Download Common Terms Used to Describe Beef

Common Terms Used to Describe Beef
Commercially produced beef is not what we do at the O Farms
Co-Op but these are the terms used to describe the typical meat
you see in the stores. The meat we grow & bring to membership
is never a part of any grading routines like feedlot beef.
1. Prime, Choice, Select, Standard, Commercial, etc.
These different grades of beef primarily indicate the amount,
regularity, and quality of marbling, or fat interlaced within the beef.
Prime is the best, most abundantly marbled beef. It is rarely available
at stores because restaurants buy most of it at the wholesale level.
• Choice is also excellent beef and is commonly available at
stores.
• Select is still good but much leaner and with less flavor and
juiciness.
• Standard and Commercial grade beef is even leaner and is
often sold without a specific label.
• Utility, Cutter, and Canner grades aren’t usually sold at
grocery stores, but are often used in commercially ground
beef.
Note that unless otherwise labeled as Choice or Select, store-brand
beef is often Standard or Commercial grade.
2. Certified Beef
"Certified" isn’t used on its own, but rather to modify other labels
terms. It verifies that the USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service
and the Agriculture Marketing Service evaluated the beef for class,
grade, or other USDA-certifiable characteristics.
3. Organic Beef
USDA-certification for organic beef forbids the use of growth
hormones, antibiotics, genetically modified feed, or animal byproducts in raising the livestock. It does however allow feeding grain
which is by definition anathema to any authentic Grass Fed Beef
program.
4. Grass-Fed Beef
Without human intervention, cattle would eat grass their whole lives.
Most cattle including organic are brought to feed lots and fattened up
on grain and other feed. Studies have shown that beef from cattle
that has been raised exclusively on grass has better saturated fat
profile and many more nutrients than grain-finished beef. See
various articles on the Topic here. Authentic grass-fed beef has only
eaten grass, though nearly all Grass Fed Beef producers provide hay
and grain inputs to their commercial grass fed herds. These are NOT
considered 100% Grass Fed Beef
Learn more About Grass-Fed Beef here.
5. Locally Grown Beef
This term has no legal meaning, but any store or market that labels
beef "locally grown" should be able to tell you, quite specifically,
which farm or ranch raised the cattle. Usually considered to be within
100 miles of the market.
6. Kosher Beef
Kosher beef is prepared under rabbinical supervision according to
Jewish customs and laws and comes only from the forequarters (or
front) of the cow.
7. Dry-Aged/Wet-Aged Beef
Aging develops flavor and tenderizes the beef. Dry aging takes place
in a chilled environment where moisture evaporates and
concentrates the beef flavor. Wet aging involves vacuum-packing the
meat so it keeps all its sellable weight and is generally thought to
result in less flavor and not used for Premium Private Beef like that
of the Okeechobee Farms Co-Op.
8. Natural Beef
The USDA defines "natural" and "all-natural" as beef that has been
minimally processed and contains no preservatives or artificial
ingredients. Since this is all true of all fresh meat, this label is
relatively meaningless at the commercially grown meat counter
either at Publix, Whole Foods or CostCo.
9. Angus Beef
Angus beef is from Angus cattle. It is prized for its large size, good
appointment and intense marbling.
10. Wagyu/Kobe
Wagyu cattle is a breed which tends to fatten up beyond what is
typical in bovine varieties. Japanese “Kobe” beef comes from Wagyu
cattle raised in Japan in a specific way involving severely confined
animals packing carbs from grains and sugar, drinking sake and beer
and getting massages living their entire lives in tiny stalls.