How to buy the best meat

The meat and, in particular, red or beef, beef is a food that is recommended to include in a balanced diet, however, consumption should be moderate. In this article we will teach you how to buy the best meat to make the choice which has the best quality and the best taste.

Humans began to domesticate cattle, Bos taurus, about 8,500 years ago. The meat we eat is usually come mainly from the oxen of 18 to 24 months of age. There are eight primary cuts (large portions): Chuck (shoulder and upper ribs), rib, loin, Sirloin (hip), thigh, chest, belly and small flank. Organs such as the liver and kidneys are called guts.

About meat

Evaluating your options in the supermarket, here are some terms and keys you should know:
Grain: lot beef comes from cattle fattened on grain (usually corn) for three to six months in feedlots. Because corn is not a natural part of the diet of a cow, cattle fed it may experience stress and other medical conditions, so they are usually treated with antibiotics. They also receive growth hormones to increase their size. Until recently, cheap corn has helped to keep down the price of meat.
Grass: pasture beef comes from cows that feed on grasses and legumes. Their meat is low in saturated fat, cholesterol and calories than the grain of. Beef pasture-fed has a distinct flavor. Many people believe that cattle fed grass is a more sustainable option. However, grass-fed livestock requires much time and large open spaces, so these variables increase its price.
Aging: Aging is the traditional process preferred by many lovers of meat. The concentrated and intense flavor of dry age beef is developed to be hung in rooms with controlled temperature and humidity special from 10 days to six weeks. While longer is aging, best flavor and tenderness and as the evaporating water should be cut a bark dries, I indicate a juicy and tender meat. Much is beef which is sold in large cuts vacuum-packed. During the average seven-day passes as a meat, aging in a process called "wet aging".

When you buy meat

• Meat should be always refrigerated at the counter or at the camera. Minced meat, 2 ° c; of beef, pork and lamb, at 7 ° C; and the birds at 4 ° C.
• Signs of prices must be placed next to the piece, not nailed to it.
• Parts that contain streaks of fat contribute to the juiciness and flavor.
• The minced meat must be crushed in the presence of the consumer.
• The meat that's been vacuum-packed, may have a Brown little due to lack of oxygen. The normal color of vacuum packed meat returns after the meat hold open for a little while.

Image courtesy of Javier Lastras.

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