Although not exactly a new concept (cavemen were eating it, after all), bone marrow exploded onto the foodie scene in the UK in 1994 when Fergus Henderson started serving it at his Clerkenwell restaurant St John. The simple signature dish serves roast veal bones (which have a more delicate flavour than older beef bones) on toast with an accompanying sharp and fresh parsley, shallot, caper and lemon salad to cut through the richness of the unctuous marrow.

Bone marrow is of course present in all bones, but beef or veal bones are predominantly used due to their size. The long, straight femur bones are used as, being the biggest, these contain the most marrow and are the most easily accessible. Though beef bones are by far most common, the Chinese have a ‘pig tibia soup', while Iranian and Lebanese cuisines often crack open lamb shank bones as a treat at the end of a stew. The texture melts away into a sauce or onto toast like a rich, beefy, almost nutty butter.

As with all meats, choosing organic and free-range will get you a higher quality product. This is especially relevant for bone marrow. As it is mainly fat, there is very little room to hide in terms of flavour. Plus, it's a very inexpensive product, even when buying the best quality possible.

Look for bones that have been nicely cleaned by the butcher that are very pale pink in colour – spots of blood are acceptable on the surface. The central section of the bones contain the most marrow, but as you can’t tell exactly how much you’ll get until you cut them open, it’s always good to buy a little extra. Ask your butcher to cut the bones for you – a horizontal cut makes for nice presentation if you want to stand the bones upright, or ask for them to be cut vertically for easier access to the marrow (particularly helpful if you’re using the marrow to enrich a broth).