Yellow fat

I was looking was looking up on local grass fed meat producers for when I'll be living independently (read: on a salary) from next month when I came across some articles mentioning yellow fat, which turns out to indicate that the animal was raised on grass and not grain. Even more importantly:

..cattle that is fed cereals and corn (either for their entire life or just during the final months) will have pearly white fat.

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http://www.thekitchenhotline.com/2010/07/why-the-yellow-color-in-beef-fat/

Not surprisingly in the slightest, it also turns out that abattoirs actually penalize farmers' good and healthy, Omega-rich products.

Then there is the issue of white “feedlot fat” versus yellow “natural grass-fed fat”, which grass-fed beef producers prefer to call “creamy”. Frikkie Maré from the University of the Free State’s Department of Agricultural Economics explains: “Meat with ‘yellow’ fat – some 157 000t of the 600 000t of South Africa’s annual beef production – is penalised by R1/kg at the abattoir.”

Dr Lorinda Frylinck of the Agricultural Research Council’s meat science research team explains that yellow fat was thought to indicate that an animal was older, and therefore its meat tougher. “But our research shows that the yellow fat found in young animals as a result of diet and environment is not an indication of toughness. Therefore producers should not be penalised.”

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http://www.farmersweekly.co.za/article.aspx?id=6681&h=The-battle-for-natural-grass-fed-beef

Of course, according to this nebulous (because no names or origins seem to be mentioned) "team of meat professionals with experience in the industry for more then 35 years now":

Although not a meat quality problem, one undesirable effect of allowing animals to graze is yellow fat on the carcass.
Grass contains high levels of beta-carotene, which can be stored in fat giving the fat a yellow color.
Consumers often perceive meat with yellow fat as having come from an old or diseased animal.
An undesirable "grassy" flavor may result from compounds found in forage.
Consumption of wild onions and garlic can also give an undesirable meat flavor.
For these reasons, animals should not be allowed to forage for several weeks before slaughter.
Instead, they should be fed a grain diet.

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http://www.meat-us.com/quality.php?page=6

Even less surprising, and hardly worth commenting on here, though I thought I should add it for the sake awareness of the "plausible" lie(s) being promulgated throughout the industry.

I looked up beta-carotene though and found this interesting quote from Wikipedia after finding out that it is used to produce Vitamin A (retinal)

The carotenes alpha-carotene, beta-carotene, gamma-carotene; and the xanthophyll beta-cryptoxanthin (all of which contain beta-ionone rings), but no other carotenoids, function as vitamin A in herbivores and omnivore animals, which possess the enzyme required to convert these compounds to retinal. In general, carnivores are poor converters of ionine-containing carotenoids, and pure carnivores such as cats and ferrets lack beta-carotene 15,15'-monooxygenase and cannot convert any carotenoids to retinal (resulting in none of the carotenoids being forms of vitamin A for these species).

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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vitamin_A

In light of this C's comment, though it's likely not the first time this hit has been confirmed

A: ... Carnivores do not eat other carnivores because it is not optimal energy source.

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http://cassiopaea.org/forum/index.php/topic,23860.0.html

Bottom line: If the fat on your meat is white, that animal was slaughtered on a grain-fed diet.

Moderator note: Yellow fat applies primarily to grass-fed beef

Re: Yellow fat: Nature's grass-fed indicator.

darksai said:

Bottom line: If the fat on your meat is white, that animal was slaughtered on a grain-fed diet.

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I noticed this with chickens, the organic ones have yellow fat.

Re: Yellow fat: Nature's grass-fed indicator.

Psyche said:

darksai said:

Bottom line: If the fat on your meat is white, that animal was slaughtered on a grain-fed diet.

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I noticed this with chickens, the organic ones have yellow fat.

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What about pigs? All the leaf lard I have used is from pastured pigs and it's been white and the lard is as well.

Re: Yellow fat: Nature's grass-fed indicator.

My butcher swears he raises his veal 100% organic and they also have white fat, and a lot of it too. So I dunno.

Re: Yellow fat: Nature's grass-fed indicator.

The yellow fat theory seems questionable to me. Not is there white fat with lard (pigs fat) as has been said, but also suet (beef fat) as well.

Re: Yellow fat: Nature's grass-fed indicator.

truth seeker said:

The yellow fat theory seems questionable to me. Not is there white fat with lard (pigs fat) as has been said, but also suet (beef fat) as well.

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I also think the color may differ per breed? For example, the beef fat I sometimes get and that comes from the Jersey cow (grassfed) has a yellow color.

Re: Yellow fat: Nature's grass-fed indicator.

truth seeker said:

The yellow fat theory seems questionable to me. Not is there white fat with lard (pigs fat) as has been said, but also suet (beef fat) as well.

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Me too. All the grass fed fat I've had has been more white than yellow. Not unless every supplier I've dealt with is lying. Lard does look more yellow when melted but it still looks more white when solid.

Re: Yellow fat: Nature's grass-fed indicator.

never seen yellow fat in a grassfed cow, it's always been white...

Re: Yellow fat: Nature's grass-fed indicator.

Well, we had pigs and as a kid I watched the whole process. From killing, removing hair from the skin, hanging and removing all that is inside the pig, and I can tell you that fat was always white. Our pigs were eating everything, vegetables, rotten fruits, non-GMO corn, grass...

Psyche is right when it comes to chickens, their fat is yellow. I was looking at and cleaning a lot of dead chickens when my mom was on a killing spree.

Re: Yellow fat: Nature's grass-fed indicator.

FWIW, I have found a BIG difference in the quality of fat content of broth from bones and feet from cattle of different locations, which I suspect are due to some being raised mainly in pasture and some being raised with grains or something worse, although I do not know what other factors might be involved.

When I buy cattle bones and feet in the city where I live - which is a giant metropolis and, therefore, I assume has to rely on industrial farming - the fat from the broth is white and pasty, and does not taste very good. Specifically, its texture is kind of slimy. I tried about five or six different shops and the results were similar, although there was one that was not all that bad and one in particular that resulted in the worst broth so far. Most of these broths had a residue that stayed above the fat when refrigerated and were specially "icky".

When I buy cattle bones and feet in a small town near the city where my parents live, which I have been informed came from cattle raised locally on pastures (which does not mean that it was never fed grains), the fat from the broth is really yellow and firm while in the fridge and completely liquid when heated. The broth itself is much more dense and it actually sparkles under light, which seems to be all the minerals in there. I shopped there twice and the results were equally good. These broths had no residue above the fat when refrigerated.

Here is a picture of the good broth just after being sieved into the jar:

Re: Yellow fat: Nature's grass-fed indicator.

grini said:

Well, we had pigs and as a kid I watched the whole process. From killing, removing hair from the skin, hanging and removing all that is inside the pig, and I can tell you that fat was always white. Our pigs were eating everything, vegetables, rotten fruits, non-GMO corn, grass...

Psyche is right when it comes to chickens, their fat is yellow. I was looking at and cleaning a lot of dead chickens when my mom was on a killing spree.

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I was repeatedly told that the worst looking chickens are the best ones, and yellowish. The chickens of the farmer have always yellow fat.

Sometimes a color that is perceived as 'white' could be spotted different from another 'white' with a more yellow hue only comparing them close together. Maybe it could be that imperceptible at first sight? Or perhaps the main difference comes with the consistency of the meat, concerning pigs and cows.

I really don't know what an healthy pig would better eat here. Many would say to give 'em a lot of wild acorns and chestnuts, while the wild boar in addiction of that eats also tubers, bulbs, larvae, worms and small vertebrates.

Re: Yellow fat: Nature's grass-fed indicator.

I get tallow from Wellness Meats and it is supposed to be grassfed and it is a light yellow color.

Re: Yellow fat: Nature's grass-fed indicator.

When I've ordered from US Wellness before, the tallow was always mostly white and sometimes with a slight yellow shade to it. However, one order I got one that was considerably yellow, like how a dandelion would be. The supplier said it is because it has more Vitamin A and beta carotene, like darksai said.

And I found it to taste better than the white or sort-of-yellow tallow. The smell is much more rich as well. Maybe only cow fat does this because they eat mostly grass?

Re: Yellow fat: Nature's grass-fed indicator.

FWIW, from who I get it (fat/meat), which supposedly is grassfed beef, the color is quite bright yellow the majority of the times. And not only tallow is like that, also the fat that is around the steak and the marrow itself.

When sometimes, it's not the same color, it is like the lard, kinda brownish pale.

Only seen it white color, in a few steaks, but in the tallow never.

Also a lot of these meats dates are from last year, don't know if it affects the color.

Re: Yellow fat: Nature's grass-fed indicator.

Today I happen to get some grass fed beef from the local farmer who raises the cattle and sells the meat. she also buys cattle from other farmers and sells the meats. Last time, she mentioned that she can see the difference in color of the meat and fat content between grass fed and grain fed.

I asked her about this today. According to her, More marble color (whiter) the fat it is, it is more grain fed. She is also saying more grass fed, less fat in the meat and more reddish the meat is. Though there could be a factor of breed, she still thinks that more yellowish , more grass fed. This is for beef.

I didn't ask her about the pigs, as she always maintained that pigs does need little bit grain, which she feeds organic grain. so, I won't buy pork from her. There is another local farmer here maintained that pigs can't be raised with out limited amount grain.
I get pork from the US wellness meat , it does give whitish or little brownish lard . when I got beef tallow from US wellness meats, that was little yellowish.