Piedmontese (cattle)
Encyclopedia
Breed
A breed is a group of domestic animals or plants with a homogeneous appearance, behavior, and other characteristics that distinguish it from other animals or plants of the same species. Despite the centrality of the idea of "breeds" to animal husbandry, there is no scientifically accepted...
of cattle
Cattle
Cattle are the most common type of large domesticated ungulates. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae, are the most widespread species of the genus Bos, and are most commonly classified collectively as Bos primigenius...
from the region of Piedmont
Piedmont
Piedmont is one of the 20 regions of Italy. It has an area of 25,402 square kilometres and a population of about 4.4 million. The capital of Piedmont is Turin. The main local language is Piedmontese. Occitan is also spoken by a minority in the Occitan Valleys situated in the Provinces of...
, in north-west Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
. The calves are born fawn in colour, turning grey-white as they mature.
The breed developed through natural selection
Natural selection
Natural selection is the nonrandom process by which biologic traits become either more or less common in a population as a function of differential reproduction of their bearers. It is a key mechanism of evolution....
followed by the normal processes of domestication
Domestication
Domestication or taming is the process whereby a population of animals or plants, through a process of selection, becomes accustomed to human provision and control. In the Convention on Biological Diversity a domesticated species is defined as a 'species in which the evolutionary process has been...
and, particularly from the late nineteenth century when the characteristic postpartum hypertrophic muscle growth (‘double muscling’) first appeared, through selective breeding
Selective breeding
Selective breeding is the process of breeding plants and animals for particular genetic traits. Typically, strains that are selectively bred are domesticated, and the breeding is sometimes done by a professional breeder. Bred animals are known as breeds, while bred plants are known as varieties,...
. The first herd-book
Breed registry
A breed registry, also known as a stud book or register, in animal husbandry and the hobby of animal fancy, is an official list of animals within a specific breed whose parents are known. Animals are usually registered by their breeders when they are still young...
was opened in 1877.
The cattle are raised both for their milk
Milk
Milk is a white liquid produced by the mammary glands of mammals. It is the primary source of nutrition for young mammals before they are able to digest other types of food. Early-lactation milk contains colostrum, which carries the mother's antibodies to the baby and can reduce the risk of many...
, which is used for a number of the region’s traditional cheeses (Castelmagno
Castelmagno (cheese)
Castelmagno is a cheese with Protected designation of origin status from the north-west Italian region Piedmont.-Historical notes:Castelmagno is a cheese which has been made for many centuries: the earliest known mention of it dates to 1277, but in all likelihood its origins are much...
, Bra
Bra (cheese)
The Italian cheese Bra originates from the town of Bra in Cuneo in the region of Piemonte.Production of Bra may take place all year, but it may only legally take place within the province of Cuneo, however, aging may also take place in Villafranca, in Turin...
, Raschera
Raschera
Raschera is an Italian pressed semi-fat, semi-hard cheese made with partly skimmed raw or pasteurised cow milk, to which a small amount of sheep's and/or goat's milk may be added. It has an ivory white color inside with irregularly spaced small eyes, and a semi-hard rind which is red gray...
, and Toma Piemontese), and for meat: beef
Beef
Beef is the culinary name for meat from bovines, especially domestic cattle. Beef can be harvested from cows, bulls, heifers or steers. It is one of the principal meats used in the cuisine of the Middle East , Australia, Argentina, Brazil, Europe and the United States, and is also important in...
from the Piedmontese cattle is seen as a premium product.
The herd in Piedmont numbers some 273,000 head of cattle.
Piedmontese beef
Piedmontese beef is meat from cattle having 1 or 2 copies of the inactive myostatinMyostatin
Myostatin is a secreted TGF beta protein family member that inhibits muscle differentiation and growth. Myostatin is produced primarily in skeletal muscle cells, circulates in the blood and acts on muscle tissue, by binding a cell-bound receptor called the activin type II receptor...
gene. This attribute provides a lower lean-to-fat ratio as well as a more marbled
Marbled meat
Marbled meat is meat, especially red meat, which contains various amounts of intramuscular fat, giving it an appearance similar to a marble pattern.- Selective breeding :Marbling can be influenced by selective breeding...
cut of red meat than from cattle having the "active" version of the gene. The active-myostatin gene acts as a "governor" on muscle growth; Myostatin is a protein that instructs muscles to stop growing. In effect, when inactive, as it is with Piedmontese cattle, it no longer prevents muscle development which is what allows for the condition sometimes referred to as "double muscling".
In the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
Piedmontese beef is regulated by the USDA, which requires that organizations involved in the sale of Piedmontese beef meet labeling and nutritional verification requirements.
Steaks from Piedmontese crosses contain less marbling and chemical fat (3.8 percent) than those from other breeds (eg., 4.1 percent for Charolais and Gelbvieh crosses; 5.6 percent for Hereford-Angus crosses) we have evaluated. Since fat contains about 225 calories per ounce and lean contains about 31.5 calories per ounce, beef from Piedmontese crosses … has relatively low caloric content. Caloric content of beef increases about 2.2 calories per one percent change in chemical fat or about 3.3 calories per degree of marbling. As fat content of beef increases, percentage of protein and water decreases. Thus, protein content is slightly greater in low fat beef with a low fat content.
—Dr. Larry Cundiff, Research Leader, USDA MARC Germplasm Evaluation
This low fat beef is also lower in calories, higher in protein and contains a higher percentage of the good Omega 3 Fatty Acids. The fullblood population is considered homozygous for this in-active myostatin gene.The beef from Piedmontese and Piedmontese-cross cattle is consistent for these qualities of leanness and tenderness because it is a genetic influence rather than an environmental effect.