Water for tea boils at 100° Celsius. But boiling hams involves a great deal more than simply putting the kettle on. We do not use water with a temperature of 100° Celsius. We cook most of our hams at precisely calculated successive temperatures that penetrate right through the meat. This is the secret behind the soft bite of the ham.

The difference between frying and broiling is the temperature. You fry meat over a high flame. An intensely hot temperature that quickly sears the meat, for example, to cook the perfect meatball. Searing the meat seals in the juices.

Broiling usually takes place after frying. After using intense heat to sear the meat to keep the flavour in, we quickly lower the temperature and let it simmer softly, Just as grandma used to add a little water to the juices in the pan to lower the temperature quickly! This gives the meat time ‘to settle’.

Grilling is often commonly confused with roasting, but they are not the same. Meat is roasted on a hot plate. Grilling is searing and then letting meat cook further using radiant heat from a red-hot grill in an oven, a contact grill, a grill pan or BBQ without adding extra oil or butter.

Group of Butchers has become truly specialised in smoking meat. The age-old traditional smoking process gives a wonderful aroma and flavour, provided it takes place with the right climate control. We can steer the process by adjusting the air humidity and smoke circulation, and varying the amount of time.

Mixing a meat paste is a delicate process. Most people think it only entails ‘stirring’ all the separate ingredients together, but for professionals like us it is precise work with which we lay the basis for a delicious soft bite in a meatball, creamy beef tartare and liver sausage that always slices perfectly.

Salting meat originates from the time before refrigerators. It is a traditional method for preserving food. But how to you use this process to make tasty products? It requires the right knowledge. Salting in a brine bath, dry salting and brine injection are variations of salting that all require their own approach, processing time and temperature.

A lot can be said about herbs and spices. Good quality pepper gives depth to the taste of food. This is because of the ethereal oils it contains. Cheap pepper has a sharp taste, but low levels of ethereal oils and therefore no depth. We make our own blends of herbs and spices with high concentrations of ethereal oils. They are indeed slightly more expensive, but their excellent flavour is priceless.

Ripening can be applied to fresh meat, raw sausage types, recipes with a starter culture and cooked meat products. When making types of smoked sausage and other meat products, salted meat is ripened to produce a stable colour. The ripening process needs time and depends largely on the ambient temperature.