Everything you need to know about Biltong. |
The Word Biltong
"Biltong" derives from Dutch words "Bil" meaning buttock and "Tong" meaning strip. This spiced, air dried snack has sustained the People of Southern Africa since the early days of the Voortrekkers who dried meat during their trek up the African continent.
Today Biltong is considered a delicacy and a great, low carbohydrate snack, which is made and consumed around the world.
The History of Biltong
Throughout history humankind has needed to preserve meat. Sailors use to pickle meat in vinegar for the long months they were at sea. The American pioneers use to smoke their meat on route to conquering the West.
In Africa, tribesmen would place strips of meat under the saddles of their horses. The rubbing would tenderise the meat and the salt in the sweat of the animal would preserve it. This method was the origin of the biltong we know today.
The Voortrekkers ("first movers") – this was the name given to the farmers who in the years from 1835 1840 left the Cape Colony in a movement to the South African interior called the Groot Trek (Great Trek) - wanted to be independent of British rule, speak their own language and govern their own people.
The Voortrekkers needed to cure meat for the first leg of their journey, which was over semi-desert and not abundant in game.
For this purpose, they made the first biltong using a combination of the salt curing method used by the natives and the pickling method used by the sailors who stopped at the Cape Colony.
The recipe developed to incorporate further spices (these were in abundance in the Cape Colony as it was the halfway stop for seafaring merchants moving spices from the East to Europe). The spicing soon evolved into a delicate blend of vinegar, salt, sugar, coriander and many other spices. The Voortrekkers perfected these blends over time and have handed down the best recipes for generations.
Today, due to South Africans relocating to new countries and bringing with them the biltong tradition, biltong has become a very popular snack all over the world.
Nutritional Information
Biltong is a meat product thus inherits the nutrition value of the raw meat from which it is made. The meat is dehydrated and usually loses one-third to one-half of its weight during the drying process. This means that when compared by weight to raw meat, medium biltong has a 80% to 100% higher concentration of protein, fat and calories. Because air-drying is far superior to cooking in terms of preserving trace vitamins and minerals, these are present in higher concentrations than in raw meat. Click here to see detailed Nutritional value for 100 grams beef biltong.
Typically, lean topside beef has 5 grams of fat and 22 grams of protein per 100 grams, therefore medium biltong would have approximately 9 grams of fat and 39 grams of protein per 100 grams.
As can be seen, biltong is an excellent low carbohydrate, high protein snack. However, it must be born in mind that biltong does contain a large amount of salt and possibly a trace of sugar. Salt is a fundamental part of the biltong spice mix necessary for preparation. On average biltong will contain 4 to 5 grams of salt per 100 grams.
Where to Buy Biltong
Visit our online Biltong Shop and get delicious sliced biltong delivered directly to your door.
How to Make Biltong
For detailed Information on how to make your own biltong follow this link.
To buy biltong spice and other biltong making equipment visit our Make Your Own Biltong online shop. |
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