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The Fifth Quarter

No, it’s not a misprint: the Fifth Quarter is a delicate term, still used in France and Italy, for offal.

Anissa Helou has penned the only book in print to address the subject of all those bits with which most British are hardly familiar, and of which most Americans are ignorant. The Fifth Quarter is written with the usual humour and charm that we have come to expect from this well-respected author.

If we are meat eaters then it’s true to say that some animal or other has given up its life for our gastronomic pleasure. Does it not therefore make sense to use every bit of the carcass? In these days of rising prices and food shortages we should be taking another look at those Fifth Quarters.

My advice to the faint-hearted is to read from both ends to the middle of this book. Anissa starts with a chapter called The Acceptable Face of Offal and finishes with Sauces and Dips, so it’s only the chapters in between that you might be reluctant to linger over!

The Acceptable Face of Offal shows us that we already eat offal. Dishes like Taramosalata and pate and foie gras are all offal-based. You probably wouldn’t turn your nose up at caviar or, admittedly the other end of the spectrum, sausages!

I don’t think there can be any organ that isn’t represented in this volume and it would be a shame if you allowed your Anglo-Saxon prejudice to prevent you from trying a few of these recipes. Let’s start with the bits around the edge. Feet and trotters are nothing to worry about. They don’t have strong flavours so it’s all about texture, a silky gelatinous quality that’s very comforting. Ox tail shouldn’t send you into a panic. Anissa has a couple of lovely recipes: Braised Oxtail and Jamaican Oxtail in Red Wine are my favourites.

So many people seem appalled by the very thought of eating tongue but it’s difficult to know why. It’s a lean and delicious piece of meat and was for many of us a Sunday teatime favourite, as were Brawn, Haslet and Faggots.

OK, so there are a few things that might not appeal to you and my advice would be to get someone else to cook them for you. It sounds silly but I am sure that you would enjoy offal, at least some of it, if you didn’t know what it was. Much of our dislike stems from squeamishness rather than aversion to the taste or texture.

This is another fascinating book from Anissa Helou and one which is bound to find its way into the collection of anyone who is passionate about food. A delight.

The Fifth Quarter
Author: Anissa Helou
Published by: Absolute
Price: £20.00
ISBN 1-904573-21-5