Bye bye MEAT! How will the post-meat future look?

[WouldBe]

I believe its possible through the shell at a couple of days incubation, but could be wrong.
But I do know that incubators use a hell of a lot of energy so companies will be all over it when it is proven.

Thought it might have been longer that.

 

[editor]

Interesting video showing how vast swaths of the Amazon rainforest have been cleared for grazing and soybean production for animal feed and how the indigenous people are fighting to protect their land. It's pretty depressing stuff.

The Heat of Meat: Brazil’s beef industry and global warming

Why the world’s production and consumption of beef and dairy products are at the core of the fight over climate change.

www.aljazeera.com

 

[editor]

Amen

One of the most widely-circulated complaints was that the vacuum-packed mince felt “very medical, like I’d bought someone’s kidney”. If the thought of eating a kidney horrifies you, then in all honesty, so should the thought of eating whatever unspecified body parts are going into mince. There’s probably some bottom in there — is that better than a kidney?

The other most common complaint cited in the one-star reviews which have flooded the Sainsburys’ site — people have real beef with this —is that compressed mince takes a bit more work to cook. You need to either leave the slab out for a while to let it separate a bit, or put a bit more effort in with a spatula to break it up in the pan.

Sure, that’s more effort. But if we’re not willing to make that much of a concession towards trying to reduce our impact on the environment, we’re doomed. If a few more pokes during the browning process at the beginning of a spag bol is simply too much effort, we might as well just give up now.

If Sainsbury's vac-pack mince turns your stomach, then stop eating meat

If the thought of eating something that 'resembles a kidney' horrifies you, then in all honesty, so should the thought of eating whatever unspecified body parts are going into mince

inews.co.uk

 

[editor]

Hard to disagree with Benjamin Zephaniah's reasoning for being a vegan:

When I stopped eating animals I told my mother that I don’t eat my friends. When I grew up, someone told me that George Bernard Shaw had said that a long time before me. A wise woman once said: “I don’t eat anything with a face on it,” and a Jamaican friend of mine recently said: “I don’t eat anything with an arse.” I really don’t want to offend animal eaters for the sake of it. I just want to be more honest about the way I use words. I am not a pet lover. I’m an animal lover. I don’t single out certain animals that I think are cute and lovely so that I can stroke them as I watch TV on the couch.

I don’t even really have a favourite animal. I just don’t think animals are here for my entertainment, or to make me feel better. When I look into the eyes of an animal, I not only see into its soul, I also see a sentient being that might have similar concerns to me. Like the need for food, shelter, and comfort, not to mention love. So even if the meat industry had zero impact on the environment, and my health was guaranteed regardless of what I ate, I still could not eat animals.

‘I’ll stop saying I don’t eat meat – and tell people I don’t eat animals’: the thing I’ll do differently in 2023

I’ve been a vegan since I was a teenager – not for health or environmental reasons, but because animals are sentient beings. And I want to be honest about that

www.theguardian.com

 

[butcher]

Amen

If Sainsbury's vac-pack mince turns your stomach, then stop eating meat

If the thought of eating something that 'resembles a kidney' horrifies you, then in all honesty, so should the thought of eating whatever unspecified body parts are going into mince

inews.co.uk

I love devilled lamb kidneys but would hesitate to touch that shizzle

 

[friedaweed]

I love devilled lamb kidneys but would hesitate to touch that shizzle

Me neither. Fancy mincing meat only to squeeze the fuck out of it in a vacuum pack. I make my own pheasant burgers mincing the breast and thighs with some belly pork. The air in the patty is where the flavours blend with the rub.

That's the nice thing about having access to good local estate shot game. It's mature and free range and tastes so much better than factory farmed chicken.

 

[Spymaster]

Is it just me who doesn't get what the fuss is about?

Mince is mince. It's the quality of the meat that's the issue, not the way it's packed. I've never bought any of this vac-packed minced meat, but I'd wager a pound to a tenner that it's identical to the the boxed stuff. I bag and freeze minced beef, and lamb, and that comes out of the freezer in a solid block too.

I'd rather buy vac-packed mince from a quality supplier like butcher, than tray-presented meat from Aldi.

 

[friedaweed]

Is it just me who doesn't get what the fuss is about?

Mince is mince. It's the quality of the meat that's the issue, not the way it's packed. I've never bought any of this vac-packed minced meat, but I'd wager a pound to a tenner that it's identical to the the boxed stuff. I bag and freeze minced beef, and lamb, and that comes out of the freezer in a solid block too.

I'd rather buy vac-packed mince from a quality supplier like butcher, than tray-presented meat from Aldi.

It's like buying flour in a block mate. Imaging grating a block of flour befor you bake with it. Buy some and try it.
I know you're a good cook over the stove but when your faced with this as mince you'll get what the problem is. A vacuum packed steak is one thing but mince is all about texture and looseness in the cooking which is lost by mincing it and then bashing it back down to a lump through a vacuum process. It's the cooking part where is falls down. Not that it looks like a vacuumed piece of beef of bloody beef which is what the cressflakes are wanking themselves silly over. It's just not mince.

 

[friedaweed]

as we know it Captain.

 

[WouldBe]

but when your faced with this as mince you'll get what the problem is.

If it's such an issue just mince it.

 

[Spymaster]

It's like buying flour in a block mate. Imaging grating a block of flour befor you bake with it. Buy some and try it.
I know you're a good cook over the stove but when your faced with this as mince you'll get what the problem is. A vacuum packed steak is one thing but mince is all about texture and looseness in the cooking which is lost by mincing it and then bashing it back down to a lump through a vacuum process. It's the cooking part where is falls down. Not that it looks like a vacuumed piece of beef of bloody beef which is what the cressflakes are wanking themselves silly over. It's just not mince.

Bollocks

 

[Funky_monks]

It's like buying flour in a block mate. Imaging grating a block of flour befor you bake with it. Buy some and try it.
I know you're a good cook over the stove but when your faced with this as mince you'll get what the problem is. A vacuum packed steak is one thing but mince is all about texture and looseness in the cooking which is lost by mincing it and then bashing it back down to a lump through a vacuum process. It's the cooking part where is falls down. Not that it looks like a vacuumed piece of beef of bloody beef which is what the cressflakes are wanking themselves silly over. It's just not mince.

Pretty sure the mince was vac packed by the butcher when I did my boxed lambs.

Customers thought it was good.


Think the issue probably is that it looks very lean so it might end up forming a bit of a block, but I imagine you could break it up with your hands.

Bit of a non story, IMO - supermarket wants to use a bit less plastic, looks a bit "ew" to some people. Certain people seem to be using it as some sort of "gotcha" moment, but I don't really get why.

Bit like the dietary choices of Benjamin Zephaniah. Nothing to do with the thread at all. Admire his poetry and stands on some things, but considering animals to be friends is some anthropomorphic bollocks.

 

[Cid]

It's like buying flour in a block mate. Imaging grating a block of flour befor you bake with it. Buy some and try it.
I know you're a good cook over the stove but when your faced with this as mince you'll get what the problem is. A vacuum packed steak is one thing but mince is all about texture and looseness in the cooking which is lost by mincing it and then bashing it back down to a lump through a vacuum process. It's the cooking part where is falls down. Not that it looks like a vacuumed piece of beef of bloody beef which is what the cressflakes are wanking themselves silly over. It's just not mince.

Have you tried it?

It does look like they've overdone it on the vacuum a bit; at a guess they want all the air out so they don't need to fanny about adding back CO2 to... a vacuum pack. And the criteria industrially would be very different from a small butcher, or home sealing. I'd just break it up before cooking, doesn't make much difference for the kind of food I (and probably most people) use mince for (bolognese, Shepherd's pie etc). Burgers etc? dunno, I'd break mince up extensively for that anyway, most of the compression there is going to be how you form it in your hands. But yeah, would have to actually buy some to see whether it fundamentally alters the texture, and I don't have a local Sainsbury's. Not that fussed by beef burgers these days anyway, better things you can do with most cuts/offcuts.

 

[iona]

Pretty sure the mince was vac packed by the butcher when I did my boxed lambs.

Customers thought it was good.

Farm I occasionally work on and buy from just does plastic bags closed with a twist and a bit of tape.

Only complaints I've heard have been from people like my mum who's annoyed she can't get lamb from anywhere else now coz it all tastes awful in comparison.

 

[Cid]

Farm I occasionally work on and buy from just does plastic bags closed with a twist and a bit of tape.

Only complaints I've heard have been from people like my mum who's annoyed she can't get lamb from anywhere else now coz it all tastes awful in comparison.

Needs to be (somewhat) shelf stable for supermarkets. I get my sheep (hogget) from a local smallholder; since I'll buy a half at once (cheaper, use whole animal etc) I vac pack and freeze myself. It makes no difference to texture and eliminates freezer burn. Don't think I've done it with mince before, but as above I think they're probably using a very different system in supermarkets.

 

[spanish_tim]

I've seen in packed like that in the USA. It does break down but you have to work at it more than standard mince.

 

[Funky_monks]

Farm I occasionally work on and buy from just does plastic bags closed with a twist and a bit of tape.

Only complaints I've heard have been from people like my mum who's annoyed she can't get lamb from anywhere else now coz it all tastes awful in comparison.

I only really got breast minced, most cuts sold as were. Really fatty, but still nice.

 

[Cid]

I only really got breast minced, most cuts sold as were. Really fatty, but still nice.

Breast is a tricky one... I broke it down to make a ragu this year, but was a bit of a faff. I'll use the fat for lean meat skewers Uyghur style (smaller bits of lean meat interspersed with fat, dusted with cumin based seasoning while grilling).

 

[Funky_monks]

Breast is a tricky one... I broke it down to make a ragu this year, but was a bit of a faff. I'll use the fat for lean meat skewers Uyghur style (smaller bits of lean meat interspersed with fat, dusted with cumin based seasoning while grilling).

I just cook it down a bit and skim off the fat if its too fatty.

 

[friedaweed]

Have you tried it?

It does look like they've overdone it on the vacuum a bit; at a guess they want all the air out so they don't need to fanny about adding back CO2 to... a vacuum pack. And the criteria industrially would be very different from a small butcher, or home sealing. I'd just break it up before cooking, doesn't make much difference for the kind of food I (and probably most people) use mince for (bolognese, Shepherd's pie etc). Burgers etc? dunno, I'd break mince up extensively for that anyway, most of the compression there is going to be how you form it in your hands. But yeah, would have to actually buy some to see whether it fundamentally alters the texture, and I don't have a local Sainsbury's. Not that fussed by beef burgers these days anyway, better things you can do with most cuts/offcuts.

Yup. One of the kids turned up with a slab of it on a recent family gathering.

It defies logic for me, real faff to cook with.

 

[Funky_monks]

Since "The Guardian" is everyone's favourite newspaper:

Oh look, 25 megatons of carbon that we've just forgotten to include. Roughly the same then as the total of UK livestock emissions - which we know work differently anyway, because this will nearly all be from fossil fuels.

I'll say it again - fossil fuel use is where the blame for global warming lies.
Road-building spree will derail UK’s net zero targets, warn campaigners

 

[Cid]

Yup. One of the kids turned up with a slab of it on a recent family gathering.

It defies logic for me, real faff to cook with.

Fair enough... I think I'm broadly happy to deal with a bit of faff for something I don't use often and usually slow cook. If I wanted to do burgers I might be mildly peeved, but there's always mince form a butcher... In the end reducing packaging is more important to me than the exact consistency at purchase of supermarket mince.

 

[friedaweed]

Fair enough... I think I'm broadly happy to deal with a bit of faff for something I don't use often and usually slow cook. If I wanted to do burgers I might be mildly peeved, but there's always mince form a butcher... In the end reducing packaging is more important to me than the exact consistency at purchase of supermarket mince.

I prefer mince from a butcher tbh or I'll mince stuff myself if I'm at at home.

 

[butcher]

Fair enough... I think I'm broadly happy to deal with a bit of faff for something I don't use often and usually slow cook. If I wanted to do burgers I might be mildly peeved, but there's always mince form a butcher... In the end reducing packaging is more important to me than the exact consistency at purchase of supermarket mince.

And you can get the exact amount, ask about the provenance, get it ground to your specifications, have some human interaction and support the local economy at the same time....all by using the butcher

 

[Cid]

I hate human interaction...

I rarely use it all these days tbh... For ragu I've come round to using whole cuts, and also switched from beef to hogget. The flavour carries through more than with beef, just so good. Think you find variants of it in more hilly bits of Italy. Probably try similar next time I make Shepherd's pie. I'll make mince if I have enough reasonable offcuts, but just go for chopping rather than grinding. E.g if I'm making yakitori (chicken) I'll use any trimmings to make tsukune skewers. <wanders over to check on the bbq thread>

 

[kabbes]

And you can get the exact amount, ask about the provenance, get it ground to your specifications, have some human interaction and support the local economy at the same time....all by using the butcher

The one thing about local butchers is that they could do with some evening opening hours. Mostly, I pick things up to eat on the way home from work. I don’t blame anyone not wanting to be open at 6:30, but I can’t shop somewhere that isn’t open!

 

[WouldBe]

I hate human interaction...

I rarely use it all these days tbh...

When I used to cook spag bol I'd use a whole pack of mince which would make about 6 portions of sauce. The other 5 would go in the freezer.

 

[friedaweed]

I see Jeffery's at the grand national.

 

[butcher]

The one thing about local butchers is that they could do with some evening opening hours. Mostly, I pick things up to eat on the way home from work. I don’t blame anyone not wanting to be open at 6:30, but I can’t shop somewhere that isn’t open!

I do understand, and some do.

We open 7am to 4pm and those that can't make weekdays come at weekends.

 

[butcher]

I hate human interaction...

I rarely use it all these days tbh... For ragu I've come round to using whole cuts, and also switched from beef to hogget. The flavour carries through more than with beef, just so good. Think you find variants of it in more hilly bits of Italy. Probably try similar next time I make Shepherd's pie. I'll make mince if I have enough reasonable offcuts, but just go for chopping rather than grinding. E.g if I'm making yakitori (chicken) I'll use any trimmings to make tsukune skewers. <wanders over to check on the bbq thread>

If you like Yakatori, do you have this book

Chicken and Charcoal: Yakitori, Yardbird, Hong Kong: Amazon.co.uk: Abergel, Matt, Hecox, Evan: 9780714876450: Books

Buy Chicken and Charcoal: Yakitori, Yardbird, Hong Kong Illustrated by Abergel, Matt, Hecox, Evan (ISBN: 9780714876450) from Amazon's Book Store. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders.

www.amazon.co.uk