Muze7 is probably feeling insulted being called "English"
Thanks for noticing.
The amount of water in the meat has nothing to do with whether or not the cows are fed hormones. The meat here tends to be leaner - less fat = more water content of the muscle. Chicken tends to have more water it in because of the way they process it i.e., soaking it in a cold water bath.
http://www.fsis.usda.gov/Fact_Sheets...eats/index.asp
Maybe the meat tastes different here because we're used to our fatty hormone fed unhappy cows as opposed to the lean happy less hormone fed cows.
Cause anybody whose ever driven past "Cow auschwitz" about 2 hours north of LA would know that a lot of the meat in/coming out of the US does not come from happy cows.
well-quoted. Tsk tsk, Viju - I thought muze7's post was a) a viewpoint and b) very eloquently-put.
I look forwards to your application to be a moderator
Personally I buy more meat in Italy. The meat and the (awesome) seafood there is fan-bloody-tastic
There is a duty of declaration for hormon treated beef. In restaurants there is always a note "*may be hormon treated" next to meat imported from North America and South Africa, but EU meat is untreated by law. And to my knowledge the Swiss don't produce hormon treated meat either.
Swiss breeders don't routinely use antibiotics and can contact federal consultants if they are in doubt. In fact recently a study found out that the percentage of farm animal-affecting bacteria with multiple antibiotic resistances has declined because of correct use of antibiotics. (Regrettably multiresistant germs like some forms of staphylococcus aureus that are dangerous for humans were on the rise because we use antibiotics too often and incorrectly)
But I'm a veggie and don't really care.
Adolf Hitler was vegetarian; therefore vegetarians are evil
I'm not. But properly prepared vegetarians with a nice chianti...
after about a month of cooking in Zurich, i'm getting nostalgic for my co-op (as in: cooperatively owned grocery) and the local farmers markets' back in the states. there, i could buy really good, clean and not expensive meat from the people who raised it, almost always on a family-run farm within fifty miles.
now, i'm hesitantly trying each of the "bio"-branded meat and fish carts at the markets and supermarkets around town. and i haven't been pleased by the selection. if i'm missing something, let me know. i'd particularly like to patronize smaller businesses, as they seem to be in danger here as they are elsewhere.
also, for those who haven't seen it yet, a German, Nikolaus Geyrhalter, recently made a film about the industrialized food industry called Unser Taglich Brot (Our Daily Bread). (and no, it's not religious in nature, despite the title.) there is very little dialogue, it's mostly images - really striking images.
here's the website for the film. it's won a lot of awards, thought it isn't well-known in the mainstream.
there's a trailer and more into on their website:
This chap has moved on and a couple of younger guys have moved in. Still a great butchers though
I posted something similar to this a couple of hours ago. We have recently moved to Zug from Thailand and I am so missing being able to buy a lump of beef and having it minced in front of me. I am not suggesting that the butchers in Migros or COOP are anything other than scrupulously honest, but the flavour just isn't the same. In fact, I would go as far as to say it is flavourless.
I am currently looking for an independant butcher. I think I'll give the market a go on Saturday.
In DIRE search of a _bio_ leg of lamb:
alas, my dinky swiss oven isn't big enough for a whole animal. and i think my neighbors might be a little weirded out if i were to set up a spit on the sidewalk to roast the sucker.
i'd much prefer to locate a farmer and purchase the meat directly. (i'm more likely to trust the product is what it is, and i like to support local ag.)
any suggestions on where to find a good, bio leg of lamb in Zurich?
bonus points for accomplishing mission without a car.
Well, the Swiss cows may be the happiest cows in the world but for sure it doesn't show in the flavour of the meat. To be frank, Swiss meat is average in taste at best. I spend a lot of time in Spain and basically only eat meat there and avoid it as much as I can in CH. What I do like in CH is the good quality game though (admittedly often imported from Australia) you can find during game season.
I cooked a Coop pack of diced chicken breast last night. Normally I buy Migros but in this case Coop was nearest. I couldn't believe the amount of water that came out of the meat, which I had to keep pouring down the sink! I actually ended up steaming the chicken instead of frying it.
This hasn't happened with the Migros chicken, though.
I no longer buy chicken bits from the coop after buying one of their vacuum packed chicken breasts, worst bit of chicken I ever tasted in my life, dry and rubbery... The whole chikens are fine though.
The Migros chicken is always excellent.
Damn. I've got two Coop breasts in the freezer to use up.
Not just breast cancer, but lung cancer as well.
How do you know that they knew they were going to be slaughtered? Maybe they didn't like being in a tunnel?
"The reason was to increase iron and protein in my diet."
Give dark molasses a try. It contains more iron than steak and critically, is very digestible. All these people who advocate eating veggies for iron supplementation neglect to mention that even under optimal circumstances (i.e. a digestive system in absolutely tip-top order), the amount of iron that a person can extract from vegetables is around 33% of that which can be pulled out of meat with a similar iron content.
Have you thought about eating liver? You can buy fresh calf liver in the Coop and it is excellent. The delicatessen in Sternen Orlikon also sells it.
Regarding Swiss meat, what you get in the butchers is good quality. Supermarket meat is dry and tasteless as it contains no fat, and full of sodium nitrate (hence the bright red colour and the high water content). I also think that the standards of butchery are poor, as chops tend to be so full of bone splinters that you have to wonder if they used a hammer.
Cheers
Jim
I was a vegetarian in the UK, due to the crappy standard of meat available.
I became a meat-eater again here, because I found the quality so good.
Again, you get what you pay for, don't you?
Although, having read this thread and Evilshell's comments on the Bell's slaughterhouse truck, I may seriously consider returning to my earlier ways.
If you live Near Geneva or Basel, Go to france and buy the American or Argentinian beef.
Its not only exponentially better than what you get here, the imported stuff from france actually costs less than the waterlogged dry tasteless bloody poor excuse for a steak you get in exchange for your hard earned money here.
75 80 bucks a kilo for that shiiite.. Oh Please !!.
Maybe it is cheaper because it is full of hormones ? One of the reasons I quit eating meat in America was because it is full of hormones and antibiotics. The Swiss practice far better animal husbandry and don't pump their animals full of crap...so yeah, the price is better.
Can't speak about the Argentinian beef, not sure how they handle the animals.
I think thats from smoking the meat.