Talk:Marbled meat

Deficient
This article is extremely deficient, in presenting marbling as something that generally undesirable. Quite the contrary, there is an entire breed of cattle designed to maximize marbling, and in general marbling is considered desirable in the US corn-fed beef system. In fact, marbling is one of the primary criteria in the USDA Beef grade system (with more marbling a higher grade). --Steelviper 17:15, 3 April 2006 (UTC)

It is generally undesirable... unless you are a business producing animals that need to score well on the sickening (literally) USDA beef grading system. The grading system was designed prior to modern understanding of heart disease, and prior to the modern obesity epidemic. Lord only knows why the icky stuff got rated higher, but I guess a ranking was desired and the then-emerging factory farms probably had political influence. AlbertCahalan 05:54, 16 April 2006 (UTC)

Marbling is desirable in red meat, as it usually indicates a more tender and flavourful cut. The above post is obviously anti-meat and should be disregarded. I agree that the article should be changed and expanded. -Guest


 * Obviously anti-meat??? In your dreams. Meat is muscle fiber, not fat. You're anti-meat if you want to buy your meat diluted with fat. I'm rather sick of paying for fat when I want to buy meat. I'm about as pro-meat as a person can be. I wish my supermarket would stock rabbit, deer, bison, horse, goat, kangaroo... AlbertCahalan 04:10, 4 May 2006 (UTC)
 * Fat contains the flavour, when its marbelled it melts into the meat and generally makes it nicer. You can definetly buy steaks with a lower fat content; even better for you because they are cheaper. Captain Crush (talk) 00:33, 17 March 2008 (UTC)

Agreed with Steel and the guest. While marbled meat may be unhealthy, not many people eat steak or red meat because it is good for them. I'm sure because of it's fat content, marbled meat is generally considered to taste better, I think this should be noted in the article. Also, just because it's bad for you, doesn't mean it isn't in demand, look at cigarettes. The dangers of marbled meat should be in here but so should it's positives and uses.


 * The main use appears to be ripping off the meat buyer. I pay by weight. It is quick and easy to fatten up an animal. It is not so easy to put lean muscle on an animal. AlbertCahalan 04:10, 4 May 2006 (UTC)


 * Cutting out the damn marbling is very difficult, but you can always just butter your meat if you really want more fat. AlbertCahalan 04:10, 4 May 2006 (UTC)

I've read many posts (in other discussions too), and they all sound like personal preference is being used on the issue of marbling. There is a reason your local grocer doesn't offer rabbit, deer, bison, etc, because nobody would buy it! Super lean meat is undesirable for the vast majority of consumers. Compared to marbled meat, lean meat is tough, chewy, flavorless, and dry. While marbled meat provides a more tender, juicy, flavorful steak. The fat that is bad is back fat. This is the fat that grows on the outside of the muscle (just like humans and every other mammal for that matter). This fat is generally considered unhealthy and unprofitable, since most of it must be trimmed before the carcass can be cut and sold. The USDA grading scale isn't about helping consumers make healthy decisions, it's about selecting ranking to help consumers choose the most desirable cuts of meat. Prime cuts of meat sell for a hefty premium for that very reason, as prime graded meat has the highest marbling characteristics compared with other lower quality grades such as choice and select.Dukemeiser 04:14, 17 September 2006 (UTC)


 * Note to the anti-fat dopes: It takes more energy to digest protein than a body gets out of it.  If you're eating meat to survive, you'll look for extra fat, because that's where the energy is. Criticism of this article based on one's ill-informed and ignorant food preferences is out-of bounds.  Go write in a blog, not in the article, nor on this Talk Page. &mdash; QuicksilverT @ 18:57, 14 October 2011 (UTC)

"Other European cattle"
Ive changed this sentance a little because it gave the impression that a) The cattle mentioned in the first half of the sentance were not european (they all are) and b) that european cattle are inferior. Captain Crush (talk) 00:35, 17 March 2008 (UTC)

Strange tastes!
I read this article with amusement. It is USA-centric, and states that the American consumers prefer marbled meat. Even that the grading system over there rewards marbling with high grades.

What about the rest of the world? I am English, and I can tell you that fat within meat is NOT at all desirable. A prime cut of steak here is one with no fat on it at all - and no fat IN it either. Meat=good.. fat=bad.

I am not an expert on this at all - but can the article be written to be more balanced to reflect the tastes and preferences of the rest of the world? EuroSong talk 16:20, 10 April 2008 (UTC)


 * I'm sorry, I don't mean to sound rude, but you are simply mistaken. Granted, Americans tend to eat fattier meat than Europeans.  Americans tend to value fatty meat more than Europeans, but it is simply untrue that in Europe, or specifically Britain, marbling is considered, in and of itself, a bad thing.  Without any fat, a steak, any steak, is not particularly good; it is neither tender, nor particularly flavorful (characteristics I think we can all agree are favorable in a steak).  I think the problem stems from a couple of misunderstandings.  One is that I think some misunderstand what precisely marbling is.  It is not the thick, chewy, disgusting outer layers of fibrous fat that are not rendered down in the cooking process.  I think we can all agree those ropes of fat are disgusting, but they are not marbling.  Marbling is the thin veins of fat, often not particularly noticeable, that melt in the cooking process, causing the beef to be tender and juicy, while releasing a great deal of flavor into the beef.  Favoring this is not new and is valued in many cultures, including Europe.  The second problem is that there appears to be a misunderstanding of the USDA grading scale and the particular type of "quality" it evaluates.  Obviously, if you value leanness, you will not value a prime cut of meat, but it is for different reasons than the grading scale is developed to evaluate.  If you favor taste and tenderness, you will favor a prime cut, which is highly marbled.  Now, you could claim that marbling in America is overvalued, that it is valued to the point of being disgusting and absurd, but that is not particularly encyclopedic.  I can concur with you that this article is somewhat US-centric, and I think it would perhaps be a valuable addition to discuss differing attitudes towards marbling in different cultures.  That being said, several other countries employ grading systems similar to or based on the US system, and there are other cultures that produce and value highly marbled meat (for example, wagyū beef produced by Japan is amongst the most sought after meat in the world, and it is likewise some of the most highly marbled meat in the world... moreover, a quick look on Wikipedia indicates that Kobe beef--from Wagyū cattle--is popular in Britain).  --MS  —Preceding unsigned comment added by 68.11.24.68 (talk) 07:55, 23 April 2008 (UTC)

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