of
Glasgow confirms the beneficial properties of pure
pedigree
Highland beef, previously studied in 1997 by Dr
Ivy
Barclay amongst others.
Samples
of sirloin were taken from all over Scotland and
from
Yorkshire for the study, funded by the Highland
Cattle
Society from the Queen’s Jubilee Trust, a charitable
fund
set up for educational purposes. A rapid
slice shear
force
test determined the tenderness of the samples and
chemical
analysis included measurements of moisture
(juiciness),
iron, protein and cholesterol content.
Pure
Highland beef was shown to be almost 23% more
tender
than commercial beef, scoring, at 83.27, well
below
the 100 which benchmarks meat as “very tender”.
Compared
with commercial meat, pure Highland meat
contains
almost 7% more protein and almost 17% more
iron,
averaging over 4% less cholesterol.
Intramuscular
fat,
low in saturated fat and seen as marbling through the
meat,
gives Highland beef its tenderness, succulence and
distinctive
taste.
An
interesting finding was the lack of expected correlation
between
fat content and cholesterol levels.
Comparison
of
diets and the effect of more intensive rearing might
explain
this result.
Charles
is to be congratulated on this fascinating and
informative
work, which forms a foundation for possible
future
investigation. The full report may be
obtained from
the
society office. [2]
