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• Where s the beef

Beef

Beef is one of the more common meats used in European and North American cuisine. It is an important part of Tex-Mex cuisine and is used in dishes such as tacos, enchiladas, carne guisada and fajitas. Beef can be cut into steak, pot roasts, short ribs, or ground into hamburger. Several Asian and European nationalities include the blood in their cuisine as well -- the British use it to make blood pudding, and Filipinos use it to make a stew called dinuguan. Other beef variety meats include the tongue, which is usually sliced for sandwiches; tripe from the stomach; various glands, referred to as sweetbreads; and the tender testicles of the bull commonly known as "beef balls", "calf fries", or "Rocky Mountain oysters."

Beef is taboo in a number of religions, most notably Hinduism. Also, consumption of beef is frowned upon by many Buddhists in East Asia, although it is not strictly taboo.

Beef production is important to the economy of Argentina.

Table of contents

1 Beef Grades 2 Special Beef Designations 3 Roast Beef 4 "Mad Cow Disease" 5 Slang

Beef Grades

• Prime
• Choice
• Select
• Standard
• Commercial
• Utility
• Cutter
• Canner

• Buccleuch Scotch Beef originates in a designated area on and around the estate of the Duke of Buccleuch in Scotland.
• Certified Angus Beef ™ is beef certified by the USDA to have come from Angus cattle.
• Dry aged beef has been aged using a special process.
• Grass fed beef has been raised primarily on forage rather than in a feedlot.
• Kosher beef has been certified to have been processed in a prescribed manner in accordance with Jewish dietary laws.
• Organic beef is produced without hormones, pesticides, or other chemicals.

In fact, according to research carried out by the Museum of London amongst Roman rubbish dumps in London, it seems that the English acquired their first taste of roast beef from the Roman military as the city expanded under their occupation. Despite this, it seems not to have become popular amongst the population in general until the Middle Ages or later, and only became a 'national caricature' in the 18th century. (Observer Aug 6, 2000). Despite this image, England today has more vegetarians and semi-vegetarians, in percentage terms, than any other Western country.

There is also a (much parodied) song called The Roast Beef of Old England.

"Mad Cow Disease"

Embarrassingly, the over-intensive farming of beef resulted in the world's first recognised outbreak of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE or, colloquially, "mad cow disease") in the United Kingdom in 1986. Eating beef from cattle with BSE is thought to have caused the new variant of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (nvCJD) in about 131 cases (2003 June data) in the United Kingdom and some few in France. The perception of beef as potentially lethal caused significant damage to the UK beef industry. The sometimes over-zealous attempts to wipe out BSE in the UK by a kill-and-burn campaign, although ultimately successful, did further damage from which the beef industry is only recently recovering.

Since then, a number of other countries have had outbreaks of BSE.

Slang

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