Ham & pigs - Paul Heiney

Readers of Paul Heiney's weekly column in "The Times" are familiar with his farm in Suffolk, and in particular with the pigs which he and his wife, Libby Purves, keep "free range" and which made his curious about the history of ham and bacon, pork and trotters - foods which are now adulterated. Determined to discover where the real thing may be found, he journeyed from Sheffield to Romania to visit the last survivors of the proper pork butchers and their secrets. This account of his search offers a combination of history, traditional butchery and recipes.