Yellow Fat

bjreroberts · Post by **bjreroberts** » Sat Mar 06, 2010 10:00 am

I took a 35 month old steer to the abattoir yesterday, the fat on the carcass is yellow.

At the abbatoir they said it makes no difference to the taste, but they don't know what causes it.

Does anyone know what causes the fat to be so yellow?

Broomcroft · Post by **Broomcroft** » Sat Mar 06, 2010 10:11 am

I've seen trials that have said that the yellow fat comes from grass-feeding, certainly our fat is usually yellow or slightly maize coloured and never really white. Other tests have said there's more to it. If you look at Red Ruby beef, at least what I have seen, the fat is white but the producers swear that only grass and legumes were used.

If grass-fed, when you fry a steak that is well marbled, if the marbling disappears virtually as it hits the pan, then the fat has a low melting point. I understand this indicates it is good fat.

I'm not certain about it all, but we do not eat any beef that is really red, or if the fat is white. It has to be darker red/brown and the fat yellow/maize for us.

It's a shame Dexter does not have any official test figures. Lowline Angus (and other breeds) have now published their results in the US indicating the healthy nature of their beef. http://www.minicowswest.com/beefstudies2.htm#5.

Saffy · Post by **Saffy** » Sat Mar 06, 2010 1:34 pm

When we killed some Greyface Dartmoor lambs last year, one of those had very yellow fat, almost canary yellow, the rest were normal and reared the same on the same small fields.

According to the butcher that is most unusual, he would expect to see one in about 2000 he says it doesn't affect flavour - we ate it - it didn't but it does look odd on lamb meat. As we had one the year before and keep very few we think it is perhaps from tup and therefore hereditary but that is just a guess.

Someone we know once delivered a lamb carcass with this yellow fat to a customer - when the customer asked why the fat was so yellow, the man quickly replied - ah well this is a buttercup lamb. The meat was really excellent and so the next year the same customer rang and ordered another buttercup lamb which was apparently rather awkward. :;):

Stephanie

clacko · Post by **clacko** » Sat Mar 06, 2010 3:27 pm

maize in most forms will turn fat yellow, as spuds will leave a hint of green on white flesh

Saffy · Post by **Saffy** » Sat Mar 06, 2010 5:10 pm

All our lambs were fed the same feed, not sure how much maize - if any goes into that.

Stephanie

domsmith · Post by **domsmith** » Sat Mar 06, 2010 8:23 pm

Ours are usually yellow, but we gat the odd white fat dexter. i put it down to us finishing them on a bit of barley recently which i think give a white fat.
the veal is cereal finished and is always white fat.

At the abattoir there will quite often be hanging bright orange carcasses, usually older cows, i thinks its something to do with carrotine in the grass that builds up in the cow over time as it cannot be digested?

i wondered if that was something to do with yellow fat, carrotinor similar in grass

dom

Penny · Post by **Penny** » Sat Mar 06, 2010 9:30 pm

The vast percentage of mine have yellow fat. They are only only grass and haylage/silage with a decent clover content. Tend to get a few more with with white fat in the winter months . I find the meat with yellow fat seems to be the best, from the healthiest animals, but I may be wrong .All the dripping I do is light yellow. Flavour is fantastic for roasts etc. Certainly my customers who have butcher training like to see the yellow fat, so I presume some of them know why they see that as a good thing!

Broomcroft · Post by **Broomcroft** » Sun Mar 07, 2010 9:06 am

Copied from a review...

"The yellow color simply indicates a higher level of beta-carotene (precursor to vitamin A) in the fat of animals finished on forage. "Yellow fat on poultry and beef, extremely orange egg yolks and naturally yellow butter reflect high levels of chlorophyll in the diet and low levels of saturated fat." (Salatin, 1995)".

I think the chlorophyll indicates high levels of omega-3 but I'm not 100% certain.

Edited By Broomcroft on 1267949311

bjreroberts · Post by **bjreroberts** » Sun Mar 07, 2010 10:27 am

Thanks for all the replies.

Mine are all grass fed, with haylage in the winter.

Normally the fat is a creamy yellow which I would expect, but this one is almost canary yellow probably similar to Stephanie's lamb.

I am worried it will put customers off, so just wanted to be prepared with information on why.

pudser · Post by **pudser** » Sun Mar 07, 2010 11:53 pm

ellow fat in lambs occurs occasionally I don't have the figures but it relates to an enzyme deficiency and and an inability to metabolise carotene.its a recessive gene so not very frequently seen.There is no difference in the taste but butchers struggle to sell them. The buttercup lamb was a stroke of genius

I associate yellow fat in cattle with older animals and maybe grass fed animals but have never seen extreme cases like you do in sheep.

pudser

Duncan MacIntyre · Post by **Duncan MacIntyre** » Mon Mar 08, 2010 12:02 am

There is always much more yellow fat in an older cow. And the Jersey breed of course as well as yellow cream has much more yellow in any fat you can get on them.
When we did meat inspection we were told to condemn the yellow lambs, not because they would harm anyone, but just because they were unsaleable.

Duncan

pudser · Post by **pudser** » Mon Mar 08, 2010 9:16 am

seems severe on the farmer,Who told you to condemn was it the meat factory or the OVS?

Duncan MacIntyre · Post by **Duncan MacIntyre** » Mon Mar 08, 2010 10:00 am

Yes as a farmer's son at vet school I did think that it was a bad deal for the farmer, but if the meat was unsellable what was a butcher going to do with it? I am not talking about a bit of yellow, these lambs almost glow in the dark. At the end of the day the farmer is trying to sell the butcher something with no value, and who has produced it? I know it is not the farmer's fault, nor due to any thing he has done wrong, but he is trying to sell something not fit for what it is wanted for if the butcher can't sell it. It would be different if a butcher had bought the animal on the hoof - then it was his when killed. A tricky point.

Duncan

pudser · Post by **pudser** » Mon Mar 08, 2010 11:24 am

Sure is a tricky point but from a veterinary point of view there is nothing wrong with the meat and no basis for condemnation. I think that the factory should bear the cost given that they purchase on grade and weight not colour.

what usually happens in Ireland is that the farmer gets paid and the abattoir staff or others purchase the lamb at cost or less!

I spoke earlier to a vet who works in large plant killing cattle and he thought it happened very rarely in cattle and if it wasn't jaundice they approved the carcass and applied the health mark. They had slaughtered a "yellow"steer last week and it had to go as cow beef even though it was 24 months but the farmer got full value.