Ingredient: Beef
The reason we say ‘beef’ instead of ‘cow meat’ goes back to 1066. After the Norman conquest, French-speaking nobility named what arrived at their table ‘boeuf’. However, no one informed the Anglo-Saxon serfs in the fields, who still kept the word cū (cow) for the animal.
In the UK, most beef cattle spend a lot of the year outdoors on grass, unlike intensive farming systems you find elsewhere. It’s not just nicer for the animal, the meat is better too if they are fed on grass and get sunlight. This means more healthy omega 3, and when they have spent time outdoors in the summer, you’ll get some vitamin D from the meat too.
The iron in beef (haem iron) is absorbed far more easily by your body than the kind you get from plants, and it’s one of the best sources of B12 around, a vitamin that’s almost impossible to get without animal products. Your nervous system and your energy depend on both iron and vitamin B12.
Lean cuts like fillet or topside are good for quick cooking; tougher cuts like shin want low and slow, but they have more flavour; so a good stew or braise rewards your patience. And kids just love burgers, meatballs and bolognese, so beef is one of the most versatile, nutritious and popular meats to serve your family.
