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In 1991 Billy and Akaisha Kaderli retired at the age of 38. Now, into their 4th decade of this financially independent lifestyle, they invite you to take advantage of their wisdom and experience.

Macelleria, Equine Meat Shop in Catania, Sicily

Billy and Akaisha Kaderli

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In the Mt. Etna city of Catania, grilled horse meat is not just food: it is cultural heritage!

To outsiders, the tradition of eating horse – which you'll find all around southern Italy – is controversial.

You won’t find horse on a plate in the English-speaking world, but most of the rest of the world including Poland, China, South America and the former Soviet Union you do. In Italy, much like France, the tradition is long established, and nobody bats an eyelid when they see horse on the menu.

So what's the big deal? 

Read on, to find out more about this disputed source of protein.

Equine meat shop

Today, Italy produces 16,000 tons of meat from donkeys and horses a year, which is more than any other European country apart from Poland.  

There are 400 registered equine butchers in Italy and the meat itself is lean, low in cholesterol and rich in iron. In the late 1800s it was often prescribed by doctors to cure anemia, since this animal's protein can build you up. And it is still often recommended to pregnant women, children and the infirm.

The aversion to eating horse is something that is very recent in our history, relatively speaking.

Humans have always hunted wild horses and eaten their meat, as they were a very important source of protein for the hunter-gatherer. And surely, no one reading this would mind at all if you hunted buffalo in the Northern Americas to feed the tribe.

However, as the horse became domesticated between 4,000 and 6,000 years ago, our relationship with the animal changed.

Some people compare it to eating dog or cat, but it's not quite the same thing. Sure, we might have a horse as a pet, but even this is a recent cultural adaptation. And there is some verrry interesting history that brought that adjustment about. 

In 732 the Pope in Rome issued a ban on eating horse meat even though the meat of this animal has been a delicacy in Italy since Roman times. There were 2 reasons for this censorship. One was to differentiate Catholics from Germanic barbarians who ate this source of protein in pagan ceremonies, but probably the most commonsense reason was due to the threat of Arab forces in the East.

Arabs used horses effectively in their warfare, and could only be defeated by also being on horseback. So it became necessary to switch from having horses as a source of food to building strong equine stocks specifically bred for fighting.

Prepared meats

Here you see in the case green onions wrapped in horse meat bacon, horse meat hamburgers, meatballs and stuffed breaded horse meat delights.

The Papal ban saw a decline in the use of horse meat throughout Europe for hundreds of years, although the practice of eating it survived in local traditions and in the countryside.

But the French Revolution changed things.

When the aristocracy fell and a new social order rose. Horses - owned by the rich as a sign of prestige - were butchered to feed the hungry masses. During the Napoleonic wars, French troops were encouraged to eat their horses on campaign. It was fundamental to the success of the French empire.

Horse was widely eaten throughout the Agricultural Revolution as even then, protein was highly valued and scarce. Waste was not an option. Right through in the Middle Ages in Europe and especially in Germany the practice continued.

In 1928, Benito Mussolini introduced a law declaring that only specialist butchers could sell equine meat and they were not permitted to stock other meat cuts.

Although there has been talk over the years to see the eating of equine meat abolished, it still remains a common type of meat to enjoy in some regions of Italy. And in fact, it is still an important part of Venetian cuisine and in the Italian cuisine in general.

It also never fell out of fashion in Sardinia and Sicily where horse and donkey meat salamis and sausages are found everywhere. Padua is another province that values horse meat and in the town of Legnaro, they hold the Festa del Cavallo dedicated to all things horses, including their meat.

More prepared foods

More specialty items in the case - minced horse meat with Philadelphia cheese, pistachio, flakes of Grana Padano and speck or loin rolls with ham and cheese. Bombettes are minced horse meatballs, with porchetta, cheese and pistachio pesto.

So why is horse meat acceptable in Italy and France and not the UK, Ireland and the English-speaking world?

While Italy wins the prize for being the nation that eats the highest amount of equine meat, this is not something you could do in Ireland at all.

The popular movements around the French Revolution and the Enlightenment didn’t have the same effect in Ireland as they did in Europe. The Industrial Revolution mostly passed Ireland by.

And with this country being deeply Catholic, the people adhered to the tradition of not eating horse meat, as per Papal decree.

Adding to this, the British-imposed Penal Laws forbade Irish Catholics from owning horses, as they were the preserve of their landowning British rulers. So they couldn't have gotten their hands on horse meat even if they tried.

Due to this cultural background and learned abhorrence to eating horse, when the presence of horse DNA was found in meat products labeled as beef in Ireland and the UK, it caused huge outrage in 2013.

Vast amounts of beef were recalled. People were genuinely incensed that horses had ended up in their burgers and minced meat. It was a national scandal and heads rolled.

Sausages and ribs

Apparently, today, equine butchers in Italy not only sell various cuts of horse and donkey meats, but also sell salami and cured, prosciutto-style equine meats.

These have now become more of a specialty and the price often reflects this.

In Puglia, there are as many chicken rotisserie shops as there are equine butchers. In the northern regions it is just as popular and you can easily find equine butchers in Veneto and also Emilia-Romagna.

Another horse meat specialty is horse tartare!

It is called pesto, but it is a fine chopping of raw horse meat, mixed with olive oil, lemon juice and salt. It is then served with their special mayonnaise.

It is said that eating it raw is a better way to appreciate the flavor of the meat which is quite delicate, almost sweet.

The most popular dish is undoubtedly the horse meatball, which can be eaten on a saucer or inside a sandwich. Generally it has a seasoning of oil, vinegar (or lemon juice), salt, oregano and in some cases, even garlic.

Messina-style horse meat rolls are also prominent. They are squares of horse meat with a filling of stringy cheese and a breading flavored with garlic and parsley.

There is even a horse meat pie made with Philadelphia cheese, pistachio, onion and parmesan.

While we were in Sicily, we  tried 3 times to order horse meat in restaurants, but apparently, due to its popularity, they were sold out!

Plasmon, internationally recognized baby food

Kraft Heinz acquired Plasmon world-class baby food as part of its portfolio after the merger between Kraft and Heinz in 2015.

Here you see pureed horse meat with cereal contained in 4-80gram jars.

One can find this famous baby food right along other quality Plasmon choices, such as beef, chicken, turkey and rabbit.

Rabbit baby food put out by Plasmon

I know, I know... it sounds so strange to us, but this is why we travel.

Cultures are different all over the world, and becoming exposed to new ideas and concepts broadens our perspectives.

It would be horrifically boring if "everyone and everything" were the same...

__________

Macelleria Leone Carne Equina

365, Via Plebiscito

Catania, Sicily

Tele: 392 2647303

For more stories, photos and videos of Italy, click here for Sicily, click here

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