QuoteCelebrate the bone
- Fergus Henderson
The body, human or otherwise, is generally well evolved. We have skin to hold all our bits in and a structure to make sure all the bits stay in roughly the right place, hung as they are on a support mechanism which we call the bones or, en masse, the skeleton.
Bones have been used as a food source for millennia. Archaeological evidence indicates that bones were consumed prehistorically. In the last few years, thanks to a Dr. Kellyann Petrucci, known in the food fad family as Dr. Kellyann, the “wellness” scam industry has lain claim to this ancient heritage with every keto and paleo nut proclaiming the benefits of “bone broth”.
Now, probably like you, I make stocks from bones – provided they have some meat on them. That’s where the flavour is. Bare bones are “a composite of collagen and the hard mineral calcium phosphate”. Not a lot of flavour in there. But the “health” freaks claim all sorts of benefits from consuming bone broth.
Maybe I’ve got this wrong, but the keto diet is meant to be relatively low-protein, no? Yet collagen is a protein. The paleo pranksters are correct in that cavemen ate bones. However, I’m not convinced that emulating cavemen’s culinary choice is the way forward. They had little choice.
Much of what I have already mentioned in this topic is all or partly about collagen, usually in animal parts those people wouldn’t eat.
Now that same doctor has a successful business in America, selling powdered stock (bouillon powder, really) to the gullible. But you’ll be delighted to know it is available in chocolate or vanilla flavours.
The internet is full of contradictory articles stating both that bone broth will save your life and will probably kill you. One joker, claiming to be a medic even goes so far as to suggest that the popular Japanese dish とんかつ, tonkatsu translates into English as ‘pork bone broth’. I trust him! To be wrong. It’s a pork cutlet.
Which brings me to what’s inside, but not part of the bones as such. The marrow. Beef, veal and pork marrow are the most usual, but all animal bones, including ours contain it. This is where our blood cells are manufactured. They come in handy.
Following the rise of Fergus Henderson and his wonderful, internationally famous London restaurant, St John twenty years ago, roasted bone marrow with parsley salad has become a classic, unfortunately raising the price of bones generally. Mr Henderson uses veal bones as described by the man himself, here.
QuoteWhat attracts Henderson to serving roasted marrow bones is the physicality of it, the gnawing, the sucking, and the chewing of perfectly cooked bones.
I’ll buy that! Oh. I have done.
Bone marrow (and gnawing bones in general) is popular here in the land of the rice eaters, too. Known as 髓骨 (suǐ gǔ), marrowbones are sucked and chewed here with equal relish.
I usually eat 骨髓 (gǔ suǐ), bone marrow in 哈尔滨饺子王 (hā ěr bīn jiǎo zi wáng), "Harbin Jiaozi King" restaurant where they are served with a side of plastic gloves, but no parsley salad. They are, you won’t be surprised to learn pork bones.
