I'm sure my dear friend Carron won't mind my mentioning that upon visiting me this week she was on one of her regular diets. Don't ask me the details of this particular diet, it's all rocket science to me as are most diets. I've neither the patience or the willpower to not mix carbohydrates with protein, or eliminate sugar or only eat white vegetables or snack on seaweed and nuts.......
Don't get me wrong, I'm not mocking diets, Carron is testament to the fact that for many people dieting works. Yet, in our 'diet' obsessed society, Britons are now fatter than ever with, according to a report last year, 100,000 of us being classified as super-obese and 1 in 4 of us obese.
You know what I find interesting? In former times, ie my childhood years, working class people consumed food such as bread and dripping or jam, potatoes, syrup puddings and spotted dick, real butter and full fat milk, pies and savoury suet puddings, in fact, our grandparents had a dramatically higher calorie intake, yet obesity was almost unheard of.
The difference was that portions were moderate, food wasn't as plentiful or constantly available, fifty years ago a typical dinner consisted of, for example, lamb chops with boiled potatoes and seasonal vegetables. Meat was a luxury normally reserved for Sundays, consequently stews consisting of lots of vegetables were commonplace during the workday week and chocolate and cake was reserved for special occasions.
Nowadays we are inundated with processed food and research shows that obesity is unequivocally linked to the poorer classes who subsist on convenience food believing it to be cheap. Rather than thinking along the lines of eating filling foods that are high in vitamins and minerals ie vegetables, beans, pulses and complex carbs, people are opting for multi pack pizzas and cheap bulk buy ready-meals for instant gratification.
Snacking has become the norm nowadays with the average household stocking up on crisps, biscuits, yoghurts and sweets, all of which are regularly eaten between meals, and whilst the portion size of our meals have become larger and larger, often due to the fact that they are not nutritionally sustaining, we are no longer as physically active as our grandparents who walked nearly everywhere and had physical jobs.
Throughout my childhood dripping was always associated with frugality and thrift, however, it has now been declared a gourmet food.
Despite its humble origins, dripping has become 'posh' with Harrods now selling a 500g pack for £6.95. For me this is testament to how far away from cooking we have become. This poor man's ingredient, much loved by my own father who ate dripping on hot toast smothered in pepper, which fell out of favour in recent years due to health fears over animal fats and general snobbery, is now de rigueur within fashionable circles. Interestingly, amongst my father's favourites of dripping, bread and butter, rich fruit cake, tea with two sugars, cheese and crackers etc, he was never overweight, his motto was always: 'everything in moderation.' I believe that is the best diet ever!
With science starting to point the finger at sugar and carbs as culprits behind the surge in obesity, fat is creeping back on our menus. Dripping is the fat extracted from a joint of roast beef, along with the sticky meat juices in the bottom of our baking tray. Poured into a jug or bowl and kept in the fridge, the fat will separate and the meaty marmite textured gloop can be spread on toast.
With chef's up and down the country raving about dripping, be it spread on toast, used for ultra-crisp roasties or dripping fried chips, this food of nostalgia is certainly one of Britain's forgotten ingredients that is making a timely comeback.
Next time you roast a joint of beef put all the rendered fat, fatty deposits and sticky bits in the bottom of your tray into a bowl and refrigerate. Spread a combination of the fat and jelly on warm toast and season well.
Alternatively, you can buy ready-made dripping from many supermarkets such as Waitrose.
'You don't have to be emaciated or vomiting to be suffering. All people who live their lives on a diet are suffering.'
- Portia de Rossi
Love Donna xxxxxxxxxx
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