Latest news with #butchery
Yahoo
7 days ago
- Science
- Yahoo
Did Neanderthals have 'family recipes'? Study suggests butchery practices in ancient groups
Their meticulous examination of cut-marks on the remains of animal prey revealed patterns that cannot be explained by differences in skill, resources, or available tools at each site. New research into the butchery practices of Neanderthals living in two nearby caves in northern Israel between 50,000 and 60,000 years ago suggests surprisingly distinct food preparation methods, hinting at the possibility of early cultural traditions being passed down through generations. Despite living only 70 kilometers apart and utilizing the same tools and prey, the Neanderthals of Amud and Kebara caves appear to have processed their food in visibly different ways, according to a study led by Anaëlle Jallon from the Institute ofArchaeology at Hebrew University. The study, published in Frontiers in Environmental Archaeology, involved collaboration with colleagues Lucille Crete and Silvia Bello from the Natural History Museum of London, under the supervision of Hebrew University's Prof. Rivka Rabinovich and Prof. Erella Hovers. Their meticulous examination of cut-marks on the remains of animal prey revealed patterns that cannot be explained by differences in skill, resources, or available tools at each site. 'The subtle differences in cut-mark patterns between Amud and Kebara may reflect local traditions of animal carcass processing,' stated Anaëlle Jallon, a PhD candidate at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and the lead author. She added, 'Even though Neanderthals at these two sites shared similar living conditions and faced comparable challenges, they seem to have developed distinct butchery strategies, possibly passed down through social learning and cultural traditions." Were Neanderthal butchery techniques were standardized Jallon emphasized the unique opportunity these two sites present: 'These two sites give us a unique opportunity to explore whether Neanderthal butchery techniques were standardized. If butchery techniques varied between sites or time periods, this would imply that factors such as cultural traditions, cooking preferences, or social organization influenced even subsistence-related activities such as butchering.' Both Amud and Kebara caves were occupied by Neanderthals during the winters, leaving behind not just food remains but also burials, stone tools, and hearths. The two groups relied on similar diets, predominantly gazelles and fallow deer, and used identical flint tools. However, subtle distinctions emerged from the archaeological record. Neanderthals at Kebara appear to have hunted more large prey and more frequently transported large kills back to the cave for butchering, rather than processing them at the kill site. Further differences in bone remains provided clues: at Amud, 40% of the animal bones were burned and highly fragmented, potentially due to cooking or post-depositional damage. In contrast, only 9% of the bones at Kebara were burned, less fragmented, and believed to have been cooked. Additionally, bones from Amud showed less evidence of carnivore damage compared to those found at Kebara. To investigate these variations in food preparation, the research team meticulously examined cut-marked bones from contemporaneous layers at both sites, using both macroscopic and microscopic analysis. They recorded various characteristics of the cut-marks, hypothesizing that similar patterns would suggest consistent butchery practices, while differing patterns would point to distinct cultural traditions. The analysis revealed that while the cut-marks were clear, intact, and largely unaffected by later damage, and their profiles, angles, and surface widths were similar (likely due to the shared toolkits), the cut-marks at Amud were more densely packed and less linear in shape than those at Kebara. The researchers explored several hypotheses for these observed patterns. They ruled out explanations based on different prey species or bone types, as the differences persisted even when comparing only the long bones of small ungulates found at both sites. Experimental archaeology also indicated that the variations couldn't be attributed to less skilled butchers or more intensive butchering to maximize food yield. Instead, the evidence strongly suggested that the differing cut-mark patterns were a result of deliberate butchery choices made by each Neanderthal group. One compelling explanation proposed by the researchers is that the Amud Neanderthals might have been pre-treating their meat before butchering. This could involve drying the meat or allowing it to decompose, similar to how modern butchers hang meat. Decaying meat is known to be more challenging to process, which would explain the greater intensity and less linear nature of the cut-marks observed at Amud. Another possibility is that differences in group organization, such as the number of individuals involved in butchering a single kill, played a role. However, further research is needed to fully explore these intriguing possibilities. "There are some limitations to consider,' Jallon acknowledged. 'The bone fragments are sometimes too small to provide a complete picture of the butchery marks left on the carcass. While we have made efforts to correct for biases caused by fragmentation, this may limit our ability to fully interpret the data." She concluded, "Future studies, including more experimental work and comparative analyses, will be crucial for addressing these uncertainties — and maybe one day reconstructing Neanderthals' recipes.' Solve the daily Crossword
Times
13-07-2025
- Business
- Times
Why your local butcher's has had a hip makeover
Charlie Smith and Sweyn Hall opened Henwen's, their butcher's shop in Forest Hill, southeast London, on October 30 last year. It was close to the festival of Samhain, which to any British folk revivalist is a high point in the Celtic pagan calendar. The date was an auspicious one for the pair. 'We use herbs and products that have meaning to them, based in folklore and myth. We wanted everything to be delicious and unique to us. Our sausages are just salt, pepper, aniseed and mince.' Their shop is an example of a new wave of butchers who provide exceptional meat, service and skills steeped in a creative spirit. Smith, for example studied critical fine art Practice at Brighton University, and Hall product design at Central Saint Martins before working in restaurant kitchens, where he was known for his precision and technical skills with spicing, fermenting and charcuterie. For any self-respecting gentrifying neighbourhood, a hip butcher's is a must, like a decent coffee shop or a bakery selling proper sourdough. There's Littlewoods, famous for its incredible yellow fat (sign of happy cows with an ideal wild diet), in Stockport, a town known lately as the Berlin of the north; Lizzy Douglas's Black Pig in Deal; Northdown in Margate; Flock + Herd in Peckham; and Stella's in Newington Green, north London, which has a listening bar every Friday night. • Read restaurant reviews and recipes from our food experts Smith had to choose between butchery and being a conceptual artist. 'I was fascinated by abattoirs and carcasses as an artist,' he says. 'But you soon find out that the lot of a butcher is not simply the large chunks of meat and big knives of primal butchery. It's cleaning, curing bacon, it's meatballs and sausages and meaningful daily interactions with customers about food. In Europe there is a tradition of studying hospitality. Here, there are fewer rules, more space for creativity.' Slop, a magazine about all types of produce, has long-read interviews that treats these butchers like the rock stars they have become. The latest issue's cover star is a cow belonging to the Hereford-based farmer turned butcher Tom Jones. Slop's editor, Nicholas Payne-Baaden, spent ten years as a butcher himself: 'But I worked with great ones, incredibly talented people, and I knew I would never be that.' Butchery sits alongside traditional lifestyle and fashion content in Slop. 'The person who wants good charcuterie is also likely to want a £150 chore jacket. It's a more natural fit than you think.' The portfolio career is a defining and oft-mocked characteristic of the contemporary hipster class. But the blurring of the edges between creative disciplines and the savvy of the self-promoting entrepreneur has revived many British traditions that were somewhat stuck. Butchery is no exception. Henwen, for instance, has a range of cool merch including T-shirts and also sells — what else — natural wine. As is mandatory for any hipster food outlet, queues form down the street for its cult product: a pork pie. 'Hand-raised — we make it from scratch in-house including the lard, jelly and the pastry.' The roots of the hip butcher can be traced back to the game-changing Ginger Pig in Marylebone, which opened in 2003. Baaden-Payne says most of the new generation of butchers can trace their skills back to working for someone who had worked there. Other influential Noughties London butcher's shops include The Butchery and Turner & George, which brought butchers back to the nose-to-tail ethos of old, championed by the chef Fergus Henderson at St John. Another undeniable influence is the British meat revival that sprang from the farming community opening farm shops, including some very high profile and grand ones. The Chatsworth Estate was first, then the Windsor Estate Farm Shop, and Lady Bamford's organic brand, named after her Cotswolds estate, Daylesford. • Millennials turn their backs on veganism and take up butchery After three decades working across the royal household, estates and farm shops, the master butcher Christopher Murray left to work with the contemporary art gallery Hauser + Wirth, which owns farm shops in Mayfair and Somerset. 'What Hauser + Wirth and the royal household have is the Rolls-Royce of butchery, and that's access to the space to butcher an entire carcass of meat and dry-age it for 28 days,' he says. Murray is thrilled by these new-wave butchers and their eccentric approach to cuts including regional British variations, American, French and Japanese. 'I love it when someone asks me for a cut I've never heard of.' The era of meat'n'two veg is dying out. Today's twenty and thirtysomethings are more akin to plant-leaning omnivores with an 'eat less but better' approach to meat consumption, a bit like the 'drink less but better' approach to alcohol. 'Wellness has its role to play in this butchery revival,' says Danny Kingston, recipe developer at Turner & George. 'We've just launched a keto/carnivore box. We were responding to customers who were asking more and more about cuts with the high fat content required for ketogenic diets, and wanting to know the difference between dripping, tallow and suet, or the best bones to make broths [stock, basically, but cooked much longer] and gelatine. We see men, especially, geeking out over the American barbecue cuts: short ribs, deckle, flat iron, tri-tip, picanha and, of course, brisket. We call them the 'brisket bros'.' • How fabulous is your steak? The rise of the posh butcher Inevitably, this new style of butchery will be widely copied. Already there are short ribs for sale in Lidl. But many express their concerns about the 13,000 tonnes of cheap beef included in Starmer's trade deal with Trump. 'Some of the best meat in the world comes from Britain,' Murray says. 'My advice is to keep it British.' Smith says he knows he did the right thing choosing butchery over art. 'It's hard work but it's fun, and I'm still creative, sharing good ideas even when I'm selling two sausages to a little old lady. This work is worthwhile.'
Daily Mail
02-07-2025
- Business
- Daily Mail
Morrisons makes major change to 60 stores as part of restructure
Meat counters at Morrisons are being regenerated to feature largely pre-packed meat, as the group battles to revive its fortunes. Under the new model, butchers at Morrisons will cut meat at the start of the day into a number of different pre-packed sizes, enabling shoppers to select the cuts they want. It is the same range as before, but displayed on a flat bed so customers can help themselves, Morrisons told This is Money. Morrisons claimed the move will help free up butchers' time as they will no longer have to work on creating carefully curated meat displays each day. While most meat at Morrrisons' counters will be pre-packed, butchers will still be available assist shoppers and to cut meat to a specific size or thickness if required. Morrisons has set a target of rolling out the new meat counter format to 100 stores by the end of 2025, with around 60 having already been altered. A Morrisons spokesman told This is Money: 'We are moving at pace with the modernisation of Market Street as part of our Morrisons Magic programme, and following successful trials, we've begun to roll out flatbeds in our butchery departments. 'These showcase the same range, with the freshness and quality that Market Street is renowned for but with a more modern and contemporary look. 'They offer both the convenience of self service for customers that prefer it and the traditional individual service from an in-store butcher. 'Customer reaction has been very positive and we're aiming to have the new look in 100 stores this year.' The supermarket chain said did a trial of the revived meat counter operation at its store in Retford last year that was 'really well received'. What is happening at Morrisons? Morrisons is in the midst of a sweeping cost-cutting drive as chief executive Rami Baitiéh battles to revive the grocer's bottom line. In March, more than 360 Morrisons staff were told they were at risk of losing their jobs amid changes being made to its operations. It announced plans to close 17 convenience stores, 52 cafes, 18 market kitchens, 13 florists, 35 meat counters, 35 fish counters and four pharmacies. Morrisons, which employs 95,000 workers, said its planned closures were in areas where the costs of operation were significantly out of line with usage. On Wednesday, Morrisons became the latest major business to warn that it will be forced to accelerate its cost-cutting plans amid Labour's recent national insurance contribution hike for employers. In the year to 27 October 2024, Morrisons saved £312million in costs. As a result of Rachel Reeve's policy, the grocer's employer national insurance costs will rise by around £75million this year. The chain reported an underlying EBITDA of £344million in the half to 27 April, up 7.2 per cent year-on-year, bolstered by a 4.2 per cent rise in sales to £3.9billion during its second quarter. In January, rival Tesco unveiled plans to axe 400 jobs, affecting mangers at its mobile phone shops and in-store bakery staff. In the same month, Sainsbury's announced plans to cut 3,000 jobs and close all in-store cafes.
Times
29-06-2025
- Business
- Times
Millennials turn their backs on veganism and take up butchery
Just when we thought the future was vegan, the young have bored of the meat-free life and are picking up the knife to learn butchery at meat masterclasses around the UK. At Turner & George in London, Richard Turner, an executive chef who has worked with restaurants including Hawksmoor, runs four-person classes for £180 a head and said 75 per cent of sign-ups were under 40. 'Most millennials are very hands-on and want to learn the skills of butchery,' he said. 'For Gen Z, the emphasis is more about going out for the night and doing something different, to watch our butchers working with the meat and having a glass of something, then at nine o'clock when it finishes, moving on to the next stop.' He said the vast majority were young male foodies with a barbecue obsession. 'They like to entertain at home and adding butchery skills becomes an extension of that but, that said, it's not always about kudos. Others simply like the idea of an alternative night out and many who join up are totally wide-eyed beginners.' High-end meat, particularly Japanese-style wagyu beef, is rising in popularity. At Waitrose, sales of wagyu burgers and meatballs have been up 20 per cent since May and Tesco said that searches for wagyu were up 87 per cent year on year. • How fabulous is your steak? The rise of the posh butcher Gordon Ramsay's new London restaurant, Lucky Cat, reported that sales of its wagyu range were particularly high among younger customers. At the chef's cooking academies in Londonmore than 600 people have signed up for beef wellington and steak masterclasses. 'There's definitely more curiosity about high-end cuts like wagyu but we want to introduce people to lesser-known, locally sourced options,' Andrew Roberts, the head tutor, said. 'What tends to be a surprise cut for a lot of people is the 'onglet' or 'hanger steak'. It's technically offal but rich in flavour and surprisingly tender.' Flora Phillips, 27, is one of a new breed of butchers taking the interest a step further. She credits growing up in the Dorset countryside and a love of animals for turning her on to butchery. 'I tried liver for the first time aged 11 and it was a straight shot in the veins: the taste, the smell, what it felt like to the touch,' she said. 'I couldn't believe it was possible to see and eat an organ of an animal when we were animals too. It blew my mind.' • Why is there so much raw meat in my feed? She left her job as an art dealer three years ago, started her own company Floffal and retrained as a butcher. 'I realised there used to only be two types of butchery shop: very rough and ready or very twee Daylesford-sort, both of which were intimidating. What's happening now is a lot of new places opening up in the middle. We don't just cut meat, we work with it. It's a weird thing to say but I find butchery so enlivening. The counter is a vortex. It's a very over-stimulating environment on all levels. It overwhelms every sense and my muscles itch when I'm not doing it, I miss it.' Floffal has become a series of pop-ups and supper clubs that have won collaborations with Fortnum and Mason and Taste of London, and she is not alone in her interest in going back to basics. Jack Homan, 34, a Channel 4 producer based near Leeds, said it was a family connection to butchery that had driven his own interest. 'I've always stalked, or gone on 'rough' shoots, not on pheasant drives, with my grandad and dad and it was always a one-for-the-pot outing. We ate everything after gutting and butchered it,' he said. 'When my own family and I left London for Yorkshire a few years ago I decided I wanted to try to eat only the meat I'd shot myself for a year. ' • How to cook steak like a chef at home In many areas of the UK deer are classed as pests because they cause damage to the rural environment. Keeping their numbers down is legal and necessary, countryside managers say. 'Most important to me when stalking for my own consumption was understanding where meat came from and using the whole animal. I actually eat less meat as a result because butchering is a long, messy process,' Homan said. 'In the end I did six months of living only on the meat I caught. I would've carried on for a year if my wife hadn't become pregnant and told me she didn't want to see butchered venison for a while.'
ABC News
31-05-2025
- Business
- ABC News
Australians carve global success at World Butchers' Challenge in Paris
In a packed Paris stadium filled with patriotic fervour and flags from 16 nations, a baying crowd joins the countdown to begin the competition. At the bell, each man in a team of six unsheathes his knife and seizes a carcass of beef, pork, chicken or lamb. It is "the Olympics of butchery", also known as the World Butchers' Challenge. "The atmosphere was electric this year, especially with the addition of the Belgian team," Australian competitor Tom Bouchier said. "They brought air raid sirens with them, the French had hundreds of apprentices there with horns blowing. "It was just exactly like a European soccer match." The contest unfolded over almost four unrelenting, sweat-inducing hours, during which meat was transformed into the finest of culinary creations. It was a slightly incongruous sight with brawny butchers producing exquisitely delicate, artistic meat dishes. She was one of the vocal supporters cheering the Australian senior and junior teams at the challenge in April. "The teams have three and a half hours to create as many beautiful, value-added, retail-ready products as they can, so it's quite incredible to see what the other nations come up with," Ms Bouchier said. Teams provided their own seasonings, spices, marinades and garnishes to finish products which had to be eye-catching, easily cooked, and suitable for retail. Melbourne gourmet butcher Troy Wheeler said his role in the team was to add value. "So I get given some different proteins, whether it be chicken, pork, beef, and lamb," he said. "And I turn those into a product that is appealing in a retail butchers' shop setting and cookable and relatable to what the consumer would be looking for." Independent judges scored each team based on technique, skill, workmanship, product innovation and the overall finish and presentation. Master butcher Peter Bouchier was in Paris to cheer on his son Tom. He said the competition was full-on. The latest World Butchers' Challenge was the biggest and best yet, a far cry from its humble beginnings in a paddock in 2011 when it was only between Australia and New Zealand. At the last world challenge held in the United States, the Australians were pipped into second by the German team, which was the favourite to win again this year. But it was the French home side that took the honours, with the Germans placed second and the Australians coming third. Third-generation butcher and challenge fan, Ashley Haynes, watched a live stream of the event from Finley in southern New South Wales, where he ran a retail butcher shop. "For our Aussie boys to go across there and finish third is just an amazing effort, to play away, an away game on their terms, using their equipment and their produce, yeah, just phenomenal," Mr Haynes said. "And what that does for the whole industry is reinvigorates all of us along the chain, I think it gives us all a little aspiration to maybe be a part of something like that and that should inspire everybody." Danielle Bouchier said it was an incredible event for the industry. "It's not really looked on to be a very glamorous industry, so anything that showcases the talent and the artistry that butchers put into their craft [is positive]," she said. The six butchers representing Australia hailed from various states, so practising as a team was not easy. On the eve of departure for Paris, final practice plans were blown away, quite literally by Tropical Cyclone Alfred. "It was going to be a bit of an open training session at a lamb expo that was up on the Gold Coast," Tom Bouchier said. The event was cancelled, robbing team members of a chance to put the final refinements on their routine. But their slicing skills and artistic flair did not suffer for it. Team member Brett Laws, a retail butcher from Miranda, a southern Sydney suburb, was named in the world all-star team. A similar honour was bestowed on Tom Bouchier. It was the sixth time Tom had represented his country in the competition. He hoped to be selected for a seventh. "Being able to wear the green and gold and carry the Australian flag brings a great deal of pride." Watch ABC TV's Landline at 12:30pm AEST on Sunday or stream anytime on ABC iview.
