A massive 50 million fewer loaves of bread are being sold in supermarket according to reports released this week. The timeless tradition of preparing sandwiches before work has fallen out of favour with modern Britain’s who prefer meal deals at supermarkets. In 2015 bread sales lost 5.4% of its value but this year has reduced even further by 8.9%, bringing the value beneath £1.5bn mark. But what will happen to the reliable bread knife if loaves completely lose favour with the British public? At Butcher’s Equipment we have found four alternative ways you can still put our bread knives to good use. Continue reading →

When you ask people what they think of when you mention American cuisine, the most popular answer in the hamburger. It has now become a highly popular dish in its own right in Britain. But what is the history of this food icon? The first mention of a burger in history is in the time of Genghis Khan and his Mongol riders, the Golden Horde as they conquered village after village across Asia. The riders stashed the raw meat under their saddles before riding. After they had ridden each day, the pounded meat would be tender enough to eat raw. So the Golden Horde conquered Asia by eating hamburgers. The next evolution of the hamburger in history didn’t come until around five hundred years later. In the book The art of Cookery, Made Plain and Easy by Hannah Glasse names the prototype for the hamburger the Hamburg Sausage. The recipe says the minced beef be seasoned with suet, pepper, gloves, nutmeg, garlic, wine vinegar, bay salt, red wine and rum. The Hamburg Sausage should then be smoked in the chimney for a week before being eaten. Continue reading →

Meat mincers are now essential tools for most butchers when they wish to chop or mix raw or cooked meat. Originally butchers would use mincing knives to produce minced meats before the meat mincer revolutionised the industry. Butchers would use either a mincer knife or cleaver to mince the meat. This meant that the production of minced meat was very slow a laborious for the butcher. For centuries this was the way minced meat was produced. In the nineteenth century German inventor, Karl Drais invented the first meat mixer, which was hand cranked and it forced the meat through a metal plate that had small holes in it. This resulted in long, thin strands of meat. Continue reading →

National Butchers Week has ended and it has been said to be the best one yet. Up and down the nation, butchers and butcher suppliers have been demonstrating their skills and equipment. And the day before in International Women’s Day, Leeds City College celebrated the women in the butchery industry. March is the month for butchery appreciation. From the 14th-20th March, the nation celebrated National Butchers Week. In Leamington Spa in Warwickshire, Aubrey Allen celebrated the week by offering different deals on meat every day. Simon Kelly who worked for Aubrey Allen said that the butcher’s experiences much more interested and success after this year’s event than they have had before. Continue reading →

  Easter is only a few weeks away and that long Bank Holiday weekend is a chance to spend it with your family, eating glorious food. Here are just a couple suggested meals you could try to spoil your family and friends with. Slow cooked Greek roast lamb First why not try this delicious Greek Lamb slowly cooked to roast. Start with a 2 ½ kg leg of lamb, a kg of Cypriot potatoes, 140g of Greek Kalkidis and three lemons cut into quarters. Continue reading →

Since 1974, our eating habits have changed dramatically and none more so than with fish. The amount of fish we eat and the type of fish we eat has changed so much. Back in 1974, a typical household in the UK bought 44g of white fish. Didn’t matter whether it was fresh, chilled or frozen. Now, 40 years later it has dropped to 19g per household, however it does remain the most popular choice of fish. Continue reading →

Valentine’s Day is approaching and for those loved up couples, it’s time to plan how you are going to treat your partner. At Butchers Equipment Warehouse, we recommend staying in and cooking a beautiful romantic meal. Head down to your local butchers or supermarket and get some delicious beef and here is a recipe to make your evening so very special. Continue reading →

As one of the oldest and still most respected professions, butchery has a long history. It dates back all the way to the domestication of livestock that made meat a regular part of our diet. Before history began The earliest butchers animal to be found is a giant sloth. It was found by scientists from the University of Miami and archaeologists in a Florida sinkhole and is estimated to be about 12,000 years old. Butchery in the Ancient world was found in Ancient Rome with images of how the Romans carved and dressed meats before selling it on. Continue reading →

Sausages are one of the most common meats eaten around the world, with hundred variations of how they are made; each country has their variation of the humble sausage. These are a few of the variations that are found around the world. Continue reading →

2016 is approaching and it is the time when we all think about our resolutions for the New Year. Butchers and fishmongers, we have great ideas on what you should invest in for the coming year. We also have suggestions on how you can use meat and fish to create a happier, healthier lifestyle. Continue reading →