Why is kosher biltong so expensive?

ANT KATZ

But, just like we complain about paying high prices for other kosher meat, biltong is no exception. While we expect it to be more expensive than non-kosher food, just how much more are we paying and where do we get the best bang for our buck?

So, we checked out five kosher butcheries – four in Johannesburg and one in Cape Town – on their prices of biltong and dry wors and we checked the non-kosher prices at a Checkers store and a popular butchery.

Biltong prices are generally high because meat loses half its weight becoming wet biltong – and even more so if it is dry. However, it turns out there is not as much difference between the kosher and non-kosher variety as one might have thought.

Kosher biltong varied in price between Moishe’s, at R370 per kg, to Maxi’s, at R495 per kg. The non-kosher biltong tended to be around R100 per kg (around 25 per cent lower) – see table.

When it comes to dry wors, however, there is less of a market price variation, with two of Johannesburg’s four kosher butcheries polled, selling dry wors at R300 per kg and the other two at R320 per kg. Cape Town Kosher’s dry wors price was the exception and, and at just R200 per kg, was cheaper than even the non-kosher prices.

But, explains kosher butcher Max Klaff, there isn’t enough meat for biltong. This is because forequarters are in short supply and the bolo meat is used for most steak products and roasts.

(The bolo – triceps muscle – is the muscle, which lies posterior to the shoulder joint and ventral to the spine of the scapula.)

“There is only 4kg of bolo on an average forequarter,” says Max. If he were to use it all for biltong, he would only get 2kg of product to sell – and not be able to have the roasts and steaks his customers want.

This creates a situation where kosher butchers face a Hobson’s Choice: How much of their precious, already under-supplied bolo, should they use for biltong, and how much as raw meat products?