Salted peanuts, cheese and onion crisps and pork scratchings; the heady days of traditional pub grub are thankfully long gone. True, these particular drinking supplements have, on more than one occasion, provided a substitute for a meal when the 'quick drink' after work has accidentally turned into a prolonged session. However, the last twenty years has seen a radical change in the pub-going landscape, with far more people calling into the pub to eat than to drink. Among the new entrants to the pub-grub scene include such exotic dishes as tapas, replacing the bowl of nuts on the bar, home-made pork scratchings, replacing the mass produced additive filled variety and a whole range of loving prepared alternatives to the traditional cheese and onion crisps. The more gastro the pub, the greater the range of bar snacks available it seems. Along the way biltong has joined the competition and is proving increasingly popular amongst the British pub-going public.

A Short History of Biltong

Biltong, in case you've spent the last few years dozily waiting for a handsome prince to wake you up, is South African in origin. A marinated air dried meat, biltong can be  Biltong enjoyed as the ideal snack or used in a startlingly diverse range of cooking; from stews to soups or from pates to quiches. It's basically the original food for those on the go, having been developed by pioneering explorers and settlers from Europe. The origins of the process are uncertain, but it seems to have developed from traditional methods of storing meat for long sea voyages employed by the early Europeans. Meat being plentiful and refrigeration not so plentiful, early South African pioneers quickly developed a method using herbs, spices and an air drying process to create a sensible way to store and transport the high protein inhabitants of the South African savannah.

The New Pub Grub

Long a staple snack, biltong has become a symbol of South Africa itself. Unlike the more traditional snacks consumed in some British pubs, it's even got a bizarre twist to it; it's healthy! Low in fat and high in protein and energy, biltong offers a perfectly excusable snack, which won't help to pile on the pounds. It's a favourite with many athletes, mountaineers and other generally healthy types, as a high energy, easy to carry source of essential energy and vitamins. However, direct imports from South Africa of most meat products are not allowed into the EU, and this left many early ex-pats bereft of their traditional snack of choice. In recent years, noticing a gap in the market, a range of Biltong suppliers in the UK have gradually begun to manufacture and supply good quality, traditionally prepared biltong. With product ranges now including "beer sticks" and a good range of other suitably pub-based offerings, they are proving an extremely popular alternative to the more traditional bar snacks.