OldDog/NewTricks
Well-known member
Chef's Table
By: Michael Formichella
Happy cows
(The views and opinions expressed in this blog are strictly those of the author.)
Like some folks who read the paper daily, I have a routine of checking to see if there is anything newsworthy on the net while I have my coffee in the morning. After clicking through the usual minutiae that we all seem to accumulate, I came across this article that I thought I'd pass along. It hits on a key premise: Happy animals seem to yield better quality meats. But what about drunk animals?
Along the lines of "you are what you eat," we are products of our environment and altering these conditions will yield different results. In egg-laying hens, the addition of DHA supplements into their feed returns an elevated DHA level in their eggs, which can help produce positive results. Feeding hogs a diet of squash and herbs during a portion of their life cycle produces meat that tastes different then hogs fed another diet. Also, adjusting the slaughter techniques helps reduce the output of specific enzymes that affect the pH in their systems, which have a direct correlation to the tenderness of the meat. The same can be said for beef; what the cattle were fed -- grass or grain -- and how they are raised and slaughtered, among many other factors, will ultimately affect the end results.
The article to which I'm referring is about a producer in British Columbia who combined red wine with his cows' feed. The wine was introduced into their diets at a specific time during the cows' lives…hence happy cows. An addition to the relaxing side effects of the alcohol, the meat took on a very unique and distinct flavor. Many local chefs buying this beef found the meat to have a sort of internal self-marinating process.
This might be a whole new profit center for winemakers. Feed companies or their suppliers may look at flavoring for livestock supplements to include wine. I can see a whole new cottage industry flourishing around intoxicated farm animals…a wine list for cows? I'm sure with anything new there will also be the "dark side"…. harder booze…job losses, ole Bessie on a twelve-step program.
On a serious note, researchers at the Thompson Rivers University ag department have started a study to see if the wine diet lessens methane production verses grain-finished cows. Additional queries include if the reveratrol in red wine might have benefits for heart health and or disease prevention in cows.
By: Michael Formichella
Happy cows
(The views and opinions expressed in this blog are strictly those of the author.)
Like some folks who read the paper daily, I have a routine of checking to see if there is anything newsworthy on the net while I have my coffee in the morning. After clicking through the usual minutiae that we all seem to accumulate, I came across this article that I thought I'd pass along. It hits on a key premise: Happy animals seem to yield better quality meats. But what about drunk animals?
Along the lines of "you are what you eat," we are products of our environment and altering these conditions will yield different results. In egg-laying hens, the addition of DHA supplements into their feed returns an elevated DHA level in their eggs, which can help produce positive results. Feeding hogs a diet of squash and herbs during a portion of their life cycle produces meat that tastes different then hogs fed another diet. Also, adjusting the slaughter techniques helps reduce the output of specific enzymes that affect the pH in their systems, which have a direct correlation to the tenderness of the meat. The same can be said for beef; what the cattle were fed -- grass or grain -- and how they are raised and slaughtered, among many other factors, will ultimately affect the end results.
The article to which I'm referring is about a producer in British Columbia who combined red wine with his cows' feed. The wine was introduced into their diets at a specific time during the cows' lives…hence happy cows. An addition to the relaxing side effects of the alcohol, the meat took on a very unique and distinct flavor. Many local chefs buying this beef found the meat to have a sort of internal self-marinating process.
This might be a whole new profit center for winemakers. Feed companies or their suppliers may look at flavoring for livestock supplements to include wine. I can see a whole new cottage industry flourishing around intoxicated farm animals…a wine list for cows? I'm sure with anything new there will also be the "dark side"…. harder booze…job losses, ole Bessie on a twelve-step program.
On a serious note, researchers at the Thompson Rivers University ag department have started a study to see if the wine diet lessens methane production verses grain-finished cows. Additional queries include if the reveratrol in red wine might have benefits for heart health and or disease prevention in cows.
