Pretoria - When you think products of origin in South African terms, thoughts of rooibos, honey bush and Karoo lamb emerge.
It is this last one that interested Professor Johann Kirsten, head of the Department of Agricultural Economics, Extension and Rural Development at the University of Pretoria and chair of Karoo Development Foundation (KDF).
The KDF plays an important role in protecting the broader interests of the Karoo and therefore in the commercialisation process of the Karoo Meat of Origin certification scheme.
“Think for example of Parma ham,” he explains. It’s about the region and the specific attributes that determine a product and its specific identity. In the case of Karoo lamb, it’s the region and vegetation on which the animals feed that determine the specific taste.
“It’s about the climate, the place, the process and the people,” he says.
But what’s on the KDF’s mind is not so much the authenticity which has been established but the consumer and awareness that what they are buying is the real deal.
Many of us will have family from the Karoo or some link to that area and thus knowledge of the specific qualities of the meat.
It was up to the KDF to establish through research, action and commercialisation so that farmers and consumers were legally protected. That they have done and now awareness is the big thing.
One of these campaigns was a dinner designed and prepared by the students of the Department of Consumer Sciences (Hospitality Management).
“It was important to re-establish a loss of identity with authenticity, identity, status and nostalgia,” he says, all of which play into the product of origin and the consumer’s desire to know what they are buying, where it comes from and in a sense recreating a meal they would have savoured at ouma’s table.
For the Karoo lamb inspirational dinner, two student managers, Hazel Bourn and Christelle Coetzee, were tasked with designing a five-course menu. “We had to spotlight lamb to keep it both sustainable and trendy,” says Bourn. They dipped into Sydda Essop’s Karoo Kitchen for inspiration and the Flavour Thesaurus for guidance.
Launching with a lamb’s liver parfait with buttermilk croutons, port jelly, coffee crumble and tripe chips served with shredded lamb croquette, they incorporated bits that might usually lose out. They created a dish that even the fussiest eater would enjoy while establishing the nose-to-tail principle. This was a huge part of the exercise because of price restrictions.
The cost of meat is always on the rise and it is important to prevent any waste while inviting some exciting innovation.
All bones which could have been chucked were used for stock which was used most successfully for the lamb trotter and tamarind soup as well as the lamb jus and other elements. The lighter consommé was selected because it was preferable for a richer, creamier soup.
The lamb galantine (deboned stuffed meat) served with rocket and watercress salad with barley and grilled haloumi, deep-fried capers, caramelised cherries and beetroot sauce was another instance of using as much meat as was available. It’s a marvellous exercise for diners and students to show how something considered leftover meat can result in delicious food.
The main dish of the night was described on the menu as leg of lamb and potatoes, but not as we know it. The traditional leg of lamb was represented with very few flavourants to emphasise the wonder of Karoo lamb. Then the versatility came into play with both the product and the students, introducing empanadas (stuffed pie filling) as well as spicy lamb sausage, simply to underline what can be done. It was a marvellous exercise in ingenuity and a splendid example of originality when it comes to something like Karoo lamb.
Dessert was full of sweetness with a traditional koeksister served with stem ginger, honey and orange panna cotta with a berry compôte.
In a world where too much is mass produced and fast food is such an easy option, it is good to be reminded that cost isn’t always a factor if we do it well.
Pretoria News