They get some frequent billing on this here blog....our great friends the Yoders. It's because we spend lots of time with that wonderful family. We spend alot of time hanging out at our houses and considering they are 8 houses down, it's a nice quick trip for either family. It's usually low key and casual and that's just like we like it!!
Our kids and their kids play beautifully...most of the time (Lilly can get a little bossy with Courtney and we're working on that); most everytime we get together, the 4 bigger kids run off to play for hours and hours and the adults are able to enjoy an evening without alot of refereeing and intervention. Then there's sweet baby Charlie who just smiles, eats and sleeps so all in all, it's a great match. We're also in cahoots with them on a little project that's underway - it's a secret for now, you'll just have to wait and see. Joe and Brian have good fun together as do Katie and I. We have quite alot in common -- we all love to cook and eat so most every plan we make involves a meal and well.....meat!!
Brian is the grill master...he's got every outdoor cooking mechanism imaginable...gas, charcoal, smoker, turkey fryer.....and on many occasions, there have been multiple ones in use on the same night.
So recently Brian and Katie watched Food Inc....and learned alot about cows and chickens and how they are raised and fed before well, you know....they eventually end up in the case at Publix. We'll skip the details there....I think you know.
Last Saturday we got together for a Meat Taste Test...chicken and beef....the details of each were kept top secret so a fair assessment could be made. We rated each on texture and flavor and compared our results. The results were fairly consistent across the board and the verdict is in....
Chicken - Organic, free range versus Mass Produced
The differences were very subtle but they were there for sure, most especially in texture....for free range, there was more of an "organic" feel to it...a difference in textures in the bites we took. The flavor difference wasn't as distinctive but when we considered the amount of chicken "flavoring" that's likely injected into the mass produced, we wondered how much that accounted for the CHICKEN taste. We also wondered how much we are now accustomed to the taste and texture of mass produced.....scary really. We're used to eating highly processed chicken.
Chicken Verdict -- organic had superior texture...not necessarily enough for the increase in price but considering the overall health factors for us and our children.....if money not a consideration....Organic, free range chicken ruled the roost (pun intended)
Beef - Grass Fed versus Dry Aged Grass Fed versus Mass Produced
The differences here were more obvious and much easier to distinguish than the chicken. The cuts were the same but thickness and marbling were different so this muddied the waters a bit. A definite "richness" varied in flavor and texture too.
Beef verdict - hands down grass fed won out over mass produced. For Katie and I, that's where the differences stopped. For Joe and Brian, they could tell a big difference in dry aged versus just grass fed. (Preference being Dry Aged) Not surprising....both Joe and Brian are quite the carnivores and clearly have a more sophisticated pallet than us girls. Price is a HUGE factor with the beef.....and adding the dry aged element raised the price even more of course. A little sad to say b/c we are Publix people and typically enjoy their meat selection but by far, Whole Foods won out in the beef contest.
If you are still awake and reading, the bottom line....you get what you pay for with chicken and beef and the moral of the story -- grass fed, farm raised, mass produced, chicken flavor injections...it's all so much better and more fun when shared and compared with really great friends!!!
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