Читать книгу The Savvy Shopper - Rose Prince - Страница 30

Burnished and juicily rich, a roast forerib of beef is as magnificent on the Christmas table as turkey or goose, and just as seasonal. Traditionally December is the time to slaughter adult cattle still fat from grazing, then slowly mature the beef, hanging it in cool winter temperatures. But while a margin of this culture continues, the beef industry in general has been turned on its head by modern farming methods, technology and, in the last decade, by consumer uncertainty over BSE.

The implementation of the Over Thirty Month (OTM) age-limit rule, a measure brought in at the height of the BSE scandal, had a devastating impact on our native breeds. Farmers crossbred purebred ‘native’ cattle with larger Continental types so they would grow to full size within the allowed time. While this beef is safe and nutritious, it does not measure up to the great flavour and texture of the British pedigree breeds so suitable for roasting. With the lifting of the OTM rule in November 2005, it is hoped that farmers will be able to afford to revive and maintain the pure native breeds and British beef will be 100 per cent British again.