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MAIN CUTS OF BOVINE MEAT

" THE CERTIFICATE OF IDENTITY " OF THE MEAT
The certificate represents the guarantee of the Consortium and must be exposed to the attention of the consumer on the counter of 5R butcher shops . " The Certificate "constitutes a real and own identity card" of the bovine because it has the indication of the breed, the breeder's name, the number of identification of the animal, its category (old calf, beef, cow, bull) the slaughtering date, the authorized slaughter house, the weight of the "mezzene", and the Consortium inspector signature.
Once the quality is guaranteed , the origin from those specific breedings and the organization of the meat delivery, the Consortium control activity finishes, in order to leave space to the commercial dealing directly managed by the butcher and the producer without some participation of the consortium structure (not having the sake of gain it does not carry out some business activity).

MARCHIGIANA BREED
Covered from a short hair, smooth and white, with grey shadings on the shoulders, the forearm and the "occhiature", the Marches bovine is identified for its pigmented skin, the powerful but light head, the short neck, gibbous in the males, with a reduced dewlap and the harmonic development of the several somatic regions.
The history of the Marchigiana breed, as we know it today, begins at about the half of XIX  century when the Marches breeders interbred the native bovine (derived from " the large corna Bovine " arrived in Italy in the VI century d.C.) with chianini bulls in order to obtain a breed with greater attitude to work and the production of meat.
The effect of this interbreed was an obvious transformation of the bovine: better muscular development, a clearer hair, shorter corna and lighter head. After a further interbreed with the Romagna breed at the beginning of  the XX century, in order to lower the height and to render the breed fitted to field work, the Marchigiana assumed the current characters. Optimal manufacturer of meat, either in terms of yield at the slaughter house or the quality of the meats (lightly rosy and with fine grain), the Marchigiana is today raised in all central Italy, with tips of dissemination in Campania, Sicily and abroad (above all Canada USA and Latin America). The optimal ability to adaptation makes it an ideal bovine for the pasture in difficult lands, and therefore a vehicle of recovery and economic valorization of the so-called " marginal lands ".

Blue baking	Rare baking	Medium baking	Well done meat

TENDERNESS, COLOR AND TASTE
 - the tenderness as consistency to the mastication is determined from the genetic element and the relationship between the age of the animal and the maturation of the meats. In genetic terms the Italian breeds produce a lean meat that remains tender if the animal follows a controlled growing and is slaughtered in the right period of development, because a slackened growing leads to an excessive increase of the connecting with consequent hardening of the meat, while the accelerated growing leads to accumulate fat in the muscular fibers.
- The age of the animal, the feeding, the conditions of slaughtering and the hanging process affect on the color of the meat,. The bovine must be slaughtered in the right period of maturation and the meats are to be hung in adequate places and periods. If an animal is lately slaughtered (after the 18-20 months) the coloration of the meat will assume a darker tonality.
- the taste (savoury) is given from the combination of the generic and alimentary factors : in fact the natural products ( hay and cereals ) with which the 5R bovines are nourished induce the development of the biochemical components determining the taste of the meat.

THE SECRETS OF THE FRESH MEAT
Generally, the bovine meat is divided in two great categories: red and white.
For red meat we consider the adult animals one: old calf, beef, cow and bull.
For white meat the year-old calf one, whose feeding is based exclusively on the milk.
The old calf possesses the most delicious meat , fortifying and nourishing. The best meat of the old calf is identified from the intense red color, from its grain, consisting, at the same time hard and elastic to the touch, from small threads of fat (white or lightly whitish) that  furrow the muscular mass and from the outer thickness of the fat, of white or clear yellow color , that covers the surface of the back and the loins. These are qualities deriving from the breed of the animal and the alimentary regimen during the period of the fattening.
The cow meat has the grain finer than the old calf one and a less intense color; if it comes from a fattened animal "on purpose " and of medium age, the quality is equal to the old calf one, also from the nourishing point of view.
The young bull meat is similar to the cow one.The old bull has an inferior quality meat, of a tawny color. Until few decades ago these  were elements easy found as the cattle generally was used like " agricultural machine "and slaughtered in advanced age.
The distinction of the categories is certified, today, for animals of the 5R Consortium with the appropriate voice indicated in " the identity certificate ".
As general rule a good piece of fresh meat is identifiable, from the color and the consistency, as well as from the cut. The cut of the slaughtered meats must be executed perpendicular to their fibers, the slices must be extended till the maximum possible and thickness, unless for particular pieces, must be regular.

TO DEEP FREEZE NOT TO DEEP FREEZE
It is suitable to cut the meat in pieces ( according to the dimensions previewed for the consumption), better in flat shape portions (because the inside penetration of the cold is faster) and, however, never advanced to the 3 kilograms.
It is advisable to deep freeze the big parts (shoulders, legs, etc.) already cut into ready slices for the baking.
Once prepared, the pieces are arranged in plastic bags or aluminum sheets with the shrewdness to reduce the empty spaces and the air amount.
Any variety of meat can be deep frozen: it must be preferred, anyway, the good quality and hung to the right point because the deep freezing interrupts any process of " maturation ".
It is then necessary to have the shrewdness that once unfrozen, the meat cannot endure a new process of deep freezing.

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