Retire Early
Lifestyle
Retirement; like your parents, but way cooler
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. |
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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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Early Lifestyle appeals to a different
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want to mindlessly follow the crowd.
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