South Africans are beef and lamb eaters. Somewhere in the Constitution it must have been decreed so, probably by the old Nat government – that useful sin-bin for blame.
Pork has its place, of course. But only when it is called ham or bacon or spareribs. The delights of slow-cooked, herb-crusted pork belly, the rosemary-and-garlic-fragrant leg of pork, the robust Barnsley double-chop, the rack of loin chops and – excuse me for a moment of acute salivation – roasted stuffed piglet, are enjoyed by a comparative few here.
Which is one reason why it is our cheapest available meat. Last year, it sold consistently at around R17/kg with a couple of giddy ascents and descents to and from R20/kg. Beef wanders around from high teens to the twenties. Normally around R22 it’s now R27 and stable because supplies have been diminished by world shortages and the Christmas feasting.
But, to a large degree, pork is independent of extreme weather. It is the easiest to rear next to chickens.
Lamb? Don’t ask. Drought and now floods have been disastrous for Australia and New Zealand, the world’s prime lamb and mutton producers. And South Africa’s limited supplies may now be diminished as heavy rains and flooding have featured in this summer so far. The trouble with sheep is that they starve or die in drought or low rainfall. And they get foot-rot in the big wets.
Even in law-and-order Britain now, special police squads are being organised to deal with rampant sheep-stealing. A good-sized animal is worth, wool hide and all, the equivalent of around R5 000 there at the moment.
So lamb and mutton are going to continue be sought-after luxuries for the year ahead – and perhaps even longer until our climate stops this roast-or-drown cycle of extreme weather.
So why is pork not better appreciated? And why do some butcheries get away with popping its price up to R77/kg in return for turning it into loin chops for the forlorn few who fancy it?
Ask any master chef which are his favourite meats and he will include pork somewhere in his first three favourites. Jane Grigson – Elizabeth David’s disciple – wrote a whole classic book about it: French Charcuterie – and pork cooking, still available in Penguin.
So, with apologies to my Muslim and Jewish friends, pork is going to be the survival choice for reasonably-priced meat this year.
For the third year, we look at current price comparisons at this time: when butchery prices are knocked down from their Christmas/New Year/Holidays highs. We include two of the biggest supermarket chains, Pick n Pay and Spar. And the independent wild card Model Meats, pride of Dolf Ferreira, a man who knows the meat business inside out and upside down.
Woolworths is not yet included because their franchised smaller, purely food outlets seem to be being reclaimed by the parent company and I’d like to wait until this process is decided.
I certainly have nothing against Checkers. They once awarded me a national press prize for consumer journalism which I hadn’t realised existed until they gave it to me for an unpleasant examination of the tricks life insurance companies used to get up to. This led to changes in the financial regulation of insurance. And Checkers is where I buy most of my wine. Bless you, Oddbins.
But Checkers butchery has a reluctance about straight per-kilo pricing. It uses fractions of kilo weights that make it hard for many people to make quick per-kilo comparisons.
All meats priced here are A-grade. All prices were checked on the same day, hence legs of pork were not yet on display at one outlet.
Model always scores well in these comparisons. But supermarkets usually pay very high mall rents. Model owns its own building. On the other hand, supermarkets have the benefit of very large purchasing power. But everyone pays the same price at auctions.
But some also buy by contract at farm gate prices which may be lower because the price is fixed before delivery and growing conditions develop. It’s a complicated world. Consumers have to watch price movements carefully. And become more flexible in adapting to what’s available and at how much.
World-wide food is becoming rarer, more expensive. Not just because every year there are more human beings born who want their three squares a day. Countries are developing to new levels of prosperity. More people want more – and better food. Nano technology may one day help delay this process. But it will never end.
Every day our world uses 80 million barrels of crude oil and reserves are becoming smaller. The $100 barrel of oil is here to stay, say many experts. And the oil price has an immediate effect on how much food costs – planting it, fertilising it, growing it, moving it, packaging it, selling it. Deliver after delivery, machine after machine costs more each year.
Our global weather is changing. Violent variations between drought and floods are increasing. Such damage is not repaired just by drying out. Australia has lost so much topsoil in its current floods that recovery will always be limited, diminished.
So, don’t get left out, left behind in the increasing demand for sensible, planned food buying. Question abnormal prices. Get an explanation or lodge your protest. And the best protest is made with your feet – towards a better deal. - Sunday Tribune