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Food in focus |  |
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Cold meats
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Ham is made with hind leg of pork. Most ham goes through a curing process, and the length of time and type of curing method used affect the flavour. After curing, a ham may go through a smoking process, which will add flavour and age the meat. Gourmet hams are usually aged further to develop the flavours; most mass-produced hams are not. There are many kinds of hams and they range in price. The less expensive cooked ham and cooked smoked ham are made from deboned pork leg blended with brine, seasoning and sometimes soya protein or cereal and then cooked in a mould. The more expensive hams don't contain filler ingredients and are often smoked with expensive imported wood.
Serving suggestions: Serve cooked ham on sandwiches with mustard, cream cheese and salads. Smoked hams can be enjoyed on sandwiches and also used for pizza toppings, in salads, pasta sauces, quiches and other savoury bakes.
Salami
This sausage is preserved by curing, and is not
cooked. It is made from a mixture of pork
and beef, and is boldly seasoned, usually
with plenty of garlic. Some contain
peppercorns, coriander seeds and nuts.
Salamis are usually air-dried and they
vary in size, shape, seasoning and
curing process.
Serving suggestions: It can be eaten as a
snack and can be put on a starter platter
with cheeses and roasted vegetables. It can be
chopped and put into dishes such as soups, salads,
pizzas and savoury breads, and enjoyed on a sandwich.
Pastrami
Pastrami is salty and spicy, and made from beef.
After the fat has been trimmed, the surface of the
meat is rubbed with salt and a seasoning paste
that may include garlic, peppercorns,
cinnamon, red pepper, cloves,
allspice and coriander seeds.
The meat is dry-cured, smoked
and roasted.
Serving suggestions:
It 's delicious on whole-wheat bread and on
rye bread. Good
accompaniments
are sauerkraut and
Emmenthal cheese.
Also enjoy it
with a tangy
potato salad.
Smoked beef
This beef is preserved by
slow-drying in the smoke
of a fragrant wood fire,
and then thinly sliced.
Serving suggestions
Eat as a snack or as part of
a starter platter with
cheese and salads, and
serve on a sandwich.
Cervelat
Chopped pork or beef (or both)
with herbs, spices and other
flavourings such as garlic and
mustard are the ingredients of this
sausage. The meat is chopped finer
than that of salami. The cervelat is
uncooked, but preserved by curing,
drying and smoking. They range from
semidry to moist and soft.
Serving suggestions: It combines well with
tomato and basil on a sandwich, and can be added to pastas,
pizzas, quiche, omelettes and as part of a cold-meat platter.
Bierwurst
This German-style cooked sausage
is made with pork or a mixture
of pork and beef and fat, and is
flavoured with garlic and mustard
seeds. It is a dark-pink colour.
Serving suggestions: Enjoy
it on a sandwich and as part of a
cold-meat platter with salads.
Shaved meats
Ham, chicken, beef or turkey
meat is blended with brine and
seasonings. This is cooked, then sliced wafer-thin.
Serving suggestions: It looks
attractive and is ideal to use
on special sandwiches and on
meat platters.
Corned beef
This is beef, usually brisket,
that's cured and cooked slowly.
Nowadays corned beef is less
salty than it used to be and it has
a rosy-red colour.
Serving suggestions: Serve on a meat
platter, and on sandwiches with mustard.
Chicken and turkey loaf
These loaves are made of
turkey and chicken breast
fillets that are coarsely
minced, blended with a brine
mixture, seasonings and other
flavourings, and then cooked
in a mould.
Serving suggestions: Serve
on sandwiches and as part of
a meat platter.
Roast beef
Usually made with beef
topside, which sometimes is
injected with a blend of spices
for extra flavour and rubbed with
a spice blend and then roasted and
sliced. It has a firm, slightly dry texture
with a roast-beef-and-spice flavour.
Serving suggestions: Salads and fresh bread are
good accompaniments. Make a rye bread sandwich and
top it with sliced gherkins or other pickles.
Sliced beef
Lean cuts of beef are
coarsely minced and blended
with a brine mixture and
seasoning. This meat is cooked
in a mould and then sliced.
Serving suggestions: Add it
to a cold-meat platter. Eat on
a sandwich with mayonnaise,
mustard or salad ingredients.
Brawn
Small pieces of pork or beef
are seasoned and mixed with
a gelatinous meat broth and
then cooked in a mould
to make brawn. It is then
thinly sliced. Curried brawn
has a light curry flavour.
Serving suggestions: Use on
sandwiches and eat with salads.
Polony
This is a mixture of red meat, poultry
and (usually predominantly) pork
that is blended with soya protein or
cereal, spices and other flavourings,
and then cooked in a mould. It has a
firm, fine texture and slices easily. Some
polonies are flavoured with extra garlic.
Serving suggestion: Use on sandwiches.
Low-fat meats
Cooked ham, chicken loaf
and polony that have a
lower fat content than the
standard cold meats.
Serving suggestions:
Serve on sandwiches with
a low-fat mayonnaise or
mustard, and with salads.
Meat loaf
Many flavours of meat loaf are available. It is made from a mixture
of red meat, poultry and (usually predominantly) pork,
which is blended to a fine texture with brine,
spices and other ingredients that include olives,
cheese, egg, mustard seeds and peppers. Some have
soya proteins and cereal added. The mixture
is cooked in a mould and then sliced.
Serving suggestions: Use as part of
a cold-meat platter and on sandwiches.
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