Pig out on the latest superfood
Chef Tom boosts pork scratchings
THEY used to be just a snack sold in pubs, but now pork scratchings have leapt to the top of the list of trendy superfoods.
Sales have soared since the tooth-challenging titbit was given a gourmet seal of approval from Michelin-starred TV chef Tom Kerridge. He reckons they helped him lose 11st.
Now scratchings are flying off the shelves after his cookbook, Tom Kerridge’s Dopamine Diet, topped the bestseller list.
Wiltshire-born Tom said: “Pork scratchings contain no carbohydrate, they’re all protein.
“I’ve lost the best part of 11st while eating pork scratchings. That’s got to be the perfect diet, surely?”
Health-conscious shoppers seem to agree.
Sales of pork scratchings are up 50% compared with the same time last year at Sainsbury’s.
Marks and Spencer has seen an increase of almost a third, while sales at Tesco are up 20%. Tom scatters pork scratchings throughout recipes in his book. He said: “They’re a source of protein so they fill you up, and they have that great crunch you sometimes crave when you’re on a diet.” Tom, 43, shed his weight over three years and admitted it was difficult to give up carbs and sugar at first. He now weighs just under 18st. It is not just Tom who loves pork scratchings. They are so high in muscle-building protein that model David Gandy is reportedly a fan, as well as Paralympian star David Weir. Scratchings are thought to have originated in the Black Country in Victorian times, when working-class families kept pigs at home. No part of the animal was wasted, resulting in the snack. By the 1930s, butchers were selling them. Today 20 million bags a year are sold in supermarkets and pubs.