Fresh is best?

Absolutely not when it comes to; red meat, cheese, wine and many other fine foods. Many foods are best aged, and red meat is one of them. Come to think of it, people generally improve with age too.

The reason ‘fresh is best’ is promoted, by certain large and dominant food chains, for red meat is economic. If you hang meat for 3 weeks instead of 3 to 5 days, it results in 4% ‘shrinkage’, which is moisture evaporation / loss. Four percent shrinkage is big dollars when the company deals in thousands of tons of red meat a year. Millions of dollars a year are saved by the large supermarket chains by not hanging meat long enough to improve quality. This is pure profit for the large corporations, and the public is left buying very expensive water and inferior meat. Quality is sacrificed to efficiency and shareholder profits by the reduction in overheads, from less hanging space, and faster product turn over.

The proper aging of meat makes it taste better and adds; depth, texture and character to the flavours. Proper aging is a quality enhancing process which takes time, and in today’s world that is passé. Get it in, turn it over, ASAP and make a buck, is the new world order of food as a commodity – it literally makes us sick. The companies that benefit from this are spending vast amounts of money in advertising, to convince you that 'fresh is best' - and it's a very profitable lie, when it comes to red meat.

To eat well grown, naturally raised, grass fed beef, which has been properly aged and well prepared, is a real treat. It’s also healthy and good for you if chemically free, pasture fed and finished. If you're lucky enough to find a farmer who is doing it organically and sustainably – you’re on a winner.

© _{2007 by Michael Croft and Mountain Creek Farm, All rights reserved.}