Ostrich farming, Ostrich eggs and Ostrich recipes
Ostrich Farming
The commercial farming of ostriches first began in the 1850s when pioneering farmers located in Oudtshoorn, South Africa, saw great economic potential in the harvesting of ostrich feathers. Horse drawn carriages made large, dramatic hats fashionable. Ostrich feathers are some of the most intricate and grandiose in the world so it only made sense to use them in this new rage. During this period of the late 19th and early 20th century, South African ostrich farmers made a fortune. However, the good times came to an end. Henry Ford began to mass-produce the automobile which made large stylish hats for women virtually obsolete. The onset of World War I put the final nail in the coffin of the ostrich feather industry. The same barons who were making a fortune soon found themselves on the verge of poverty. The future of the ostrich industry looked very grim indeed.
Over the next 50 years the entire industry bottomed out and maintained a minimal presence in the world. This status quo would not last, however. In 1945 the Klein Karoo region near Oudtshoorn set up a cooperative of farmers and speculators ("KKLK") who would work together to build the ostrich industry. Eventually the demand for ostrich meat locally grew to a point where an abattoir was neede]. In 1963/64 the world's first ostrich abattoir was erected in Klein Karoo by the KKLK to supply dried and fresh ostrich meat locally .The marketing of ostrich skin started in 1969/1970 when a leather tannery was built near the abattoir. Prior to this, there is very little known about the tanning process of ostrich skin. Most likely, ostrich skins were sent from the abattoir to tanneries in England and then sold to fashion houses. It appears that a group of South African entrepreneurs set out earlier in the 1960s in search of ways to tan ostrich skin. "I will give anything to see ostrich skins used," said Gerhard Olivier. With Hannes Louw, Jurgens Schoeman and the tanner Johan Wilken, he traveled abroad for the first time in search of people who could tan ostrich leather[4]. They came across Arnold and Dianne de Jager, founders of a tannery in London, who offered to train a tanner for Klein Karoo. In 1970, the first ostrich skin tannery opened in Klein Karoo.
Ostrich Eggs
In most birds and reptiles, an egg (Latin, ovum) is the zygote, resulting from fertilization of the ovum. To enable incubation the egg is usually kept within a favourable temperature range as it nourishes and protects the growing embryo. When the embryo is adequately developed it breaks out of the egg in the process of hatching. Some embryos have a temporary egg tooth with which to crack or pip the eggshell or covering.
Oviparous animals are animals that lay eggs, with little or no other development within the mother. The study or collecting of eggs, particularly bird eggs, is called oology.
Reptile eggs, bird eggs, and monotreme eggs, which are laid out of water, are surrounded by a protective shell, either flexible or inflexible. The special membranes that support these eggs are traits of all amniotes, including mammals.
The 1.5 kg ostrich egg is the largest egg currently known, though the extinct Aepyornis and some dinosaurs had larger eggs. The Bee Hummingbird produces the smallest known bird egg, which weighs half a gram. The eggs laid by some reptiles and most fish can be even smaller, and those of insects and other invertebrates can be much smaller still.
Ostrich Recipes
Any particular preparation or recipe for jerky typically uses only one type of meat. Of the many types of meat that may be used, beef is the most common. Meat from wild animals, such as venison, elk, caribou, kangaroo and moose are also used. Recently, other meats such as turkey, ostrich, salmon, alligator, tuna and horse meat are also used. The meat must be dried quickly, to limit bacterial growth during the critical period where the meat is not yet dry. To do this, the meat is thinly sliced, or pressed thinly, in the case of ground meat. The strips of meat are dried at low temperatures, to avoid cooking it, or over-drying it to the point where it is brittle.
In present-day factories, large jerky ovens are made of insulated panels. Inside these low-temperature drying ovens are many heater elements and fans. The ovens have exhaust ports to remove the moisture-laden air. The combination of fast moving air and low heat dries the meat to the desired moisture content within a few hours. The raw, marinated jerky strips are placed on racks of nylon-coated metal screens which have been sprayed with a light vegetable oil to allow the meat to be removed easily. The screen trays are placed closely in layers on rolling carts which are then put in the drying oven.