History of beef

Uru : Neanderthal beef

We all have an ancestor. Beef also has one and it is called Uru . It had a very respectable size and was already hunted then, even if in different ways than today. Cuts of meat were obtained from it and then cooked by the women of the village.

India is the first region in which this ancestor appeared about 2 million years ago and then slowly reached the Middle East, Asia, Europe and finally northern Africa.

The expatriation towards the Americas therefore occurred at a later time, when the European peoples chose to discover the New World. Settlements overseas also led to a change in the habits of the local natives, who thus began to eat beef and introduced animal farming. The American evolution subsequently followed the same European trend and, with it, new cooking methods were introduced, among which the most popular undoubtedly became grilled meat.

Fast-forwarding a few millennia, today the term beef is commonly used to define the meat of a bovine, generally a male castrated and slaughtered within the fourth year of age. The ancestor, however, had phenomenal dimensions, measuring two meters at the withers and having enormous horns: a personal defense mechanism for a wild animal at the time. With the evolution of man, beef has also undergone changes, becoming more docile and domestic and losing many of its primitive characteristics.

Although it arrived in the Americas at a later stage than in Europe, beef and BBQ enjoy enormous success overseas. Specific and dedicated programs have also been created on television that teach and popularize grilled meat as a true art. To replicate American cooking you need to have a nice barbecue and the best meat: the Bovì BBQ Box contains the ideal cuts of meat to get closer to the art, just like the Americans.

Domestication

Historical traces tell of a domestication that began in Turkey around 8-10,000 million years ago, in which the animal as we know it today was used both as a work animal and as a meat supply. Following migration, the animal underwent a sort of evolution, transforming itself according to needs. In short, a bit like man, the Uru also adapted to the ecosystem into which it was catapulted.

If the Auroch Taurino breed developed in Turkey (without a hump and with dimensions slightly smaller than its ancestor), in the Indo-Pakistani region where the needs of the territory were different, the evolution of the animal did not eliminate the hump because the needs of the place were different and it was more similar to a zebu as we know it today.

The workforce and the cuts of meat were an integral part of the need to domesticate this animal which, added to the ability to obtain milk, allowed a rich livelihood during the migrations that reached Europe.

Subsequently, the now evolved man chose to redefine the race by breeding particular species and implementing a sort of mutation. The first symptoms of this event were noticed in France , a region in which particular subspecies developed for the production of specific foods. Some of these foods today enjoy the DOP designation, precisely because they are produced in full compliance with a specific protocol. Thus, thanks to the ability to refine the breed and introduce it into a specific ecosystem, France still today produces specific foods such as Normandy butter, cheese from the Franche-Comté area and Charolais meat.

Another example of typical regional production, but this time from Japan , is wagyu meat which, in order to be defined as such and acquire the enormous prestige it enjoys, must respect a strict production and breeding procedure.

The English turning point

The 16th century marks another turn towards the variety of the species, developed by the Anglo-Saxon and American people who gave birth to some breeds still present today.

With the expansion of agriculture there began to be a need to breed animals in captivity for slaughter. Being an activity still in its infancy at that time, it was preferred to make the most of the yield capacity that the animals offered and then lead them to slaughter only at the end of the agricultural activities.

It was at this time that the many qualities that beef offered were noticed and the English , together with the Americans , began to carry out this practice and refine the species to obtain quality cuts of meat .

The nostalgia of the French

As the quality of the cuts of meat spread like wildfire throughout Europe and beyond, the French cousins ​​chose to move in parallel and against the current, trying to safeguard some ancient breeds that still allow them to produce particular foods with innumerable qualities. .

The wave of enthusiasm among enthusiasts developed in an unexpected and urgent way, so much so that they achieved an unexpected success among connoisseurs and tasters of first choice and quality meat. Among the breeds preserved there were: the Bazadaise, more commonly called racing cow, and the Fin Gras du Mézenc, which produces a particular meat widely used in the French cuisine of great chefs.

Yesterday Uru, today beef

When we say beef it is good to remember that the breed is an essential element for bringing a quality dish to the table.

Italian farms have such a vast variety of species that they can satisfy the needs of all palates. Knowing which breed of beef and which cut of meat you choose is an added value for enjoying an extraordinary taste.

The preference of some farms to concentrate their production on particular and very high quality species is an important element in differentiating themselves from the competition and being able to offer products that have nothing in common with what large-scale distribution offers.

This is why bovì meat is defined as top quality, precisely because it is obtained from specific breeds which, added to the breeding treatment, allow the innumerable nutritional advantages to be maintained unaltered.