# Are Jersey the Only cow with yellow fat ?



## Le Petit Norman (Apr 28, 2008)

I have been looking for a while here and there but I am still unable to find out the answer allby myself.

I know that Jersey produce yellow fat .... and awesome meat ... But when I was a kid growing up in Normandie ( you can spell it Normandy if you want) in France, I was in a small rural area, my grand parents who used to take care of me most of the saturday and after school used to feed me for saturday lunch a steack and frites (Ok french frys). I went shopping with them and can tell you they they got their meat from a local butcher who was doing the taking care of the animal from the moment he bought them in the pasture until he handled you the package of meat over his counter... No the trick is that in the area where I grew up Jerseys cows were not on display, Normande cows eating in lush green pasture yes but Jerseys I can tell you for sure no as all the milk was used to make two cheese and those cheeses have to be done with normande cows milk. 

So is Normande cow giving yellowish fat too ?

By the way I am half done with my highlander steer meat I bought last spring .... I am starting to think about the next one ...


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## Prickle (May 9, 2009)

By fat do you mean the butter?

My understanding is that grass fed cows make yellower butter because of the beta carotene in the greens. Grain fed cows make butter that is paler.


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## tinknal (May 21, 2004)

Gurnsey meat also has yellow fat. I'm guessing that just because of proximity that Jerseys, Gurnseys, and Normandies probably have some common ancestors. Normandy is on the English Channel, and Jersey and Gurnsey are both Channel islands.


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## FEF (Jan 30, 2007)

Le Petit Norman said:


> I have been looking for a while here and there but I am still unable to find out the answer allby myself.
> 
> I know that Jersey produce yellow fat .... and awesome meat ... But when I was a kid growing up in Normandie ( you can spell it Normandy if you want) in France, I was in a small rural area, my grand parents who used to take care of me most of the saturday and after school used to feed me for saturday lunch a steack and frites (Ok french frys). I went shopping with them and can tell you they they got their meat from a local butcher who was doing the taking care of the animal from the moment he bought them in the pasture until he handled you the package of meat over his counter... No the trick is that in the area where I grew up Jerseys cows were not on display, Normande cows eating in lush green pasture yes but Jerseys I can tell you for sure no as all the milk was used to make two cheese and those cheeses have to be done with normande cows milk.
> 
> ...



From what I've read, yellow fat is caused more by diet than by breed. 

"_Cuts of beef and lamb which display white fat are preferred over cuts which display yellow fat. Yellow fat may indicate that the cut was derived from an older animal and therefore may be less tender. Occasionally, yellow fat results when young beef animals are grazed on pasture and fed little or no grain."_
http://www.extension.umn.edu/distribution/nutrition/DJ1944.html

_"This is a problem due to public perception that beef fat should be white; it is not a true quality issue. The yellow color simply indicates a higher level of beta-carotene (precursor to vitamin A) in the fat of animals finished on forage. "Yellow fat on poultry and beef, extremely orange egg yolks and naturally yellow butter reflect high levels of chlorophyll in the diet and low levels of saturated fat." (Salatin, 1995) A direct marketer who educates customers about yellow fat might turn it into an asset indicating a natural, nutritious food. In any case, the consensus among producers seems to be that if animals are slaughtered within the 18-month age range, fat will not appear yellow."_http://attra.ncat.org/attra-pub/beefmark.html


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## Jay (Feb 5, 2008)

The yellow internal fat is caused by high beta carotenes (similar to carrots--good for you), Jersey being the highest producer of beta carotenes. Guernsey is second.


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