Pork Scratchings are a very British humble snack, originating in the Black Country. Pork Scratchings were a food of the 1800s working classes, where every part of the pig was used and it was discovered that cooking the rind in it’s own fat and adding salt made for a delicious snack!
Because every animal is unique, so are the rinds we make our Scratchings from. The natural variations from one rind to the next mean that they all cook slightly differently, hand cooking in small batches means we control each batch independently, with cooking times varying slightly from batch to batch. This natural variation gives scratchings their different shapes and textures.
Wherever possible we use Danish pork rinds in our Pork Scratchings. But if these are not available we will source top quality rinds from other European countries.
British rinds have been used in the past but we found they didn’t give us the same quality results – the differences in climate and farming make a marked difference to the end product quality.
By adding Monosodium Glutamate or MSG to the seasoning we find that it really brings out the flavour or ‘umami flavour’ as a Great Taste Award judge put it!
After many studies into the use of MSG, there’s no evidence to suggest it’s harmful and we only use a very low amount in our recipes.
Pigs, simply put, are hairy and while we go to great lengths to make sure every single strand is removed from the rind before cooking, however occasionally some may be missed by our thorough checking process. But we want every single pack of our snacks to be perfect, so if you’re less than 100% satisfied with what’s in the bag, then please let us know.