Posted: Fri Feb 12, 2010 10:37 am
I've (again) had a private message notified to me by email, but I have no way of replying and the message does not appear in my inbox on this forum!
Anyhow, the question was whether I now of any tests that have been carried out to identify the quality of Dexter beef compared to other beef. The answer is "not as far as I am aware". I was going to carry out my own tests for fatty acids but never went ahead because they are around £250 each and you need to carry out multiple tests to come to any significant conclusion. I was also hoping to be able to do this with funding within Dexter Beef Online but it never took off enough to do anything more than just become an advertising platform, so partially for that reason, I am discontinuing DBO and have let subscribers know.
Testing the beef is something the society really ought to do and if it was up to me would be top of the list. You'd need to spend about £2-4000 to get any meaningful results and the tests need to be handled by someone acting for the society who really understands what they are doing, not just leaving it to the test house. It has HUGE potential as an aid to selling beef and for the very best of reasons, human health. Far more important than just flavour. I have never had normal blood pressure in my whole life until I started eating naturally raised beef and lamb instead of supermarket stuff. I also know people who have never had normal cholestoral levels until they made the same move. Grassfed has nothing to do with Dexter directly, but indirectly it has everything to do with the breed.
In terms of taste, the flavour is in the fat, as are the essential fatty acids. I personally think the two are one in the same. If you take beef straight from the field, especially on a field with a good level of clover contents, and also (I think) moderately high sugar grasses make it better still, the beef is at it's best and has a particular flavour that I am completely addicted to. It isn't restricted to beef though, or Dexters for that matter. Dexters put down quite quite a lot of fat if you let them, and being grass-fed, it is fat with a low melting point and if I understand it correctly, that means fat that is good for you as well as other crucial properties such as cancer-fighting CLA.
The steak below was totally grass-fed/finished with a large amount of clover content and also straight off the field. I cooked that steak within minutes of the photo, and the internal fat disappeared immediately upon hitting the hot pan (so must be good fat I think) and it tasted heavenly. I think if you tested that steak, it would be brimming over with omega-3's and CLA, but I'd love to really know for sure.
Edited By Broomcroft on 1265967527
Anyhow, the question was whether I now of any tests that have been carried out to identify the quality of Dexter beef compared to other beef. The answer is "not as far as I am aware". I was going to carry out my own tests for fatty acids but never went ahead because they are around £250 each and you need to carry out multiple tests to come to any significant conclusion. I was also hoping to be able to do this with funding within Dexter Beef Online but it never took off enough to do anything more than just become an advertising platform, so partially for that reason, I am discontinuing DBO and have let subscribers know.
Testing the beef is something the society really ought to do and if it was up to me would be top of the list. You'd need to spend about £2-4000 to get any meaningful results and the tests need to be handled by someone acting for the society who really understands what they are doing, not just leaving it to the test house. It has HUGE potential as an aid to selling beef and for the very best of reasons, human health. Far more important than just flavour. I have never had normal blood pressure in my whole life until I started eating naturally raised beef and lamb instead of supermarket stuff. I also know people who have never had normal cholestoral levels until they made the same move. Grassfed has nothing to do with Dexter directly, but indirectly it has everything to do with the breed.
In terms of taste, the flavour is in the fat, as are the essential fatty acids. I personally think the two are one in the same. If you take beef straight from the field, especially on a field with a good level of clover contents, and also (I think) moderately high sugar grasses make it better still, the beef is at it's best and has a particular flavour that I am completely addicted to. It isn't restricted to beef though, or Dexters for that matter. Dexters put down quite quite a lot of fat if you let them, and being grass-fed, it is fat with a low melting point and if I understand it correctly, that means fat that is good for you as well as other crucial properties such as cancer-fighting CLA.
The steak below was totally grass-fed/finished with a large amount of clover content and also straight off the field. I cooked that steak within minutes of the photo, and the internal fat disappeared immediately upon hitting the hot pan (so must be good fat I think) and it tasted heavenly. I think if you tested that steak, it would be brimming over with omega-3's and CLA, but I'd love to really know for sure.
Edited By Broomcroft on 1265967527