Letter: Concepts of cruelty,class... and cookery

From Mr Simon Sandberg

Sir: Polly Toynbee's article defending fox hunting was fantastically wrong-headed. To cite but one example, she says that "foxes are inedible". Patience Gray, in her classic book Honey from a Weed, provides a recipe for La Volpe alla cacciatora.

She suggests that the skinned animal will need to be hung in the frost, or otherwise left in running water for three days. Then one simply cuts up the fox, simmers it in olive oil until liquor is released from the meat and then re-absorbed. These preliminaries are essential, she says, for removing any acridity. Then simply add garlic, herbs, wine, tomatoes and some stock. She says the same method works equally well for badger, though the badger will need a little more time to cook through.

I should imagine the case for fox hunting would be much strengthened if the MFH could be prevailed upon to serve up such a meal at the end of a successful hunt.

Yours faithfully,

Simon Sandberg

London, SW11

1 November