Offal

Wednesday 18 April 2012 - The other day I was standing at the butchers counter buying some pork chops, I asked the man  if he had any kidneys and the woman next to me wrinkled her nose, then said, “Ooh, I couldn’t eat those.” The butcher then responded by saying, “You don’t know what your missing; love.” (I did like the added patronising tag.) She then baulked at my request for liver too, saying “I’d never eat that”. - You should have seen her face when I asked for some black pudding; adding that I liked a bit of blood sausage.

According to statistics, due to the current economic climate more people are enjoying offal again, with butchers takings going up with the sale of items that our grandparents would have been buying. Sadly the sale of offal declined in the 1970’s. I’ve always been partial to those things other kids turned their noses up at; I think I was the only kid in our school that looked forward to having liver on the lunch menu.

I recently read an article that claimed that over 80% of children have no concept of where the meat they eat comes from. Researchers believe that because they see it ready packaged, they have no concept of it once being a living creature. I think this may be in part correct, yes I can understand that kids see a sirloin steak on a supermarket shelf and don’t equate it with a cow, but surely they’re not as dim as the boffins think. I challenge anyone to suggest that kids are not aware that chicken nuggets derive from chickens; the clue is in the name.

The one thing about chicken nuggets that makes me smile is, despite it mostly being machine separated meat, it also contains offal meaning all those nose wrinkler's out there are getting their liver after all.