// September 19th, 2011 // No Comments » // Cuisines, Healthy Food, International Cooking, Recipes For At Home
Humans began eating meat 2.5 million years ago –historians believe eating meat was a crucial catalyst for evolution and the development of the brain.
The domestication of livestock first took place between 12,000-5,000 BC
The Cotswold breed of Lamb was introduced to Britain over 2000 years ago by the Romans.
Red meat is a great source of protein –helping to fill us up for longer and reduce the tendency to snack*
Meat and meat products contribute 28% of Vitamin A intake in the UK. Vitamin A is important for normal vision and a healthy immune system*
More than half the fat in lean red meat is mono-unsaturated.*
Mono-unsaturated fats are the ‘heart healthy’ fats.
The nutrients contained in RED MEAT are in a form that is easily absorbed by the body.
Red meat contains substantial amounts of zinc.
Zinc helps wounds heal and muscles recover.
Pork is a rich source of Thiamine (Vitamin B1), important for energy release and healthy function of the nervous system*
Lean red meat is a rich source of Vitamin B12. Vitamin B12 is vital for red blood cells, growth and energy
production
The type of iron in beef (haem iron) is more easily absorbed and used by the body than the iron in plant foods
(non-haem iron)
Red meat is one of the best food sources of iron – especially for young women. Nearly 50% of teenage girls
have seriously low iron intakes*
If you think Pork is a fatty meat,think again…it is lower in fat than many meats. Lean pork on average contains only 4% fat, making it great for weight-watchers*
Red Meat Factoids
In the 15th century, when the royal bodyguard was formed under Henry VII, they became known as Beefeaters, mainly for the prodigious quantities of meat rations soldiers were allowed
The custom of roasting meat on a skewer is an ancient one. During the reign of Richard II a court chef produced tiny silver skewers on which he served dainty titbits of meat
.
Sausages are mentioned in Homer’s Odyssey written more than 2,700 years ago
While some people think that shepherd’s pie is made with beef, the traditional recipe uses lamb….hence the name!
Learn More About Lamb at Lambchopit
Cottage pie is made with minced beef…with the sliced potato topping representing the cottage roof.
The name ‘banger’ for sausages was adopted during the Second World War because they contained so much water they exploded when fried.
Beatrix Potter used the fortune she earned from writing illustrated books to save the Herdwick Sheep from extinction.
Today, a descendant of her shepherd sells Herdwick meat at Borough Market in London.
Mint sauce became the ‘essential’ accompaniment to roast lamb in Britain thanks to Queen Elizabeth I.
To stop her subjects eating lamb and mutton (and help the wool industry), she decreed that the meat could only be
served with bitter herbs.
Enterprising cooks discovered that mint ,classed as one of the herbs, actually made the meat taste better, not worse…so Lamb consumption increased and her plan backfired!
If you have never tried Welsh lamb,then you have missed out on the ‘Queen of Meats’
Everything About Lamb
