Farmers Team Up To Bring Spice to Dumfries and Galloway

Two farmers in Dumfries and Galloway have joined forces to show how produce grown and reared in the South West of Scotland can be used in a variety of exciting recipes.    Sheena Horner, partner at Galloway Chillies and Gregor Christie, a third generation local pig farmer, came together to demonstrate how chillies and Specially Selected Pork make the perfect pairing when cooking flavoursome, exotic dishes from around the world.    Gregor Christie who farms 200 sows in partnership with his brother in nearby Wigtownshire, said that because Specially Selected Pork is so versatile, it is the perfect meat for combining with more vibrant flavours such as chilli.   “I think we are all a bit guilty of getting stuck in a rut when it comes to meals and always picking up the same ingredients week after week when we are shopping,” said Gregor.   “Pork is not only versatile and healthy but incredibly budget-friendly and it works with a huge amount of flavours.   “Scottish pig farmers work incredibly hard to produce a quality product which tastes great. When in their butchers or supermarket, I would encourage shoppers to look for the Specially Selected Pork logo which guarantees that the pork they are buying comes from selected Scottish farms where animal welfare and high production methods are a priority.”   While chillies are an ingredient you wouldn’t traditionally associate with Scottish farming, Galloway Chillies have found that thanks to the extra hours of daylight during the summers in Scotland, the climate is perfect for growing this vibrant spice.     Sheena Horner, Partner at Galloway Chillies said: “Flavoursome, spicy and sometimes hot chillies are highly sensitive to frost which is why when you think of chillies, Scotland isn’t the first place you’d think of growing them.    “What people don’t know, is that while chillies need to be kept warm, something else they need, which Scotland has plenty of, is daylight. During the summer months, Scotland has long daylight hours which the chillies love, allowing us to grow so many vibrant and delicious varieties.    “Here on the farm, we use large propagators that sit at 28˚C to germinate the chillies and keep them warm until they are ready to be moved into the tunnels. Thanks to having a heated tunnel and the extra hours of daylight in the summer, we can grow a full range of beautifully bright and colourful chillies.”    Coming together to enjoy a dish of Sichuan Style Pork Noodles, Sheena and Gregor teamed up as part of QMS’ recently launched ‘Go Places with Pork’ campaign, a six week long promotional push on Specially Selected Pork, showing consumers how pork can be used to create a wide variety of exotic recipes from around the world.   To discover a range of exciting recipes using Specially Selected Pork, consumers are encouraged to visit www.scotchkitchen.com or Scotch Kitchen on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram.