more nucleotide diversity with Chinese pigs although they all belonged to the Asian major clade. Chinese domestic pigs were clustered with wild boars in the Yangtze River region and South China.

In the West, the scavengers were treated differently than in China. There is evidence that they were initially exploited, as was the case in the far East, around 9000 to 10 000 years ago. The denser settlements of the Neolithic times in the fertile crescent did not pen the animals up but ejected them from their society. The pigs may have been a nuisance or competed with humans for scarce resources such as water. Genetic research shows that the first pig exploitation in Anatolia (around modern-day Turkey) “hit a dead end.” (White, 2011)  It failed to develop pig breeds that still exist today as was the case with pigs in China.

In contrast to pigs being shunned in the middle east and penned up and intensely farmed and manipulated through selective breeding as in China, the treatment of pigs in Europe was completely different which resulted in a particular set of characteristics. Various European populations, for example, developed techniques of feeding the pigs called mast feeding (Mast being the fruit of forest trees and shrubs, such as acorns and other nuts). Herds were pushed into abandoned forests to feed on beechnuts and acorns which are of marginal value to humans. (White, 2011)

The practice of pannage, as it is called, is the releasing of livestock-pigs in a forest, so that they can feed on fallen acorns, beech mast, chestnuts or other nuts. Historically, it was a right or privilege granted to local people on common land or in royal forests. Interestingly, it was the exact same technique practiced at the Cape at the time when the Colebrook sank and is one of the reasons why I doubt that the Kolbroek would have remained a homogenous pig breed if they were not taken in by a local farmer. The slave-hypothesis where the animals were kept in a confined space and fed by humans right from their arrival on African soil fits the scenario where slaves had to keep the animals under constant control in caves or at least, a small geographical area to avoid detection by the authorities who were looking to re-capture the slaves. The slaves did this, not only with pigs (which I assume) but also with other domesticated animals such as cattle (which we know for a fact).

The result of chasing animals into a forest to fend for themselves is that controlled breeding was very difficult, if not impossible. The pigs from the West remained long-legged, with ridges of bristles and residue tusks, keeping them fierce and agile like their wild ancestors as they continued to struggle against predators and the harshness of life in the wild. This correlates well with quotes I read from writers in South Africa (Green) who speaks about the fact that pigs that are chased into the wild to fend for themselves change back to the characteristics of their wild ancestors. He quotes a German, Richter, as reported by MacAdams that “pigs easily revert to wild state. . . and all over the world, there were droves living in forests and bush and raiding farms and plantations. They bred fast like guinea pigs, mastered the law of the wild and move silently about their destructive business. After years of this life, they lost their civilised look and developed large heads with long snouts and narrow, arched backs. They were far more alert than farm pigs and more ferocious. Richter declares that they were almost as intelligent as the great apes. They became hairier and regained the colour and shape of their wild ancestors with stripes on their sides.” (Green, 1968) Pliny said in Roman times that “a few generations can turn a thoroughly domesticated breed into a fierce feral animal.” (White, 2011)

As the contact of Europeans with China increased and the vigorous trade of previous centuries between these regions resumed, Chinese pig breeds and practices were both exported to Europe and England. The introduction of Chinese breeds into Europe and Brittain was precipitated by changes in population and deforestation which became precursors for globalization. By the early 1600s, sty rising was encouraged by a shortage in mast forests and some improved breeding followed, especially in southeastern England. The rapid expansion of London gave rise to an increased in pigs as urban scavengers. Brewery and dairy waste in this part of England became the first sources of concentrated fodder for pigs. Agriculture manuals started to appear that advocated using these to supplement mast or replacing it altogether as a quick and effective way of fattening pigs. In addition to these, potatoes from the Columbian Exchange became a lifeline for the family hog who lost access to pannage. (White, 2011)

New sty raised pigs from around cities like Leicestershire and Northamptonshire at the end of the 1600s and early 1700s, in conjunction with the rapid development of English agriculture, provided the first improved English breed, particularly around Leicestershire. These animals served the growing London market as well as the British navy for fresh and salted pork. These animals were rounder and fattened more quickly than the pigs from medieval times. (White, 2011)

Chinese breeding stock arrived in England in the midst of these developments. Studies of mitochondrial DNA suggest that the earliest exchange took place around 1700. Certainly not much earlier. “More detailed examination of European and Chinese haplotypes find two separate introductions, each from a different Chinese variety, the one ancestral to the large white and Berkshire and the other to the later Swedish Landrace, Duroc, and Welsh. All these share more genetic material than they do with traditional European pigs.”

Thomas Bewick’s late 1700 engraving shows the Chinese pig breed in England ((White, 2011)

As early as the 1720s writers began to note the growing presence of a small black variety in England which appears to match contemporary descriptions of those Chinese and Southeast Asia pigs that had already excited the interest of travellers to the far East. The earliest definite statement that Chinese pigs had arrived in the West appears to come from the Swedish naturalist Osbeck writing in the 1750s, who compared them favourably with European scavenger varieties.” (White, 2011)

It was the last years of the 1700s that provided the real breakthrough with the production of improved crossbreeds combining the larger frame of European pigs with the rounder body and faster weight gain of the Asian newcomers. By 1797 William Henry Hall’s New Encyclopedia notes how “the breed of pigs have been greatly improved, both in the harness of their nature and the goodness of their flesh, by the introduction of those commonly called Chinese, or Touquin.” (White, 2011)

The fourth edition Bylbeis’s General History of Quadrupeds in 1800 would expand its chapter on hogs to note how, “By a mixture of Chinese black swine with others of the large British breed, a kind has been produced that possesses many qualities superior to the original flock. They are very prolific, are sooner made fat than the larger kind, upon less provisions, and cut up, when killed, to more useful and convenient portions.” (White, 2011)

The new improved breed of the 1790s crossed the rounder body and shorter legs of the Chinese with the larger frame of the European hog.  (White, 2011)

Implications of the Date for the Kolbroek Pigs

Marshall (1798) writes that when he visited Maidstone in 1790, some remains of the long white native breed of the Island were observable, in this part of it. The Berkshire, and the “Tun back,” — a variety of the Berkshire (which is not uncommon in Surrey), — were prevalent: also the Chinese; — with mixtures of the various sorts; but without any established breed, which the district could call it’s own.”

At this point I want to return to the story of the Kolbroek pigs of South Africa (Chapter 3: Kolbroek) The story that I heard and believe to be correct after much personal investigation is that the breed swam to shore at Cape Hangklip in the Cape Colony from the English East Indian ship, the Colbrooke when she sank on Tuesday, 24 August 1778. I believe that the pigs were picked up from at Gravesend in Kent from where she sailed from on 3 February 1778. I think that there is another possibility namely that another small herd of pigs, closely related to the pigs that became the Kolbroek in South Africa were similarly transported to New Zealand by Cook.

In our discussion, the development of these two groups of pigs which ended up in Africa and New Zealand could be from the cross between Chinese and English breeds at a time before the Colebrooke sailed for the Cape of Good Hope in 1778 and before the three visits of Cook to New Zealand, in 1769-70, 1773 and 1777.  The Marshall quote shows that both Chinese breeds and Chinese-English crosses were not only present in England, but in Kent in particular.  Marshall (1798) writes about the state of affairs regarding pork production in Maidstone, Kent, which is 25miles from Gravesend. This is the time of Cook’s first voyage (30 years after the sailing in 1768 on the HMS Endeavour) and the sailing of the Colebrook which, on the 3rd February sailed to Gravesend to load shot, copper, stores, gunpowder, wine, guns, corn, livestock, and military recruits. She set sail on the 8th March from the Downs in the company of three other vessels, the warship Asia, as well as the East Indiamen Gatton and the Royal Admiral, to call at Madeira for 43 pipes of wine. On the 26th of May, she sailed from Madeira for Bombay and China via the Cape of Good Hope where she sank, 3 months later.

Marshall observed at Maidstone, Kent,

a. various breeds; 
b. a few of the long white native breed of England.
c.  The Berkshire and a variety of the Berkshire called the "Turn back," common in Surrey, 
d. Chinese which he describes as "prevalent" and e. mixtures of the various sorts, also described as prevalent.

I have long suspected that the Kolbroek looks like an older version of the Berkshire!  Later, when I saw the Kune Kune of New Zealand, I thought the same as a possible link between the old Berkshire, the Kolbroek and the Kune Kune. If these pigs came from Gravesend, Kent, it could have been almost any of the various crosses that were found here, at this time.

maidstone

This is the clearest statement we have on the state of pork production in Kent which is important in the considerations of how the Kune Kune could have arrived in New Zealand and the Kolbroek at the Cape of Good Hope.  More about that later.

Michael brought some sketches along to illustrate his point of the difference between the old English breeds from before the introduction of the Chinese breeds and the improved method of pig husbandry and the new English breeds.

The Old English Breed

Harris has a great sketch of an old English and old Irish pig.

Pig 2.1.png

Harris, 1870

Pig 2.2.png

Harris, 1870

All New Developments Takes Time to Settle In

Early breeders did not immediately find a market for the improved breeds which was done between old English sows with Chinese boars. From the offspring of these animals, the farmer will then select the ones with the character traits that are most desirable and the rest will become ham or bacon.

There were many common village pigs that were crossed with Chinese pigs. Wealthy landowners would buy the Chinese boar and “rent” him out to villagers on his property to fertilise their sows.  In this way, pigs from a village or a county developed similar characteristics.

The New English Breeds

-> Large White

Or Large Yorkshire Pig, as it used to be called.

pig 11.png

Sinclair, 1879

Pig 1.png

Sinclair, 1879

pig 9.png

Sinclair, 1879

pig 14

Sinclair, 1879

-> Yorkshire Large, Middle, Small White

In the Harris reading room I came across an 1887 copy of the Agrarian History of Wales, where Messrs. Harris from Calne is quoted complaining that the pigs were often too fat for their purposes. There are references to Small Whites as “animated tubs of lard and Black Dorsets as roly-poly pigs. (Collins, 1887)

pig 2.png

Sinclair, 1879

Sinclair, 1879

pig 13.png

Sinclair, 1879

pig 15.png

Sinclair, 1879

-> Suffolk

Also called Small Black, or Essex as it is called in the USA.

pig 3.png

Sinclair, 1879

pig 10.png

Sinclair, 1879

-> Berkshire

The most famous pig from England for years has been the Berkshire. It is said that businessmen drove the development of the Berkshire as opposed to lovers of pigs and pig breeds. Agents of wealthy businessmen in the US bought the animals based on their ability to do well at shows and not for any inherent functionally beneficial characteristics. The buyers were looking for pigs that are short, turned up snout, a heavy jowl, thick neck, wide shoulders, and a fat back.

pig 5

Sinclair, 1879

Pig 4

Sinclair, 1879

pig 7.png

Sinclair, 1879

pig 16.png

Sinclair, 1879

The breed has formally existed from around 1780 and before this time, the animals were known to exist and have been bred in this region in England. The colour and markings of the Berkshire show close association with the wild boar.

The Unimproved Berkshire, 1840.jpg

The unimproved Berkshire, c 1840

A breeders association targeted a longer, straight back animal as opposed to the more arched backs of the original Berkshires. There is a great description by a man called Lawrence who, in 1790 gave the following account of the old Berkshire pigs. “It was long and crooked snouted, the muzzle turning upwards; the ears large, heavy and inclined to be pendulous; the body long and thick, but not deep; the legs short, the bone large, and the size very great.” (Richardson, 1857) This was not the best animal that the farmers wanted to breed by any means, but it was a marked improvement on the old English pigs that were described as “gaunt and rugged.” (Richardson, 1857) Developing the breed through cross-breeding with the Chinese and Siamese pigs resulted in an animal that Lawrence describes in 1790 as “already a great improvement from the old Berkshires“. He describes the 1790 animals as “lighter both in head and ear, shorter and more compactly formed, with less bone, and higher on the leg.” (Richardson, 1857) By 1875, Richards reports that “the breed has been since still further improved by judicious crossing; it still has long ears inclining forward, but erect, is deep in the body, with short legs, small bone, arrives early at maturity, and fattens easily and with remarkable rapidity.”

One of the men responsible for great developments of the breed in the mid-1800s was Richard Astley, Esq. of Oldstone Hall. Another important breeder of this time was an Irishmen, Mr. Sherrard. In crossing with the Berkshire, he used the Neapolitan pig or the improved Essex pig which is the same as the Neapolitan. This cross resulted in “a long body, a handsome head, a well-skinned animal which is a rapid grower”.

The Siamese and Chinese cross were important for the breed. The Chinese hog went by many different names. The Siam and the Chinese proper were two important variants of the Chinese hog in the 1700s and 1800s. The main difference between the two relates to colour. The Siamese is black and the Chinese, white. There were, however, great varieties, and one could get black Chinese and white Siamese hogs. Importantly, Chinese hogs are small. “The body is a near-perfect cylinder; the back slopes from the head, and is hollow, while the belly, on the other hand, is pendulous, and in a fat specimen almost touches the ground. The bone is small, the legs fine and short.” (Richardson, 1857) Both the Chinese and Siamese are good feeders and matures early. The Chinese are almost identical to the Portuguese and many people thought that the Portuguese breed of the 1800s is actually the Chinese proper.

Trow-Smith (1959) summarises the state of play well when he writes, that “by reason of the introduction of direct and indirect Chinese blood into British breeds very few of the swines of the late eighteenth century had any degree of stability in character. Those which were contemporarily notable have now ceased to exist or become of little importance, and the leading breeds of today were then barely distinguishable. . . The ubiquitous Berkshire, the first British breed of pig to achieve national fame, to win a national distribution, and to exercise a national influence. At the end of the eighteenth century, it was predominantly of a sandy red-spotted type, prick-eared, with no very marked dish of face, and renowned for its early maturity. In the following three decades the Berkshire seems to have been given its present appearance of a black pig with white extremities and dished face by the work of Lord Barrington, who probably had used Neapolitan blood in the improvement – or, at any rate, the alteration – of this breed. The sandy reddish colour still emerges occasionally in crosses from the modern Berkshire.” (Trow-Smith, 1959)

After Barrington had to a large degree fixed the new mainly black type, the older red Berkshire continued to be found unimproved in the Midlands in considerable numbers and began to assume a Midland name and to be known as the Tamworth.” If one wants to know what the Berkshire looked like at the beginning of the early 19th century, look at the Tamworth of the 1950s. (Trow-Smith, 1959)

Tamworth

pig 6.png

Sinclair, 1879

One of the oldest of the English pigs, extensively bred in Leicestershire, Staffordshire, and Northamptonshire and in some of the adjacent counties is the Tamworth. It is native to the midland counties where there are lots of oak tree forests. They were driven into the forests for autumn and early winter. When the forests were closed off and converted to arable land, farmers opted for a quieter pig variety and one that fattens more readily. (Sinclair, 1879)

The change was accomplished by crossing long-snouted, prick-eared sandy and grey with black spots pigs with pigs having a strong infusion of Neapolitan blood. Many also used the white pig. Bakewell did, through inbreeding and selection, accomplished in both breeds a more delicate disposition and an animal that is more easily fattened.  He termed the white Berkshire breed. (Sinclair, 1879)

The result of the mixture was a plum-pudding or the black, white and sandy pig. In certain districts of Staffordshire and adjoining counties, the breeders of these mahogany coloured pigs took considerable pain by selection to increase the feeding properties of their pigs without losing their distinctive colour. (Sinclair, 1879)

The pigs were not particularly quick feeders but they were prolific and when well fattened, furnished a splendid carcass of pork nicely intermixed with lean.  (Sinclair, 1879) They were later crossed with pigs that render them more suitable for bacon production.

pig 8.png

Sinclair, 1879

pig 17.png

Sinclair, 1879

English Purebreeds

The following pure breeds were acknowledged in England at this time.

  • Berkshire
  • Tamworth
  • Small Black
  • Yorkshire – divided into Large, Middle, Small White

(Sinclair, 1879)

Development of the New Engish Breeds

In Loudon’s Encyclopedia of Agriculture are a set of engravings that gives us a glimpse of what the transition would have been like. The first edition appeared in 1825.

Pig 2.3.png

Harris, 1870

Compare it with the following English Breeds.

Pig 2.5.png

Harris, 1870

pig 2.6.png

Harris, 1870

pig 2.7.png

Harris, 1870

Loudon refers to the Berkshire as a “small breed” which was probably the first character quality to achieve better fattening and maturing quality (i.e., reducing the size of the animal improves its ability to gain weight and mature).

pig 1.8.png

Harris, 1870

The sow above shows the effect of crossing the Berkshire with a Chinese pig and better feeding. The effects of persistent improvements on these crossed animals can be seen from the two pictures below, figure 20 and 21 from Harris.

pig 2.8.png

pig 2.9.png

Harris, 1870

Compare these with the picture of the old English pigs given right at the top of the letter. Also compare it with this drawing of a Chinese Sow, given by Harris.

pig 2.10.png

Harris, 1870

Boars of the improved Berkshire-Chinese cross, after the breed has been established were used to cross with the large old Berkshire sows. This was considered a less violent cross and was more beneficial than the direct use of pure Chinese pigs.

I wondered how one would approach it if you desire to create a certain look or particular qualities in a pig.  Which one would have the biggest influence on what? The boar or the sow?  the ever-informative Michael had the answer.

Selection of a Boar – a few pointers

The boar exercise the greatest influence on the “external points of the joint produce”, then does the sow.  In the question I asked above, one will then select the boar by looking at its outer characteristics in the first place.  What is the outward “look” that you desire in your animal?  The sow is said to influences the internal portions to a far greater degree.

Other good pointers to look for in a boar is its sexual organs.  These must be well developed is an indication of vigour.  The quality that you do not want in a boar is a vicious and bad temperament.  Also, select a boar that was part of a large litter.  A large boar should not be preferred to a small one as large boars seldom last long. (Sinclair, 18970)

Selecting a Sow – a few pointers

A few comments about a sow to give us an inkling of the different functions of a boar and sow in creating a particular pig.  The sow is responsible to furnish her offspring with the internal arrangements to enable the complete animal to readily convert its food so that the pig grows rapidly, fattens quickly and proves itself a profitable hog.

Some breeds produce what is sometimes called a big roomy sow.  They are “flat-sided; their loins are “weak”.  They are often admired by people who know nothing about breeding pigs.  These poor animals have difficulty getting up once they lie down.  An evenly-made compact sow with quarters long, wide and deep, and on short legs will rear far more pigs and at much less cost than will one of the large kind.

The important points to look for in an ideal sow, are the same as what is required in a boar.  Particularly, its temperament must be gentle. A well-formed udder is of the greatest importance and she should have no fewer than 12 teats.  15 is better!  They should be spaced evenly.

Possible Supply Points for the English Navy:  The Kolbroek and the Kune Kune Question

As for my own exposure to pig breeding, it is confined to the Kolbroek and later, the Kune Kune from New Zealand. I discussed the tradition about the origin of the breed in the Cape Colony with Michael who had had very interesting insights.  Large scale pig breeding or rearing has been associated with the dairy industry for many years. There is a report from 1830 which states that keeping pigs “especially valuable to those persons whose other occupations furnish a plentiful supply of food at a trifling expense; as the keepers of dairies, brewers, millers, etc., the very refuse of whose customary produce will serve to keep a considerable number of these useful animals.” (White, 1977)

One of the places where pig industries developed for exactly the reasons as mentioned, is Wiltshire. Daniel Defoe commented in his work, Tour Through the Whole Island of Great Britain (1720) on the huge volumes of bacon sent from Wiltshire to London.  He wrote, “this bacon is raised in such quantities here, by reason of the great dairies . . the hogs being fed with the vast quantity of whey, and skim’d milk, which so many farmers have to spare, and which must, otherwise, be thrown away.” (Defu, 1720)

I expressed interest in the state of pig farming from Kent, since, as I suppose, the pigs that made it onto the Colebrook at the end of the 1700s and swam ashore at Koge Bay at Cape Hangklip in the Cape Colony, came from Kent, there should be evidence of large pig farming in this county or did the pigs come from London.  Michael referred me to one author he managed to locate which possibly spoke to the issue, Pehr Kalm.  Pehr, also known as Peter Kalm, was a botanist, naturalist, and agricultural economist and an explorer.   He wrote in 1748 that “in Kent the farmers generally have no more pigs than they require for their own use so that they seldom come to sell any of them; but in and near London, the Distillers keep a great many, often from 200 to 600 head, which they feed with the lees, and anything that is over from the distillery; and after these animals have become fat enough, they are sold to the butcher at a great profit.” (Kitchen, 1940)

This being said, Henry Mayhew reports in his “The Morning Chronicle Survey of Labour and the Poor: The Metropolitan Districts, Volume 6”, (1981), with writing from 1849 and 1850, “A great many sheep and other cattle are slaughtered at outside places (outside London and the Smithfield market), such as Gravesend. They are bought at the farmers in the neighbourhood, or selected from droves on their way to London.” He later includes pigs in his calculations. This statement shows that livestock was bought from local farmers as opposed to receiving them from London.  It mitigates the theory that the pigs from Gravesend were bought from local farms as opposed to being driven from London.

A second fact lends tremendous credence to this theory. The many woodlands and forests in Kent would have been ideal for pig farming. There are reports from early 1800 that there were plenty of pigs in the Weald, located just a short distance from Gravesend. (remarks about Goudway) (Aslet, 2010)  (2) It, therefore, seems plausible that the pigs for the Navy and the English East Indian Company was produced from Kent and not from London. This will, therefore, include the pigs brought to South Africa on the Colebrook as well as the pigs that Captain Cook took with him to New Zealand on his first voyage. Both voyages started by taking livestock onboard at Gravesend in Kent.

The clearest statement about pork production in Kent comes to us from Marshall (1798) who writes about the state of affairs regarding pork production in Maidstone, Kent, which is 25miles from Gravesend.  This is the time of Cook’s first voyage (30 years later) and the sailing of the Colebrook. Here, he observed a. various breeds; b. a few of the long white native breed of England. c.  The Berkshire and a variety of the Berkshire called the ” Tun back,” common in Surrey, d. Chinese which he describes as “prevalent” and e. mixtures of the various sorts, also described as prevalent.

The evidence suggests that there were after all, not only pigs for private consumption in Kent which, one must remember, is a large county. The writing was done at a time when statistics and information on matters such as the pig population were not available and each writer’s impressions were limited to small geographical locations in Kent and could not possibly have been absolute, verified factual statements. Secondly, once one accepts the premise that there could have been, as some authors seem to imply, large herds of pigs in Kent from which live animals were supplied to the Navy and English East Indian Company. Barrel pork, we know, would have been bought from London, firms like C & T Harris or imported from one of the colonies or Ireland. We found no evidence of large curing and “pork salting” industry in Kent, at this time.

There is another important possibility that comes up. We have a statement that farmers in Kent had only enough pigs for their own consumption. We know that there were a lot of pigs in the woodlands and have a description from Marshall on the kind of pigs found in Kent and in Maidstone in particular which is very close to Gravesend. What theory would adequately take all these factors into account in a way that is honest and flows from the facts? I propose that Marshall gives us a clear statement that very close to Gravesend, all the genetic ingredients were present for the creation of the cross that would become the Kolbroek and the Kune Kune. We know that large landowners or brewers would have had large pig herds as was the case in Wiltshire. The statements of the large pig population in London and the fact that many labourers in Wiltshire kept pigs does not mean that there were no large pig farmers in Wiltshire. By inference, the same logic will be true in Kent. It is a possibility that pigs were not procured from small farmers but from a farmer or a landlord or a business that had a large herd of pigs and the genetic material available in Kent would have been reflected in such a herd. That this source supplied the live pigs to Gravesend and that this practice was maintained from the 1760s all the way through to the end of the 1700s. A single source for the Kune Kune and the Kolbroek, located close to Gravesend is a real possibility and will explain the similarities between these two breeds perfectly!

George Bisphop, Trade Card

Courtesy of Bridge, J. W.. Maidstone Geneva, an Old Maidstone Industry.

The question is now if there is a president for such large pig farmers around Gravesend. As it turns out, there is an example of such a large operation that emerges from the village of Maidstone that was associated with hop production.  According to a report from the late 1720s, submitted to the Treasury Board, one-third of the English hop acreage was situated in Kent. In the 1780s, George Bishop started production of his distillery business. He too learned the art from another country. He had a similar operation in Holland from where he learned the art of distilling Schiedam Genever (Dutch Gin). Genever has been distilled in the city of Schiedam for hundreds of years and is world-renowned to this day. Hasted reports that the operation was of such a scale that it accommodated seven hundred pigs, fed on the waste products. (Armstrong, 1995) This is exactly the size operation that one would expect to supply the navy and English East Indian Company with live pigs on a regular basis.

There is one more clue that can narrow our options down. Samuel Lewes (1831) wrote in his A Topographical Dictionary of England that “the Hogs of East Kent are of various sorts, the smaller of which are those that have been intermingled with the Chinese breed : many pigs are reared in this district, and having been fed on the corn stubbles for the butchers, are killed in the autumn for roasting pork. In the western part of the county are some of the large Berkshire breed. Many hogs are fed on acorns in the woods of the Weald, and fattened on corn in the winter.” Maidstone is in East Kent which means that it falls in the category of “Hogs of various sorts, the smaller of which are those that have been intermingled with the Chinese breed.” Of course, we know that this is not an absolute distinction and that George Bishop could have raised Berkshires, but the general description by Lewes fits the Kolbroek and Kune Kune profile nicely.

The Village Pig

The Village Pig

A pigs life is not what it used to be. . . Cottage and adjoining pig house in 1831. (The Oxford Companion to Food by Alan Davidson, Tom Jaine, Oxford Press, 2006.)

Despite the fact that there were clearly large pig farmers in Kent in the 1700s and 1800s, it is still noteworthy that the village pig was commonplace in England during these centuries. The pigs that were predominantly present in England, as was the case in Kent, was the village pig. The English lagged behind in large scale, industrial pig farming until early in the 1900s. Wage-dependence grew but before this time, the economy of self-sufficiency prevailed with rural households provided for most of their own needs. The pig was central to this state of affairs. William Marshall wrote in the 1790s “during the spring and summer months, every labourer, who has industry, frugality, and convenience sufficient, to keep a pig, is seen carrying home, in the evening, as he returns from his labour, a bundle of ‘Hog Weed’; – namely, the heracleum sphondylium, or crow parsnep; which is here well known to be a nutritive food of swine. Children, too, are sent out, to collect it, in by roads, and on hedge banks.” (Marshall, 1798)

The keeping of at least one or two pigs per household was commonplace in the 1700s and 1800s England. One thousand three hundred rural households were surveyed in 1837 to 1838 in Hertfordshire, Essex, and Norfolk and it was discovered that around 38% kept at least one pig. (Boys, 1805) For the most part, the cottagers did not breed their own pigs but bought the piglets and raised them. It is difficult to know exactly how many village pigs were in England at this time but estimates set the numbers at between half a million and a million cottage pigs in late Victorian England. (Salisbury, 1822)

How to feed these animals was another question. George Stuart wrote in the mid-1800s that “most people kept pigs, and made a practice of opening the pig-sties every morning and letting the occupants out into the village street for the day.  There can hardly have been any pretty front gardens. Pigs browsed on the grass that ew by the open drain.” (Kightly, 1984)

Most of the feed, however, came from the owner. One cottager from Hertfordshire describes it as follows. “The water in which food had been cooked, and also that in which plates and dishes had been washed, formed a very valuable asset for the pig keeper, and was accordingly put in a wooden vessel called ‘the pig tub’. . . Those cottagers that kept a pig or pigs had their own tub near the back door; others put their wash (so termed) into a common pig tub provided by a neighbouring pig keeper, who each night came around with yoke and pails to collect same.  At the killing, a portion of the liver or some part of the offal was given by the keeper to each of the cottage women who had contributed to the wash tub, as a recompense for the same.” (Grey, 1935)  I mention this because it speaks to how the animals were being kept, a practice that would have been brought to the Cape of Good Hope by the English settlers.

Feed was supplemented by various other food sources such as potatoes and even hop that was planted specifically for the pigs. There are many delightful accounts of the importance of the cottage pig to the social structure of England in the 1700s and 1800s. Visitors would inquire as to the health of the family pig in the same way they would about the health of the kids. Parents who wrote letters to kids would include comments on the welfare of the pigs in every letter.  It is fair to say that the pig took on a role in English life that became closet to that of a pet than a farm animal. After church, visitors would invariably stop and spend some time at the pigsty where they would scratch the animals back and talk to them before they would enter the house and greet the occupants. All this to say that the pig played a role in England far more important than simply a source of bacon and lard. A distinction started to emerge in my mind between commercial operations in pig husbandry and bacon production and small scale cottage pig raising and the production of home-cured hams, bacon, and sausages. The two disciplines are in reality far removed even though the same animal is the subject and the similar spices and salts are used in curing.  This distinction would stay with me. As far as my work is concerned, it focuses on large commercial operations and not on a small scale operation.

C & T Harris and their drive for Lean Pigs

When I was back at Harris, John told me that there is an unceasing attempt by all Wiltshire pig producers to produce lean pigs. This was driven by his firm’s preference to buy such animals. They have been offering a premium to farmers for medium-sized pigs. It is reported that the percentage of lean pigs sent to the Calne market in Wiltshire has almost doubled. (Yearbook of Agriculture, 1895)

Finally

Not all these facts were discussed in Liverpool, but Mike took us through most of it. Minette loved the discussion. By the time Michael was done, we had four dining room tables around us with photos and bits of scrap paper scattered across the phots and on two more tables where I laid out my notes. I suggested that Minette and Mike make their way to the bar area so long and get drinks while I sit for a few minutes to gather my thoughts and complete my notes.

I thought that by now I learned a lot about bacon, but the discussion this morning taught me that I have only begun.  The interconnectedness of it all stunned me. The pig is one of the easiest and most profitable ways to convert corn and maize into animal protein. The link between this fact and the need to feed an ever-increasing world population stunned me. Not only is the preservation of the meat of supreme importance, but the art of manipulating what nature has given us is the real start of the journey to the best bacon on earth!

I recalled a discussion with John Harris and how they breed bacon pigs with long loins and little fat for bacon as opposed to short, far pigs which they call lard-pigs for the production of hams and lard. The Kolbroek pigs that Oupa Eben farmed back in South Africa are clearly lard pigs and the Berkshire and the whites and blacks are being bred as bacon pigs.  It all fascinated me tremendously.

It made me realise that life must be lived like that – with ample interconnections we are able to engineer a grand tapestry! We can indeed fall in love with life and when our work and our passion are the same – it is the condiments to a complete life that is lived well in every area.  My Minette, bacon, the mountains, the different lands and customs and peoples of this bountiful earth all unite in my heart and soul it becomes the gift from an amazing universe we exist in. I smiled when I walked over to the bar area and thought to myself that bacon is truly connected to the art of living!

Lots of love from Liverpool!

Your Dad and Minette


Further Reading

Also refer Chapter 10.02: C & T Harris in New Zealand and other amazing tales where I take up the similarities between the Kolbroek and the Kune Kune.

Chapter 03: Kolbroek where the story of the link with the pigs from Gravesend (Kent) is first proposed.

In Search of the Origins of the Kolbroek

Kolbroek – Chinese, New Zealand, and English Connections

The Old and the New Pig Breeds


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Notes

(1) Oscar and I arrived at the Royal Waterloo Hotel on  18 March 2012.  Colin Turner from Dantech made the booking.

(2)  There is a popular hiking trail called the Wealdway which is from the Southern Coast to Gravesend, crossing the Weald.

Wealdway

 

References

Armstrong, A (Ed.).  1995. The Economy of Kent, 1640-1914. Boydell Press.

Aslet, C..  2010. Villages of Britain: The Five Hundred Villages that Made the Countryside.  Bloomsbury.

Boys, J..  1805. General View of the Agriculture of the County of Kent.  2nd edition.

Collins, E. J. T.. 1887. The Agrarian History of Wales, vol. 1; vol. 7. Cambridge University Press, 2000, p560.

DANIEL DEFOE Ultimate Collection: 50+ Adventure Classics, Pirate Tales & Historical Novels – Including Biographies, Historical Works, Travel Sketches, Poems & Essays (Illustrated), Robinson Crusoe, The History of the Pirates, Captain Singleton, Memoirs of a Cavalier, A Journal of the Plague Year, Moll Flanders, Roxana, The History of the Devil, The King of Pirates and many more. From Letter IV Containing a Description of the North Shore of the Counties of Cornwall, and Devon, and Some Parts of Somersetshire, Wiltshire, Dorsetshire, Gloucestershire, Buckinghamshire and Berkshire. 1761.  Also refer, A Tour Thro’ the Whole Island of Great Britain: Divided Into Circuits Or Journies. Containing, I. A Description of the Principal Cities By a Gentleman.  December 31, 1760 

Grey, E..  1935. Cottage Life in a Hertfordshire Village.

Harris, J..  c 1870.  Harris on the pig. Breeding, rearing, management, and improvement.  New York, Orange Judd, and company

Kightly, C..  1984. Country Voices:  Life and Lore in Farm and Village.

Kitchen, F..  1940.  Brother to the Ox: The Autobiography of a Farm Labourer.

Lewis, S.. 1831. A Topographical Dictionary of England. S. Lewis & Co.

Marshall, W..  1798.  The Rural Economy of the Southern Countries (2 vol)

Mayhew, M..  1981. The Morning Chronicle Survey of Labour and the Poor, The Metropolitan Districts Volume 3. In the years 1849 and 1850, Henry Mayhew was the metropolitan correspondent of the Morning Chronicle in its national survey of labour and the poor. Only about a third of his Morning Chronicle material was included in his later and better known, publication, London Labour and the London Poor.  First published in 1981, this series of six volumes constitutes Henry Mayhew’s complete Morning Chronicle survey, in the sequence in which it was originally written in 1849 and 1850.

Salisbury, W..  1822.  The Cottager’s Agricultural Companion.

Sinclair, J. (ed).  1897.  Pigs Breeds and Management. Vinton and Co, London

Tunick MH (2008). “Whey Protein Production and Utilization.” (abstract). In Onwulata CI, Huth PJ (eds.). Whey processing, functionality and health benefits. Ames, Iowa: Blackwell Publishing; IFT Press. pp. 1–13.

White, G..  1977.  The Natural History of Selborne. Penguin. From letters in 1775.

Wilkinson, p. R..  1933.  Thesaurus of Traditional English Metaphors.

Yearbook of Agriculture, 1895; p 16.

A Maori Proverb from Maori lore, 1904, by Izett, James (https://archive.org/deta…/maoriloretraditi00izetuoft/page/n3)

Photos

Old photos from Liverpool

-Liverpool, history, Liverpool-history-l22-waterloo-royal-hotel-c1900
Find this Pin and
-Waterloo Station 1907;
-Waterloo beach scene, circa 1906;
-Picnic on Waterloo seafront on Easter Sunday – undated
– photos from our stay on 18 March 2012

From: https://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/…/photos-show-waterloo-thro…

Old Hotel photo from pinterest

Other photos, taken by Eben

Pig photos from

Pigs Breeds and Management
Edited by James Sinclair
Vinton and Co, London
1897

Harris on the pig. Breeding, rearing, management, and improvement
by Harris, Joseph
New York, Orange Judd, and company
c 1870


					

Chapter 10.14 Dublin and the Injection of Meat

Introduction to Bacon & the Art of Living

The story of bacon is set in the late 1800s and early 1900s when most of the important developments in bacon took place. The plotline takes place in the 2000s with each character referring to a real person and actual events. The theme is a kind of “steampunk” where modern mannerisms, speech, clothes and practices are superimposed on a historical setting.  Modern people interact with old historical figures with all the historical and cultural bias that goes with this.


Dublin and the Injection of Meat

February 1893

Dear Kids,

When I wrote to you the last time Minette and I were on a steamboat on our way to London. From there we took the train to Calne. John Harris arranged the most amazing welcome at his house with many of the staff from C & T Harris in attendance.

It was a glorious affair. For dinner, they prepared a roast with the most delectable dessert. We shared our engagement stories and visited with our friends till very late into the night. We stayed over at the Harris’s that evening which was a first for us and very unusual for the English. They are private people and Minette and I both realised what great honour it was.

The next morning over breakfast John had something on his mind. He started reflecting on my very obvious love for history and meat curing. “I was wondering, Eben,” he began, “well, let me say it like this. . .” John is a man who likes to get his words precisely right. “After that one night when Sudan Bodington was over and we delved into the nature of sweet cured bacon, well, after we discovered the key role of stitch pumping in the development of sweet cured bacon, I was wondering if it will be possible to uncover who the first person is to have injected brine into meat with a needle. How did this development happen? Today it seems like the most natural thing on earth, but someone had to come up with the idea.” I was immediately fascinated.

John told me that while we were away he made enquiry into the matter in anticipation of our return. “I did not learn much more than we already know, but I was told that the place to start is the University of Dublin in Ireland.” Almost apologetically he suggested to Minette and me that as an engagement present, how would we like it if he arranges for us to travel to Ireland and visit some friends of his at the University. Of course, there will be a lot of time in the country and enjoying the very vibrant culture of the Irish, and “Eben and Minette”, he suggested, “I think the biggest present I can give you is this research assignment to spend some time at the university and see what you can uncover about this most fascinating question.”

John was absolutely spot on in identifying how we love to spend our free time. Back home we would select exactly such projects to investigate. We would travel to the area where the answer to the riddle most likely occur and keep digging till we learned what we set out to uncover. One such quest I already told you about was finding Drostersgat at Cape Hangklip where a community of runaway slaves hid out and which turned out to be non-other than Dappa se Gat where the Colebrook sank.

Dublin 1

Photo by National Library of Ireland on The Commons The sailing ship Adolphine moored at the Custom House in Dublin, with a swivel bridge in the foreground. There are posters advertising Pleasure Trips to Lambay Island that also say “William Hall” – hardly the name of the vessel? The two-story building beyond the Custom House is the original Liberty Hall, which I only found out yesterday was formerly the Northumberland Hotel… And this was taken at 9.35 am! Date: Circa 1880? NLI Ref.: STP_2746

We immediately accepted the engagement gift from John Harris as a most excellent suggestion and the very next morning we departed for Dublin. In Dublin, we were welcomed by Dr Stamatis Papaikonomou (1) who turned out to have lived in Johannesburg of all places for a short time teaching optometry. He knows John Harris on account of Dr Stamatis taking care of a recurring eye infection that John suffers from. This is how they got to know each other and whenever John was in Dublin, he would visit with Dr Stamatis. He corresponded with him while we were in South Africa and Dr Stamatis agreed to show us the old medical faculty. He made some enquiry on his part and discovered that the person we actually have to speak to is a professor in physiology who has specific information for us about the matter of the needle injection of meat.

Meat Injection Started in Cadavers

Before our trip to Dublin, it never occurred to me that the practice of injecting liquid into a muscle using a syringe is a very “medical practice!” I was intrigued when I heard all the talk about the medical faculty, but of course, it is the easiest thing to figure out if one only thinks about it for a second – the origins of the practice must most certainly be the medical establishment!

We met the professor in anatomy in his classroom in the romantic and ancient medical faculty of the University of Dublin. We immediately bonded with Dr Stamatis and his intimate knowledge of Johannesburg meant that he and I unknowingly frequented many of the same coffee shops and hotel bars in Johannesburg. He ended up joining us whenever we visited the medical faculty which turned out to be almost every day for three days in a row.

The practice of injecting meat with brine started as a way to preserve cadavers. That preserving human corpses for medical studies was something that made complete sense to me. Many years ago, as a boy, I read how Von Hombult and Guthrie went from house to house after a particularly heavy thunderstorm buying up the copses of the deceased for their own medical studies. Before the age of refrigeration, preserving human remains to study the make-up of the human body would have received considerable attention.

Leonardo Da Vinci

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The anatomy professor started his discussion by pointing to none other than Leonardo da Vince (1452–1519) who described a method of preserving the cadavers for his own dissection and study. (Brenner, E.; 2014) The preserving mixture he used consisted of turpentine, camphor (scent masking), oil of lavender (scent masking), vermilion (colouring agent), wine, rosin (a resin used as an adhesive), sodium nitrate, and potassium nitrate. In his mix, for preservation, he relied on sodium and potassium nitrate and turpentine. The link between meat preservation for sustenance and meat preservation for the study of anatomy is, as the link between meat injection and the medical establishment, one that is abundantly obvious if you just think about it for a minute, but not necessarily the first connection you make when you look at the different disciplines separately. So, one of the most fascinating discoveries started to unfold for me and Minette in Dublin! The man who took front and centre stage in the development and progressed the practice of injecting preserving fluids into dead animal muscles for the purpose of preservation was a man we already became familiar with, with the surname of Morgan.

Morgan’s Patent

It was a certain Mr Morgan, in England, who had a significant impact on popularising the technique of injecting a liquid brine into the meat in the first place. The motivation was to increase the rate of curing by getting the brine faster into the meat in order to reduce the time required for processing which became the basis of sweet cured bacon production.

In temperatures above 20 deg C, pork spoils in three days. By injecting a liquid brine into the meat at evenly spaced intervals, the brine diffuse quicker through the meat. Morgan’s interest was the preserving of meat generally but included meat preservation for long sea voyages before the advent of refrigeration and not the curing of meat by farmers.

We encountered Mr Morgan’s name for the first time in Denmark during the reading of Edward Smith’s book, Foods, (1873) which we discussed in great detail in the Østergaard household. Smith wrote that “Mr Morgan devised an ingenious process by which the preserving material, composed of water, saltpetre, and salt, with or without flavouring matter, was distributed throughout the animal, and the tissue permeated and charged. His method was exemplified by him at a meeting of the Society of Arts, on April 13, 1854, when I [Edward] presided.” (Smith, 1873)

He describes how an animal is killed in the usual way, the chest opened and a metal pipe connected to the arterial system. Brine was pumped through gravity feed throughout the animal. Approximately 6 gallons were flushed through the system. Pressure was created to ensure that it was flushed into the small capillaries. Smith reported overall good results from the process with a few exceptions. He himself seemed unconvinced.

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An article appeared in the Sydney Morning Herald that mentions Dr Morgan and his arterial injection method. An important observation from the article is the date of 1870. By this date, he is referred to as “Dr Morgan”, cluing us in about the timeline of Morgan’s life.

A second observation is a drawback of the system. The article states that “salting is the most common and best-known process of preservation (of meat), the principal modern novelty being Dr Morgan’s plan of injecting the saline solution into the arterial system – the principal objection to which has been that the meat so treated has been over-salted.” (Sydney Morning Herald, 1 March 1870, p 4) The brine mix that Mr Morgan suggested was 1 gallon of brine, ¼ to ½ lb. of sugar, ½ oz. of monophosphoric acid, a little spice and sauce to each cwt of meat. (Smith, E, 1873: 36)

Seventeen years after Smith met Morgan at the Society of Arts meeting, in 1871, Yeats reported that a certain “Professor Morgan in Dublin, proposed a method of preservation by injecting into the animal as soon as it is killed, a fluid preparation, consisting, to every hundredweight of meat, of one gallon of brine, half a pound of saltpeter, two pounds of sugar, half an ounce of monophosphoric acid, and a small quantity of spice.” (Yeats, J, 1871: 225)

The plan was widely tested at several factories in South America and by the Admiralty, who had reported that they had good results from the technique. (Yeats, J, 1871: 225, 226) It was in all likelihood the same Morgan that Smith reports on who, by 1871, became a professor in Dublin. Notice, as a matter of interest that he used the same basic brine mix of salt, water, saltpetre, sugar, monophosphoric acid and spices. This, together with the similarity in surname makes it quite certain that Mr Morgan and Prof. Morgan are the same people. In itself, this is an example of perseverance! In 1854 his arterial injection was met with scepticism where Yeats reports in 1871 that the Admiralty viewed his improved method.

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Was this Morgan’s Invention?

The concept of arterial injection was not new. By the time Morgan demonstrated it to the Society of Arts, on April 13, 1854, it may have been as old as 150 years, used for embalming corpses for the purpose of medical studies. This invention is credited by some to the Dutch physician, Frederik Ruysch (1638 – 1730). He injected a preservative chemical solution, liquor balsamicum, into the blood vessels, but his technique remained largely unknown for some time. (Bremmer, E.; 2014)

British scientists who used arterial injection and from whom Morgan could have learned the system were the Hunter brothers William (1718–1783) and John (1728–1793) and their nephew, Matthew Baillie (1761–1823). The injection was into the femoral arteries. They all injected different oils, mainly oil of turpentine, to which they added Venice turpentine, oil of chamomile, and oil of lavender. Vermillion was used as a dye to create a more life-like skin colour, but would also have added preservation to the final solution. (Bremmer, E.; 2014)

There is a reference from 1837, on an essay delivered on the operation of poisonous agents upon the living body by Mr John Morgan (1797 – 1847), F.L.S Surgeon to Guy’s Hospital. (1837; Works on Medicine) The same publication contains an article by Dr Baillie, M.D. on the morbid anatomy of some of the most important parts of the human body. John Morgan was undoubtedly well familiar with arterial injection. Not only due to the fact that he was a contemporary of Baillie, but he was also a demonstrator of anatomy at the private school near Guy’s Hospital. (livesonline.rcseng.ac.uk/) The late 1830 article that is referenced means that it fits the timeline perfectly for a late 1830 or early 1840 technology transfer for the use of the same general technique of injecting preserving fluids into the meat of a pigs carcass which presumably became stitch pumping, a precursor for Morgans invention.

John Morgan is in all likelihood the father of Dr John Morgan (Circa 1863), who was professor of anatomy at the University of Dublin. A process of arterial injection is described that was used by Dr John Morgan from the University of Dublin. ” John Morgan, a professor of anatomy at the University of Dublin in Ireland, formally established two principles for producing the best embalming results: injection of the solution into the largest artery possible and use of pressure to push the solution through the blood vessels. He also was among the first to make use of a preinjection solution as well as a controlled drainage technique. Morgan’s method required that the body be opened so the heart was visible, then an 8-inch pipe was inserted into the left ventricle or aorta. The pipe was connected to yards of tubing ending in a fluid container hung above the corpse. The force of gravity acting on the liquid above the body would exert about 5 pounds of pressure, adequate to the purpose of permeating the body.” (Wohl, V.) This process described here is applied, not to the preservation of animal carcass, but for embalming a human body! It is, however, the exact same process that he demonstrated years earlier in London to Smith at the Society of the Arts meeting on 13 April related to carcass preservation.

From the process description, it is clear that we have identified Morgan, father of the arterial injection method in meat curing as Dr John Morgan, professor of anatomy at the University of Dublin, son of Dr John Morgan, Surgeon to Guy’s Hospital. The original inventor of the system was the Dutch physician, Frederik Ruysch and the application was embalming.

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With all the information fresh in our memories and my ever-present notebook tucked under my arm, Dr Stamatis suggested that we go to a pub down the road for a drink.

Mr. Davis from Adelaide: The Australian Agent of Dr. Morgan

Dr Stamatis had fascinating information to share with us. Morgan, it turns out, sold his patent in Australia where it was being tested for preserving meat for the long voyage between Australia and England. Upon investigation, Dr Stamatis came across an 1866 article in the Launceston Examiner where it is reported that Mr Davis, from Adelaide, bought the patent from Dr Morgan. Mr Davis took up “premises at Town Marie, on the Bremer River, about six miles from Ipswich” and the operation of curing commenced.

The process is described as follows. Dr Morgan’s patent consists of emptying and washing out all, even the minutest blood vessels of an animal, while the carcass is still warm, and afterwards, filling the same with brine. “This is done in a very simple and expeditious manner, and the meat thus cured is very different indeed in flavour, consistency, and general appearance, from that which has undergone the old and more tedious process of salting.” (Launceston Examiner, Sat 17 Mar 1866, Page 2, Curing Meat By Dr Morgans’ Patent Process)

The journalist reports that he saw “five beasts killed and cured in about an hour at Mr Davis’s establishment. Having been despatched in an ordinary way, the animals are laid on their backs, sometimes before they are quite dead, and the flesh having been laid open with a knife on the breast bone, the bone is sawn in two, longitudinally, and forced open with an iron screw until the aperture assumes an oval shape, about twenty inches long by seven or eight wide.

The operator, who is Mr Davis’s manager, Mr Bennett (the only person, we believe, in the colony, besides the patentee, who is practically acquainted with the process) then commences his manipulations with the animal’s heart, to which he obtains access by means of the opening we have described. It isn’t impossible to see exactly what Mr Bennett is doing as his hands are inside the body of the beast and his face is close to the opening. It is understood, of course, that he is making an incision in the great artery of the heart, and fastening, in the hole thus made, the copper nozzle of a long gutta-percha tube (which descends from a bucket suspended from the ridge pole of the roof), containing the wash. Having secured this firmly in the aorta, trying it around the neck with twine so as to prevent any escape, he next makes another opening at a short distance from the first, and turning the stopcock at the end of the gutta-percha tube, the wash, which is a diluted brine, is forced by gravitation into the aorta, driving before it the blood which escapes from the other opening in a rushing stream, rising several feet into the air.

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Drawings of injectors from 1912, Russia. (P. Fedorov, A. Sukhov)

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Drawings of injectors from 1912, Russia. (P. Fedorov, A. Sukhov)

About a minute suffices to drive out all the blood, but the injection is continued some time longer, so as thoroughly to wash out the blood vessels until at last the wash comes away almost in a pure state. The beast is then rolled over so as to allow all the liquor to drain out, the carcass being afterwards restored to its previous position. When this has been done, the operator closes the aperture which he had made to enable the blood and wash to escape and having unscrewed the gutta-percha tube, screws on a second precisely similar to the first, but which is attached to the bottom of another bucket which contains the brine.

This brine is composed simply of salt, saltpetre, and sugar but Mr Davis proposes to add a little spice to the solution, as an experiment, to improve the flavour of the meat. The tube having been fixed, the tap is turned, and the brine is thus forced into the veins and arteries. In order to make quite sure that the liquor has thoroughly permeated every portion of the carcass, a small scratch is made near the end of the tail and a fountain of brine immediately jets out. A scratch on the thick leathery cuticle of the nose is attended with a similar result. (We may mention also that even the hides are thoroughly cured by the one process, and when taken off, the carcasses are immediately stacked. One of the animals, too, that we saw cured was a cow heavy in calf and when the young one was taken out, it was found to be thoroughly impregnated with the brine).

We have eaten the tongue of the beast cured in this manner, and nothing could have been nicer, or more thoroughly preserved; the beef, too, as we know by experience, will bear roasting – an operation which would not add to the succulent of ordinary salt meat. The blend vessels having been thoroughly filled with brine, the carcass is left to soak for half an hour or more. It is then strung up and dealt with in the ordinary manner; the pieces are thrown into brine for a short time, turned over from time to time, and thoroughly examined, and, being found perfectly sweet, are placed in casks ready for shipment.

Mr Davis has commenced operations at a very unfavourable period of the year, and the only premises which he has been able to obtain are not the most suitable for the purpose. He has had to dress meat with the thermometer at 104° in the curing shed, and it is therefore not surprising that, in one or two exceptional cases, his success should not have been quite perfect. The test to which the meat is subjected, however, is so thorough that there is not the smallest chance of its being shipped in an unsound state. Mr Davis lately shipped nearly a hundred casks (304lb each) to, Sydney, for transmission to England by the Orwell.

It was stated by a Brisbane contemporary that 2c per pound was expected to be reached in the London market. This is absurd; anything over 6d will pay Mr Davis well, and 9d or 10d is the outside contemplated. We shall be glad to hear that something like this has been obtained and that this new and valuable industry is, therefore, likely to be established as a permanent addition to the resources and wealth of this town and district.” (Launceston Examiner, Sat 17 Mar 1866, Page 2, Curing Meat by Dr Morgans Patent Process)

Irish Pig Fair

An Irish Pig Fair, Street Market, Agriculture, Vintage 1892 Antique Art Print.

Benefits of Arterial Injection

A most interesting coincidence occurred. Minette, Dr Stamatis and I were still in the pub close to the University when a man, visiting from the country of New Zealand commented on our discussion. He first apologised for listening in on our conversation and introduced himself as Stuart Merrylees. It turns out that Stuart is also in the pork industry, managing production for the largest Bacon producer in New Zealand. He suggested that he “did some trials called pegging the jugular vein in and the jugular vein out. Once the liquid flows clear, peg the outgoing vein and stop the pump to the ingoing vein and tie it down. One should use about 30L of product to be successful.”

Unraveling its Chemistry

He mentioned that some butchers claim that this operation makes the meat more tender. I wondered what the benefits would be and why the meat will be more tender. A clue to understanding some of the chemistry at work is to remember that manipulation happens while the carcass is still hot. This changes the rules dramatically. Note the actual wording from the journalist, describing the Davis operation, “The animals are laid on their backs, sometimes before they are quite dead.” Why would this make the meat more tender? The one reason would be if there is an absence or resolution of shortening. This is most interesting as it deals with issues of meat that was brought about by the introduction of the chilling and freezing of meat, invented by Harris. Much of the present lessons, though, came to us from New Zealand, a country located very close to the south pole so that it gets cold enough there to resemble chilling conditions in Calne cold houses.

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1941, Publication of the Morton Salt Company, USA.

There are several techniques to prevent shortening, developed angst other, in New Zealand. My one Kiwi friend is a keen hunter and in a similar discussion as we had about the arterial injection, mentioned how he keeps a deer carcass at chilled temperature and ages it for a set time which he measures by the age-old method of pulling on the tail of the dead animal. If the tail comes loose, he knows it has been long enough. This turns out to be an ancient invention where conditioning and ageing are used to prevent cold shortening in New Zealand lamb. “This method calls for holding the carcass in a conditioning-ageing room until they have gone into rigour mortis. The temperature and time specifications were developed for the industry with the time-varying with the temperature, that is, longer times were required at lower temperatures. The conditioning and ageing will thus prevent cold shortening and the accompanying cold-induced toughness.” (Pearson, A. M.; 1989 : 415) This is however not what happens in arterial injection. It is nevertheless fascinating that the technique for preventing shortening in cold environments and arterial injection was discussed in sequence – both very typical for that part of the world.

Two factors would counteract the onset of shortening namely a higher pH and higher ATP levels. The table salt (NaCl), saltpetre (KNO2) and sugar added by Davis will not have any effect on the pH and will therefore not impact the meat toughness or tenderness. The monophosphoric acid in Morgan’s brine formulation may, however, have the effect of lowering the pH.

In general, the normal pH of the muscle in an animal when alive is 7.0. After rigour, the pH drops to around 5.5. “The increased acidity of post-mortem muscle results from the accumulation of lactic acid, which is formed as glycogen is degraded (anaerobic glycolysis) to produce ATP. Animals that are not handled optimally ante-mortem will likely have faster running muscle biochemistry and a more rapid decline in muscle pH. This change in pH during the conversion of muscle to meat is perhaps the most important event because it affects so many chemical, physical, and sensory traits of meat products.” What you want to prevent is rapidly dropping pH while the meat is still warm. Muscle pH is critically important because both the rate and extent of pH decline greatly affect meat properties. If the pH decline is rapid and reaches 5.5 to 5.8 while the muscle temperature is still high (more than 36 °C), the meat may become PSE. PSE refers to meat that became pale, soft and is characterised by exudate which I already mentioned to you in the context of the incorrect chilling of the carcass after slaughter.

Using the arterial system, and assuming the water is between 20 and 25 deg C, the fact that water is administered while blood is in the carcass should aid in a cooling down of the carcass, but not to levels that are too low. This should have a positive effect on meat quality. The general rule is therefore to cool the carcass as rapidly as possible after slaughter and if the meat will be worked in the warm state, this should be done immediately after slaughter so that the sides can be hung in the chiller to effect a quick temperature reduction.

Let us consider the relationship between the levels of ATP and rigour. Rigour does not occur until approximately one-half of the ATP is depleted. (Pearson, A. M.; 1989 : 410) The arterial injection of brine should have no impact on the formation or depletion rate of ATP. Dr Francois Melette, a good friend of mine from Stellenbosch in the Cape Colony, explains that ATP consumption is at this point only an anaerobic release of energy. The muscle “does not know” that the blood is being drained and it enters an anaerobic metabolism as if the animal is being chased. The anaerobic regeneration of ATP is very ineffective and the glucose molecules are rapidly converted to lactic acid which accumulates in the absence of blood flow. (Private communication with Dr Melette)

He doubts if the lactic acid that is now being washed through the system will have a material effect on the meat fibres and will in all likelihood have no tenderising effect. The benefit is, according to him, more likely in the rapid decline of pH which will have an impact on micro and extend shelf life. (Private communication with Dr. Melette)

The claim for softer meat remains one that is hard to defend scientifically if one considers it from the vantage point of the action of lactic acid. There is, however, a benefit with ample scientific data to back it up and may result in more tender meat. The answer probably lays in what happens before rigor sets in, before ATP is depleted and before major lactic acid formation. It has to do with the salting of a carcass, immediately after death.

Prerigour salting results in a marked increase in water holding capacity (WHC) of the meat. If nothing else, this system achieves prerigour salting. “Hot salting” yields higher water holding capacity (WHC) and superior fat-binding characteristics in sausages despite the fact that salt increases the rate of ATP breakdown. As we have seen, the more rapid ATP depletion as a result of the salt should induce shortening. The high WHC of hot salted meat is, however, due to the “inhibition of rigour mortis in the fibre fragments resulting due to the combined effect of high pH and salt concentration before the ATP becomes depleted.” Studies have shown that the higher the salt concentration, the higher the WHC, up to a salt concentration of around 1.8%, but higher concentrations seem to have no material improved effect on the emulsion stability. Prerigour salting of meat results in increased solubilisation of the myofibrillar protein, but presulting does not appear to irreversibly protect the protein against loss of solubility. Although prerigour salted meat suffers from loss of myofibrillar protein solubility to the same extent as postrigour salted meat, its high WHC remains unchanged. Salted prerigour meat also maintains a high WHC during freezing and thawing. (Pearson, A. M.; 1989 : 424)

It is then indirect, through the improved WHC of the meat, that the meat is more tender. In the days of Morgan and Davis, the concern was primarily the preservation of the carcass and the meat was probably not immediately worked further.

One more note must be made about pH and micro-control. The fact that a complicated relationship between pH and micro exist has emerged over the past few years and tremendous work has been done showing that different bacteria are able to live across different ranges of the pH spectrum. It seems that the main benefit of the system, improving shelf life is then related to the decline in carcass temperature and the action of saltpetre and salt and the normal course of and benefits of curing. Temperature, pH, sodium chloride, sodium nitrite, phosphates, however, all work together in terms of the efficacy and mechanics of curing and in this relationship, a reduction of meat pH is beneficial, even though in terms of specific microorganisms, the benefit may be questioned.

Here in Dublin, we met amazing new friends. The old professor from the university shared his information with us. The amazing and insightful Dr Stamatis and our new friend from New Zealand. Stu extended an invitation for us to visit. He was very excited to introduce us to Simon O’Shea who is a keen hunter and who will tell us much about the treatment of meat while it is freezing cold. He works for Simon at the bacon plant in Christchurch.

Minette and I can report that we had the most amazing time in Dublin. It will forever be one of the greatest cities on earth! John Harris told me before we left that his company used injection with their dry-cured bacon from 1843 which directly relates to the invention of sweet cured bacon in the 1840s. Initially stitch pumping was used, but arterial injection as invented by Morgan became the way that Harris injected its meat!

Combining Injection and Dry-Curing

Some bacon curers use the dry-curing in conjunction with injection. In this case, the meat is injected with approximately 10% saturated brine solution and the injected meat is then treated the usual way in the application of dry-salt-cure. This was the method also used by Harris in the early days.

After it has been dry-cured, the meat is smoked at a temperature of not higher than 38 deg C (100 deg F) in order to prevent nitrate burn which presents itself as green spots that appear on the meat. Care should also be taken if these products are stored to prevent damage from insects such as cheese skippers, mites, red-legged ham beetles, and larder beetles. (Hui, Y. H., 2012: 540)

Barel Pork

Injection of meat by itself was not invented by Morris and referenced to it dates back to barrel-pork. A general description of barrel pork comes to us in 1776 where liquid brine is used without injecting it.

“After the meat has cooled < probably after the hair was removed >, it is cut into 5 lb. pieces which are then rubbed well with fine salt. The pieces are then placed between boards a weight brought to bear upon the upper board so as to squeeze out the blood. Afterwards, the pieces are shaken to remove the surplus salt, [and] packed rather tightly in a barrel, which when full is closed. A hole is then drilled into the upper end and brine allowed to fill the barrel at the top, the brine being made of 4 lb. of salt (1.8kg or 10%), 2 lb. of brown sugar (0.9kg or 5%), and 4 gallons of water (15L or 84%) with a touch of saltpetre. When no more brine can enter, the hole is closed. The method of preserving meat not only assures that it keeps longer but also gives it a rather good taste.” (Holland, LZ, 2003: 9, 10) Again, notice the brine make-up of salt, saltpetre, sugar mixed with water. The role of the sugar was to break the hard salt taste.

Barrel pork would remain an important curing method throughout the 1700s and would make a spectacular return almost 100 years later when pressure pumps were introduced to inject the brine into the meat through needles. A plank would be run across the barrel opening. The meat is placed on the plank for injection with between one and three needles. The three needles are fed brine through a hand pump that would pump brine directly from the barrel. The barrel is half-filled with brine. After the meat has been injected, it is pushed off the plank, to fall into the brine which acts as a cover brine. It would remain in the cover brine the prescribed time before it is removed and smoked.

Conclusion About Dr. Morgan and who Invented Meat Injection

Dr John Morgan from the University of Dublin must rightfully be credited as one of the pioneers of meat injection, as a progression of an original development from the world of mummification, invented by the Dutch physician, Frederik Ruysch. The concept was “in the air,” so to speak and in an 1868 publication, On Food. Letherby says that “saline substances such as saltpetre, acetate of ammonia, sulfite of potash, or soda, muriate of ammonia (sal ammoniac or ammonium chloride), etc., were being injected into fresh meat for the purpose of preservation with several patents pending by Long (1834), Horsley (1847), Murdock (1851) and others. (Letheby, H., 1870) Morgan’s injection of meat remains the oldest reference directly attributed to one individual and if he is not the person who was the first to make the general transfer of application between the injection of cadavers for the purpose of preservation to pork, for the same reason, he certainly is one of the first. Undoubtedly, the method of arterial injection, in particular, later adopted by Harris, is a progression solely credited to him!

It fascinates me that Ireland plaid such a pivotal role in pork production! Not only did they advance needle injection – but they also invented the mild cured system, now in use in Denmark and at the factories of C & T Harris. I took careful notes and was very eager to report back to John Harris. Minette and I had the most amazing time in Ireland and we continue to be amazed at the rich history associated with the art of meat curing. Both Minette and I agreed that John Harris can give us many more similar assignments. Is my entire trip to Europe and England not just that – an adventure of discovery?!

When we return to Calne, I expect that Oscar will be joining us for a visit within days. He sent me a message just before he boarded the ship. I am very excited to see him and show him the Harris operation. I dream of the day when I can take the two of you on a tour of the world to show you the different places I learned and introduce you to the many people who taught me.

Lots of love from Ireland!

Your Dad and Minette


Further Reading

Bacon Curing – a Historical Review

Dr. Morgan’s Arterial Injection: The Australian Connection


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Notes

(1) Dr. Stamatis Papaikonomou, BOptom (RAU) FOA (SA) CAS DPA TPA (NECO),
Reg.Optometrist (HPCSA) Diagnostic Optometry, Assoc. Ophthalmology Society (SA).

He conducts research in Edenburg. Stamatis Papaikonomou is a full practicing member of the Professional Board for Optometry and registered with the Health Professions Council of South Africa (HPCSA). He holds undergraduate qualifications in Medical Technology MT (HPCSA)SCH, a Bachelors Degree in Optometry (RAU), and numerous post-graduate Advanced Studies International Programme (ASIP) Certifications in Vision Science (CAS DPA TPA) from The New England College of Optometry (NECO) Boston Massachusetts, U.S.A. His main field of interest is in Diagnostic Optometry, both adult and pediatric, for which he holds an additional category registration with the HPCSA. He is a Fellow of the Optometric Association SA (FOA), an Associate Member of the Ophthalmological Society SA, a member of the Glaucoma Society SA, and a member of the Medicolegal Society SA. His website is: https://www.eyecarecentre.co.za/johannesburg-specialist-optometrist-stamatis-papaikonomou.php

References

Dr. Morgan’s Arterial Injection: The Australian Connection

Photos

Photos from various sources on the web.

Chapter 10.13: The Salt of Meat

Introduction to Bacon & the Art of Living

The story of bacon is set in the late 1800s and early 1900s when most of the important developments in bacon took place. The plotline takes place in the 2000s with each character referring to a real person and actual events. The theme is a kind of “steampunk” where modern mannerisms, speech, clothes and practices are superimposed on a historical setting.  Modern people interact with old historical figures with all the historical and cultural bias that goes with this.


The Salt of Meat

December 1892

Dear Children,

This is my third letter about salt and there may be a fourth. It really is one of the most important substances used in bacon production. Michael from Calne taught me a lot about it and while Minette and I are on our voyage back to England, it affords me a great opportunity to review it.

He knows a lot about salt. He has visited many of the great salt mines, from Poland to America, from Austria to the Arabian peninsula Your grandfather has been to salt works in German West Africa to our north. Of course, you heard him tell the many stories of his travels with Livingston. On those adventures, they often trecked through salt pans

Salt had two key functions in antiquity. One was the taste! Exquisite salts were created by artisan salt makers whose trade has been handed down over thousands of years. Each region produces salts as unique to that region as the different wines from Spain or Italy. This is, to me, the supreme function of salt since it is what we love! The other great value is as a preservative of meat.

Witsand by Misty Cliffs on the Cape peninsular where our story is unfolding. Taken around 1949 by Granny Frick.

The Salt in Meat

Before we look at the salt that we put in meat, it is important to know that meat contains salt naturally. Looking into the prehistoric past to try and unravel the mystery behind our use of salt, we consider our biological need for salt.  Meat, blood, and milk contain far more salt than many plants. Nomads who subsisted on their flocks and herds or hunters who regularly ate meat did not need additional sources of salt. Agriculturalists or nomads who for any number of reasons did not eat meat required supplementary sources of salt.

Lack of sodium is life-threatening. “Sodium is critical for determining membrane potentials in excitable cells and participates in various metabolic reactions in the body. An adequate intake of sodium is required for optimal growth. Rats maintained on low sodium diets exhibit decreased bone and muscle weights and required a daily intake of 300 μEq Na+ for normal growth of fat, bone, and muscle tissues. In a study conducted by Bursey and Watson “sodium restriction during gestation in rats increased the number of stillborn pups, led to smaller brain size and amount of protein per unit of wet brain tissue, and decreased total brain RNA.” Severe sodium restriction may negatively affect glucose metabolism and disturb normal blood viscosity. Distribution of intracellular and extracellular fluid volumes are dictated by sodium, and either a deficit or excess of sodium will alter overall fluid balance and distribution. Under normal circumstances, deviations from optimal body fluid homeostasis are corrected primarily by the kidneys, and proper renal handling of sodium is necessary for normal cardiovascular function. We can say that “survival and normal mammalian development are dependent on adequate sodium intake and retention”  (Morris, M. J., et al., 2008)

A lack of sodium intake causes the onset of hyponatremia, a condition associated with sodium levels not being adequate in blood. It is too low due to either too much water or not enough sodium intake. This condition is characterized by nausea and vomiting, headaches, confusion, loss of energy, fatigue, restlessness, irritability and muscle weakness, spasms or cramps.

Examples of Hyponatremia from Primitive Societies

David Livingston describes that he often saw conditions in the early 1800s on his travels in Africa, where poor people were forced to live on a vegetarian diet alone and as a result of this developed indigestion. His comment came in the context of a reference to the Bakwains, part of the Bechuana people, who allowed rich and poor to eat from the meat hunted. He mentions that the local doctors knew what the cause of the indignation was and that it was related to a lack of salt intake. (Hyde, A., et al.; 1876: 150)

It is fascinating that Livingston describes that on two occasions later in his life, he was himself deprived of salt for months and yet, he did not have any cravings for it (Hyde, A., et al.; 1876: 150).  Interestingly enough, he reported cravings for meat and milk which he knew had enough salt to cure the onset of symptoms associated with a low salt diet.

Do we Naturally Crave Salt if our Sodium Levels are too Low?

We have seen that we need salt, but do we know that we need it? Do we feel “sodium deprived” and intuitively seek out salt? We have four or possibly five taste sensors in our mouths. Of the five, one is wholly dedicated to tasting the sodium ion, the charged atom responsible for the love of salt. Vegetarian/ herbivore and omnivore animals are similarly equipped. Interestingly enough, in a study on rats, it was shown that some of them naturally recognize salt deficiency as the cause of their hyponatremia. Others had to be taught through experience. Studies have shown and described how long-term changes in the brain as a result of hyponatremia may be behind an increased appetite for salt in animals. There is in other words, a biological reason for animals to be “directed” to salt. (De Luca, 2014)  They either crave salt when in a sodium deficient condition naturally and in some cases, it is clear that they developed the craving.

If we naturally craved salt, it would explain our love for salt and the fact that it is so dominant in our diets. People would have naturally sought out salt deposits to amend their diets. The fact, however, is that the salt appetite of humans does not fit the biological model. There are great similarities between humans and other animals in how we handle sodium, but also very important differences. The sodium ion is essential for both humans and animals and we both have special sensors dedicated to its detection. Humans and animals share the same physiological systems that regulate it in the body, both ingest far too much of it and both show that a lack of sodium immediately following birth enhances the love of it. Unlike animals, people do not enjoy pure salt. Humans don’t like it in water while it has been shown that some rats prefer it. Importantly, humans do not respond to sodium deficiency by craving for it and it never becomes a learned craving after an incident of hyponatremia. (De Luca, 2014)

Animals who have been deprived of salt increase their salt intake robustly. Studies in rats showed that if they have been deprived of it once, they permanently increase consumption of it but not so in humans. The dedicated sodium receptors in humans do not direct us to it when there is a deficiency in our bodies. There are records of humans dying from hyponatremia with salt around them. There have been many studies in humans to try and prove the opposite, but in every case, results are inconclusive at best. The evidence is clear that, unlike animals, humans will seek sodium to satisfy our pallet but not to save our lives.  (De Luca, 2014)

In humans, there is no satisfactory current explanation for the prominence of our sodium taste receptors or “for the powerful influence it exerts on our predilection for salt as the prime condiment and food additive that gives taste and tang to our food and is of no nutritional necessity.”  (De Luca, 2014)  The question comes up, why not?  There must obviously have been a time in our pre-history where we did not need this or when having it, was a disadvantage.

The Structure of Salt

Let us pause a bit and look at the structure of salt to help us make sense of all this. Salt is a crystal that contains many elements, but as a matter of practicality and due to the widespread application of sodium chloride in industry, ended up being produced around the world with only these two elements. Both atoms consist of a nucleus with a positive electric charge – an island floating in a sea of electrons which are negatively charged particles. If one brings together one atom of each of these elements, the chlorine atom steals an electron from the sodium atom: the first becomes a negatively charged chlorine atom and the second is transferred into a positively charged sodium atom.

Solid sodium chloride is a crystal of extremely regular structure. The pattern of sodium +/ chlorine – repeats indefinitely in three-dimensional space. Just as a side note, this is also the explanation for the name since a negative chlorine is called a chloride. (Laszlo, 2001)

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Salt in Water

Salinity refers to water that contains various concentration levels of salt. The magic of salt happens when it comes into contact with water. When one adds a spoon full of salt to a glass of water, the salt “melts” into the water. When we evaporate the water, the salt forms a crystal.

The sodium chloride (NaCl) comes into contact with a water molecule and the water molecule bestows on the positively charges sodium ion and the negatively charges chloride ion water-sodium and water-chlorine forces of attraction that is at least as strong as the sodium-chlorine force of attraction. This is indeed the case and so, the sodium and chloride ions are pulled apart in water. It “melts away.” (Laszlo, 2001)

Salt we add to Meat

The most important function of salt in bacon is to enhance the taste. Especially non-refined salt! The second function of salt is to preserve. How it achieves this is a matter for science to elucidates further. In the evenings in Denmark, we read the work of Edward Smith. He listed the following mechanisms to deal with spoilage organisms namely drying, cold, immersion into gases and liquids, coating with fat and gelatine, heat, pressure and of course, salt. (Smith, E, 1876: 22 – 38)

Salt can not possibly be responsible for killing microorganisms. At least not in the concentrations we use. There must be some interaction between the salt and the microorganisms and it can’t always be negative for the bacteria. If this was the case, how would the bacteria responsible for changing the nitrate into nitrite from Dr. Polenski’s experiments survive and how would the microorganisms in the ocean deal with different levels of salinity.

The sodium and chlorine ions are separated in the water and have vastly different functions in meat. The first way that salt preserves are however a general one which is the result of the presence of salt on the outside of the cut of pork. It dispenses its first curing action by removing water from inside the pork muscle. Microorganisms want to live in a wet environment. The drier it is, the less active it will be. (Dworkin, M et al, 2006: 146) It is important how much water is available. Most bacteria need water activity at the same level as seawater at 25 deg C to flourish. (1) (Dworkin, 2006)

Endospore

Drying the environment or using salt is not a guarantee to get rid of bacteria. Some bacteria can survive even supersaturated saline solutions. The ones who can survive best are the bacteria that can form endospores and have other resting stages. (Dworkin, 2006)

This is important. Not just from the perspective of what happens inside the meat, but what happens in the environment where the meat is being processed. Endospores are present in soil and any transfer of soil into a processing area can bring about the transfer of bacteria into the meat processing area.  This is a major problem related to the home curing of bacon.

An endospore is “a dormant, tough, and non-reproductive structure produced by certain bacteria. The name “endospore” is suggestive of a spore or seed-like form (endo means within), but it is not a true spore (i.e., not an offspring). “It is a stripped-down, dormant form to which the bacterium can reduce itself. Endospore formation is usually triggered by a lack of nutrients. In endospore formation, the bacterium divides within its cell wall. One side then engulfs the other. Endospores enable bacteria to lie dormant for extended periods, even centuries. Revival of spores, millions of years old, has been claimed. When the environment becomes more favourable, the endospore can reactivate itself. Most types of bacteria cannot change to the endospore form. Examples of bacteria that can form endospores include Bacillus and Clostridium.

Endospores can survive without nutrients. They are resistant to ultraviolet radiation, desiccation, high temperature, extreme freezing, and chemical disinfectants. Thermo-resistant endospores were first hypothesized by Ferdinand Cohn after studying Bacillus subtilis growth on cheese after boiling the cheese. His notion of spores being the reproductive mechanism for growth was a large blow to the previous suggestions of spontaneous generation. Astrophysicist Steinn Sigurdsson said, “There are viable bacterial spores that have been found that are 40 million years old on Earth – and we know they’re very hardened to radiation. ”Common anti-bacterial agents that work by destroying vegetative cell walls do not affect endospores. Endospores are commonly found in soil and water, where they may survive for long periods of time.” (BBC Staff, 2011)

Clostridium Botulinum

Clostridium is an example of bacteria that can form endospores. It consists of around 100 species that include common free-living bacteria as well as important pathogens. One of these species is clostridium botulinum. (Baron, 1996). Clostridium botulinum is an important pathogen. It forms endospores that can survive almost anything. Remember that salt has little effect on removing this pathogen from an environment. It also survives without water.

Botulinum toxin is a neurotoxic protein produced by the bacterium Clostridium botulinum. It is the most acutely lethal toxin known, with an estimated human median lethal dose (LD-50) of 1.3–2.1 ng/kg intravenously or intramuscularly and 10–13 ng/kg when inhaled. Nano denotes a factor of one billionth (10-9) which means that there are 1,000,000,000 nanograms in a gram. This shows the extreme toxicity of this substance. Botulinum toxin (BTX) can cause botulism, a serious and life-threatening illness in humans and animals.

Between 1817 and 1822, Justinus Kerner was the medical officer in southern Germany, in Württemberg. He had seen many people with symptoms of impaired breathing, difficulty in speaking, swallowing and seeing double. Kerner suspected that some type of biological poison related to eating sausages caused the symptoms. He investigated what the people ate and found that all of them ate sausages that were not properly cooked.

Between 1817 and 1822 he published a complete description of what he called “sausage poisoning” or wurstfift. The disease came to be known as botulism. He injected himself with the poison and caused many of the symptoms in himself. Luckily he survived, but he managed to show conclusively the causal relationship between the sausage material and the disease. (Emmeluth, 2010) (2)

Water Stress

Water stress, as it is called, is one of the key functions of salt in processing bacon. It becomes very complex, very fast when one relates this to wet cures. However, when we consider dry cute, it is obvious. Salt curing goes in the first place, hand in hand with partial drying techniques, aimed at preserving protein in a more lasting way. (Laszlo,1998) Salt “extracts” moisture from the meat by the water migrating out of the muscle towards the salt in an attempt to “balance” the salt levels on the outside of the meat with the inside. Salt at the same time “migrates” into the muscle.

Once inside the muscle, the salt now poses a threat to bacteria found inside the meat through the process of osmosis.   Osmosis is the passage of solvent through a semipermeable membrane in response to different concentrations of solute on the two sides of the membrane. The description comes from the notion that salt or sugar attracts water when it touches the meat.

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In 1748 J. A. Nollet used an animal bladder to separate chambers containing water and wine. He noted that the volume in the wine chamber increased and when the chamber was closed, a pressure developed. He named the phenomenon osmosis from the Greek word meaning thrust or impulse. (Sperelakis,1995)

Salt and Bacteria

Most bacteria will not grow at 3% concentration levels of sodium chloride (NaCl). It is important to remember that there are a number of important exceptions to this rule. Some bacteria and archaea (a single cell organism) called halophiles (from the Greek word salt-loving) require NaCl to grow. Moderate halophiles, such as marine bacteria, may show optimum growth at 3% NaCl. They require at least 1.5%. Some bacteria have been found growing in 25% NaCl concentrations. However, most bacteria stop growing at 3% NaCl. This, besides the lack of available water, is the only other way that salt performs its magic as a preservative for meat.

High salt concentration disrupts the membrane and denatures many proteins. (Srivastava, 2003) Generally speaking, salt has the same effect on microorganisms in the meat as it has on the meat itself. Since the sodium chloride (NaCl) concentration outside the microorganism is higher than inside, water flows out of the organism in order to try and restore equilibrium. The effect will be a slowdown in growth and activity.

The Lewis and Clark Expedition

There are other advantages of using salt which becomes clear when one uses wet curing brine as opposed to dry cure. Wet curing has been used as a technique of curing pork for hundreds of years. There is a notable description of this process that Jeppe showed me from a historical American document.

In May 1804, an expedition departed from near St Louis on the Mississippi River, planning to make their way westward, through the continental divide to the Pacific coast. The expedition was known as the Lewis and Clark Expedition or the Corps of Discovery. It was the first American expedition to cross what is now the western portion of the United States.

The expedition was commissioned by President Thomas Jefferson shortly after the Louisiana Purchase in 1803. It consisted of a select group of U.S. Army volunteers under the command of Captain Meriwether Lewis and his close friend Second Lieutenant William Clark.

The journey lasted from May 1804 to September 1806. The primary objective was to explore and map the newly acquired territory, find a practical route across the Western half of the continent, and establish an American presence in this territory before Britain and other European powers tried to claim it.

The campaign’s secondary objectives were scientific and economic: to study the area’s plants, animal life, and geography, and establish trade with local Indian tribes. With maps, sketches and journals in hand, the expedition returned to St. Louis to report their findings to Jefferson.

On 3 April 1804, Clark described how pork was being packed and cured in barrels. He wrote on 17 April that they “completed packing 50 kegs of pork and rolled and filled them with brine”. It is clear that they were not using a dry salt preparation but rather a water-diluted salt mixture and perhaps adding sugar or adding flavourings that would make it taste better than and not as harsh as straight salting.

They would have used good kegs as leaking kegs were often responsible for meat spoiling. It went well and a month after Clark’s pork went into the barrels, Major Rumsey inspected it and condemned only approximately 10% of the meat. A curing method for pork that was documented in 1776 shows that wet curing must have been practised for many years before Clark’s description in 1804.

“After the meat has cooled, it is cut into 5 lb. pieces which are then rubbed well with fine salt. The pieces are then placed between boards a weight brought to bear upon the upper board so as to squeeze out the blood. Afterwards, the pieces are shaken to remove the surplus salt, [and] packed rather tightly in a barrel, which when full is closed. A hole is then drilled into the upper end and brine allowed to fill the barrel at the top, the brine is made of 4 lb. of salt, 2 lb. of brown sugar, and 4 gallons of water with a touch of saltpetre. When no more brine can enter, the hole is closed. The method of preserving meat not only assures that it keeps longer but also gives it a rather good taste.”  (Holland, 2003)

The account of Clark is intriguing and was the motivation for Michael and my water and salt experiments. If he left the pork for two weeks in the brine, he must have noticed that he took out heavier pieces of meat than he put in when the wet cure method was used. Wet curing was in wide use by the mid-1800s. John Yeats wrote in 1871 about salt and sugar curing of pork, “There are two methods of salting; in one the meat is packed in dry salt, in the other, it is immersed in brine.”

Not just curing by wet-cure in barrels, wet cure was applied to meat through a variety of injection methods. Yeats writes in 1871 that a certain “Professor Morgan, in Dublin, has recently proposed a method of preservation by injecting into the animal as soon as killed a fluid preparation, consisting, to every hundredweight of meat, of one gallon of brine, half a pound of saltpetre, two pounds of sugar, half an ounce of monophosphoric acid, and a small quantity of spice.” (Yeats, J, 1871: 225) The plan was widely tested at several factories in South America and by the Admiralty, who had reported that they had good results from the technique. (Yeats, 1871)

Edward Smith described another method of injection of brine that he witnessed in his book, Foods in 1873. He accounts for the events of a certain “Mr Morgan [who] devised an ingenious process by which the preserving material, composed of water, saltpetre, and salt, with or without flavouring matter, was distributed throughout the animal, and the tissue permeated and charged. His method was exemplified by him at a meeting of the Society of Arts, on April 13, 1854, when I [Edward] presided.” (Smith, 1873)

He then describes how an animal is killed in the usual way, the chest opened and a metal pipe connected to the arterial system. Brine was pumped through gravity feed throughout the animal. Approximately 6 gallons were flushed through the system. Pressure was created to ensure that it was flushed into the small capillaries.  Smith reported overall good results from the process with a few exceptions. The brine mix that Mr Morgan suggested was 1 gallon of brine, ¼ to ½ lb. of sugar, ½ oz. of monophosphoric acid, a little spice and sauce to each cwt of meat. (Smith, 1873) An interesting note that we must return to later was the common use of monophosphoric acid, probably as an added preservative.

When the muscle is left in brine, the brine seeps into the meat. By the mid-1800s, the use of wet cute has evolved to include some form of injection. A process that would have further added the likelihood of water to have been retained in the muscle tissue.

Johann Fey has been working on a device in the early 1890s that create compressed air below meat in a curing solution in order to facilitate a more equal absorption of the brine in the meat. (3) (Patents. US474446)

Johann Fey's patent number US474446 A.
Johann Fey’s patent number US474446 A.

The Salt Experiments

In order to see if we can figure out all the functions of salt in bacon, Michael and I did an experiment on the salt back at the Harris test kitchen.  We selected three pork sides, all killed on the same day and from the same pork breed.  All were the same size and prepared in the Wiltshire cut. In experiment 1 we diluted salt in the usual amount of water and injected meat with a mixture of salt. We omitted sugar and saltpetre.  We rested it and cured it as per the usual method of a wet brine. We then dried and smoked it in a drying oven for 6 hours.

For experiment 2, we repeated the experiment without any salt. Instead of salt, we added the normal amount of water as was used in the salt brine that we injected in experiment 1. We also performed a 3rd experiment as our control where we use the regular amount of salt, water, and saltpetre. Still, we omitted sugar from the mix to allow us to focus on the effect of the salt.  After every experiment, the meat was smoked and dried for the same time and at the same temperature.  The starting weights were carefully noted before any injection was done, after injection but before smoking and drying and after smoking and drying. We were interested to see what the effect of salt is on the weight of the bacon after smoking and drying.

The results were fascinating!  The effect of salt on bacteria, at least in the concentrations we use it are very limited. However, we found that there is a considerable difference between bacon where salt was added or not in terms of its weight after smoking and drying. The sides where salt was added is materially heavier than where only water was injected. Salt must in some way be responsible for keeping the moisture inside the meat.

When Minette and I get back to the Harris operation, I am planning to repeat the test, but focus my attention on sugar.  I also intend using beet sugar in one trail and Calne sugar in another.

Water Holding Capacity

The issue of water holding capacity of curing brines slowly but surely started to come to the fore from the mid-1800s even though it has certainly been a consideration in the meat industry for many years despite the lack of documentary evidence. From Michael and my experiments, one thing was clear that salt increases the water holding capacity of meat. One of the professors from Bristol who consults for John Harris elucidated the mechanism behind our observation.

Remember that we have said that salt exists in water as sodium (Na+) and chloride (Cl-) ions. We will see how the different ions have different functions in curing, starting with the aid to the water holding capacity of the meat. “It is the ions that are responsible for this preserving action. An ionic strength of 0.5 or more will cause myofibrils (4) to swell and disintegrate, depolymerizing myosin filaments (threads), and solubilize the myofibrillar protein.

A salt concentration of 2% or more in most meat formulations will achieve the necessary ionic strength. However, even at lower concentrations such as 0.5 – 1.0% as used for many moisture-enhanced fresh meats, the Cl-ion from salt will interact with meat proteins to increase the negative electrical charge on the proteins and increase the water-binding properties of the meat mixture.

This is an essential role of the chloride ions in meat systems because the interaction with meat protein that swells the protein structure is responsible for allowing the proteins to hold more of the weakly bound water within and between their structure. The increased retention of water by the protein structure in the presence of chloride ions has a major impact on cooking yields, juiciness, tenderness, and mouthfeel when the product is consumed.” (Tarte, 2009)

“The chloride ion is much more important than the sodium iron for achieving increased water binding by meat proteins.” (Tarte, 2009)  This is important because it means that for the purpose of water binding, one could use other salts such as potassium chloride.

The next direct benefit of salt to the curing process is in the area of colour development. “This is because the chloride ion from salt (Cl-) has been reported to accelerate cured colour formation in cured meat by increasing the rate of nitric oxide formation from nitrite.” (Tarte, 2009)

In my previous letter, I have discussed the importance of the taste of the salt. It is the sodium ion that is responsible for the salty taste in salt. The sodium ion not only gives sodium chloride its salty taste, but it is also responsible for a heightened intensity of all others flavours. Despite extensive research, no alternative to sodium has been found.

It is important to note that other minerals and metals present in natural salt deposits alter the taste of salt slightly so that salt becomes the most important curing agent in pork.  It is possible for the Woodys team to produce bacon, as unique as the Marula fruit to the great African land.  In the bacon that we produce, we can capture the spirit of the Bushman and the winds that blow across the vast salt pans of Bechuanaland.

Salt crystals that form on rocks at the Cape of Good Hope where in the summer temperatures rise to above 35 deg C. During low tide water evaporates, leaving pockets of salt dotted across the rock sheets.

These inquiries have completely captured my imagination! In my wildest dreams, I would never have predicted that curing bacon is so beautifully complex with the most magnificent processes at work! I can not imagine being at any other place on earth than on a steamer with Minette, on our way back to Calne which has become the centre of my entire universe.

One of my highest privileges is introducing you to this amazing world through my letters! Send my regards to everyone!

Your Dad.


Further Reading


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Notes

(1) “It is now generally accepted that the water requirements of micro-organisms should be described in terms of the water activity (Aw) in the environment. The parameter is defined by the ratio of the water vapour pressure of food substrate to the vapour pressure to pure water at the same temperature: Aw = P/Po

Where P is the vapor pressure of the solution and Po is the vapor pressure of the solvent (usually water).

The concept is related to relative humidity in the following way: RH = 100 x Aw

Pure water has an Aw of 1.00;
A 22% NaCl solution (w/v) has an aw of 0.86;
A saturated NaCl has an Aw of  0.75
(Jay, JM, et al. 2005: 45)

Microbial growth in the range of water activity between 0.998 and 0.6 (Dworkin, M et al, 2006: 146)

What is the effect of other ingredients on Aw? So many great discoveries still ahead!

(2) In 1895, Emile van Emergem, professor of bacteriology at the University of Ghent, in Belgium, identified the microorganism causing sausage poisoning as Clostridium botulinum.

In 1897 there was a botulinum outbreak after a funeral dinner where smoked ham was served as the main course. Emile was called to find the cause.

For the bacon industry, this is an organism that should be tested for on a monthly basis by micro swabbing. Salted, smoked and vacuum-packed products can contain the organism if it has been improperly prepared. Forms of the organism exist that can resist heat treatment. (Emmeluth, D , 2010: 19)

(3) John patented his device in 1892.

(4) “A myofibril (also known as a muscle fibril) is a basic rod-like unit of a muscle.[1] Muscles are composed of tubular cells called myocytes, also known as muscle fibers, and these cells, in turn, contain many chains of myofibrils. They are created during embryo development in a process known as myogenesis.

Myofibrils are composed of long proteins such as actin, myosin, and titin, and other proteins that hold them together. These proteins are organized into thin filaments and thick filaments, which repeat along the length of the myofibril in sections called sarcomeres. Muscles contract by sliding the thin (actin) and thick (myosin) filaments along each other.

Actinomyosin motors are important in muscle contraction (relying in this case on “classical myosins”) as well as other processes like retraction of membrane blebs, filiopod retraction, and uropodium advancement (relying in this case on “nonclassical myosins”).”

Blausen_0801_SkeletalMuscle

(Wikipedia. Myofibril)

References

Baron S, et al., eds. (1996). “Clostridia: Sporeforming Anaerobic Bacilli”Baron’s Medical Microbiology (4th ed.). Univ. of Texas Medical Branch.

Bitterman, M. 2010. Salted. Ten Speed Press.

BBC Staff (23 August 2011). “Impacts ‘more likely’ to have spread life from Earth”. BBC. Archived from the original on 24 August 2011. Retrieved 2011-08-24.

Bud, R and Warner, DJ. 1998. Instruments of science. The science museum, London and the National Museum of American History.

Dworkin, M et al. 2006. The Prokaryotes: Vol. 1: Symbiotic Associations, Biotechnology, Applied Microbiology. Springer Science and Media, Inc.

Emmeluth, D . 2010. Botulism. Infobase Publishing.

Holland, LZ. 2003. Feasting and Fasting with Lewis & Clark: A Food and Social History of the early 1800’s. Old Yellowstone Publishing, Inc.

* Jay, JM, et al. 2005. Modern Food Microbiology. Springer Science + Business Media, Inc.

Laszlo, P. 1998. Salt, Grain of Life. Columbia University Press.

Smith, Edwards. 1873. Foods. Henry S King and Co.

Stringer, R and Johnston, P. 2001. Chlorine and the environment, An Overview of the Chlorine Industry. Kluwer Academic Publishers.

*Sperelakis, N. 1995. Cell Physiology: Source Book. Academic Press

*Srivastava, S. 2003. Understanding Bacteria. Kluwer Academic Publishers.

Tarte, R, et al. 2009. Ingredients in Meat products. Springer Science + Business Media, LLC.

Yeats, J. 1871. The technical history of commerce; or, Skilled labour applied to production. Cassell, Petter, and Galpin

Pictures

Figure 1:  https://www.facebook.com/pages/Historic-Cape-Town-Pictures/172728429409395

Figure 2:  Lauren and salt by Eben  (2015)

Figure 3: Tristan and salt by Eben (2015)

Figure 4:  Holland, LZ, 2003:  9

Figure 5:  http://www.google.com/patents/US474446

Figure 6:  Salt at the cape of Good Hope by Eben (2015)

Figure 7:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Myofibril

Side note:

Two very interesting aspects of this post.

1.  The 1st picture was taken at the same place where the cover picture for this blog was taken.  The one in 2012 or 2013 and the other in 1949.  It was a complete coincidence that I included it.  I did not realize where it was taken.  I just liked the image when I found it and it related back to the Cape of Good Hope that in the story, I miss and where I currently live.

2.  Is Mr Morgan that Edward Smith talks about in 1854 the same person that Yeats describes in 1871 as Professor Morgan, from Dublin,  17 years later?  Probably.  I am not sure if the methods described are exactly the same. Chances are that Mr. Morgan became Dr and Professor Morgan and that he refined his techniques.

The method of injection through the arterial system is one that is still practiced at select butcheries in Germany in 2014.  There is even a butcher in Cape Town who still use this method.

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