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Belted
Galloway Bull In This Section...
(1) Eating Quality
(2) Animal Health
(3) Good Farming Practice
(4) All Done on a Local Basis
(5) The Skill of the Craft Butcher
(6) Breeds |
 Why is Meat from Rare Breeds so Special?
Eating Quality: Taste, Flavour & Succulence
© Traditional Breeds Meat Marketing Company Ltd
When all the ‘ingredients’ are added together, the
eating quality of meat from rare breeds knocks spots off the
competition whether its organic, mainstream or even beef from cattle
fed on beer and massaged. Part of the reason is in the genes of
these old breeds.
It is no coincidence that these old-fashioned breeds lost ground as
farming became more intensive. These breeds couldn’t adapt and were
left by the wayside to become rare as modern farming went with
early-maturing stock from continental and north American origins
which responded positively to new ways of farming and feeding. You
literally cannot manage an old breed like a Large Black pig in a
highly intensive system which is why they and so many others became
rare in the first place – more than one or two breeds even became
extinct within living memory.
The fact that these breeds are slower maturing means that they are
older when they reach the right level of ‘finish’ and thus the meat
has developed more flavour.
Another factor mitigating against many of the rare breeds in this
new world dominated by supermarkets and health ‘experts’ was that
some carried too much fat! Yet as our knowledge expands, so we come
to recognise that some fat is necessary in order for the meat to
have succulence and flavour (and for pork to have crispy crackling).
And now scientists tell us (but the supermarkets won’t) that beef
and lamb extensively fed on grass (and pigs with linseed in their
diet) carry significant levels of Omega-3 fatty acids in their meat
and fat meaning that oily fish, which itself is endangered around
our coasts, is not the only natural product with these
health-boosting benefits built in.
[Report (external link)]
But don’t just take our word for it. Today, nearly all the top chefs
in the country specify meat from rare breeds, not because it’s a
gimmick but because it really does taste so much better. Take a look
at some of the things they have said about meat from rare breeds
(click here for
downloadable flyer (PDF format 114kb, opens in new window)).
We live in the fourth largest economy in the world. We work hard.
Why should we settle for a second rate product when it comes to
food? o
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