Proper Cooking Improves Consumer Satisfaction
Matching the right cut of beef with the proper cooking method has a direct effect on the quality of the eating experience.
“Today’s consumer can be overwhelmed by the choices in their supermarket meat case. For example, our research shows that one-third of shoppers do not recognized the term simmering steak,” says Caroline Dewar, home economist and Consumer Promotions Manager for the Beef Information Centre. “If a consumer purchased a simmering steak, such as cross rib or blade steak, and tried to grill or pan-fry it, the results would be disappointing.”
So Dewar, along with the team of food professionals at the Beef Information Centre, has developed a new resource to help Canadians better understand the cooking methods for various cuts of beef. The Basics of Beef booklet is a handy, free reference with information guaranteed to help consumers produce tender, juicy steaks and roasts. The Basics of Beef categorizes beef cuts into groups based on cooking methods, such as grilling, marinating, simmering, roasting, and stewing.
“We’ve encouraged retailers to include the cooking method into the name of the beef cut,” says Dewar. “ Names such as ‘grilling steak’, ‘simmering steak’ and ‘marinating steak’, now appear right on the label, giving consumers a clue to how they should be preparing that steak.” These cooking qualifiers on the package label do not replace the traditional cut names such as inside round steak and short rib roast.
However, if a consumer doesn’t know how to “simmer” a steak, cooking instructions are important. Dewar and her team believe that The Basics of Beef, with its easy step-by-step instructions, recipes and food safety tips is the ideal resource.
“At this time of year, coming home to the hearty aroma of an economical cross rib steak simmering in the slow cooker is an experience I would love everyone to enjoy,” says Dewar. “Our new booklet is a quick way to get up to speed fast.”
