Difference Between Veal and Beef

Veal and beef differ greatly in terms of their colour, texture, taste and numerous other characteristics. It is important to study their properties individually to identify the differences. The article will help you distinguish between the two.

The different kinds of veal are bob veal which is the meat of a calf which is only 5 day old, milk-fed or formula-fed veal is from a calf which is around 20 weeks old. Both these varieties have a velvety appearance which is firm and have a cream colour. The other varieties include red veal or non-formula fed veal which is the meat from 26week old calf; at this point the meat becomes a bit dark in colour. Then comes the rose veal which is the meat from 35 week old calf; as the name implies its colour is rosy. Some of the calves are raised in the pastures and they give free raised veal which is from a 24 week calf. All this veal of different varieties has a very tender texture. It is very popularly used in the Italian and French cuisines.

Cows and bulls are used for beef. The meat is hard and red in colour. Different methods are used to make the beef more tender and give it a good flavour. Beef is also cut in different ways to be used in different dishes like roasts, short ribs and steak. It is one of the most common type of meat. Some of these cuts are also used to make smoked beef. Many other products are also made using beef. Meat balls and sausages are the popular products. Beef is not only the muscle, it includes the liver, viz, bowels, brain and pancreas as well. Some people are known to use the blood of the slaughtered animal in various foods. It is surveyed that beef makes up around 25 percent of the meat production around the world. It is said to be third in the list of the most consumed meat varieties. The animals are specially raised faster for slaughtering them for beef as it has such a high demand. Some of the breeds of beef cattle include: Hereford, Brahman and Angus.