Sunday 6 September 2009

Bon appetit Mike!

Today (the whim having taken me) I asked for a packet of scratchings in my local pub. I expected the usual Smiths or Golden Wonder bag, but instead got an original West Midlands product labelled thus:

MIKE EVANS
PORK SCRATCHINGS

6 Pinfold Lane Penn
Wolverhampton WV4 4EE

Tel. 07775873815

Ingredients: Pork Rind, Salt, Yeast Extract, Rusk, Flavour Enhancer 621, Hydrolised Protein, Yeast Protein, Dextrose, UK WL 010-EEC

02NOV0942ge

That is the sum total of the labelling. God knows what the last ingredient is, but they were delicious, and far better than the usual corporate version. Good to see a small-scale producer getting their product into a managed pub.

Why is it that all pork scratchings seem to originate from the Black Country? And will Woolpack Dave, famed for his commitment to authentic produce, be stocking them?

12 comments:

  1. If you're referring to the UK bit, that just tells you it was processed in the UK, the number of the processing establishment and the fact that is complies with EEC regulations.

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  2. YES!! Where can I get them from??

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  3. OK, that was a stupid comment - the address is there.....

    Actually, I've considered making them but have consigned that to the same idea bin as the Nissan clone.

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  4. Fried fat? I really couldn't. I'm not stopping others but I couldn't bring myself to. Get me a bag of peanuts.

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  5. Personally I prefer fried to unfried fat.

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  6. You're not really quite the salt of the earth you make out, are you, Cookie? ;-)

    Next thing you'll be saying you don't like pies...

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  7. Pie barmcakes is where it's at, Curmudgy.

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  8. You can't beat a good pork scratching. Always great with a bitter.

    I thought Smiths were no more (gobbled up by Walkers) and although I know Golden Wonder are still going I rarely see them - it must be a regional thing.

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  9. Golden Wonder are owned by the Ulster firm Tayto NI. You can still get them if you look hard enough.

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  10. Tayto make excellent crisps. It's a shame they're virtually unobtainable over here.

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  11. Tayto Cheese & Onion crisps are regularly available in local branches of Home Bargains at a mere 15p a packet.

    However, I do find the flavour a bit intense.

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  12. The best pork scratching I've ever tried are the "Awfully Posh" (yes, great name!) pork crackling which my local pub sells. They are much softer than normal scratchings - apparently because they are fried twice and don't taste oily at all. Very salty though so need plenty of beer to wash them down.

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