The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #43692 Message #640975
Posted By: Dicho (Frank Staplin)
02-Feb-02 - 07:54 PM
Thread Name: BS: From Cornbread to Stew recipes
Subject: RE: BS: From Cornbread to Stew recipes
English vs American-Canadian terminology is different and can be confusing. (Some differences also between American and Canadian). When I buy ground beef at the store (Canadian), I find 3 grades- extra lean, lean and regular. The difference depends on the allowable fat amount in the meat and is defined by regulations. The limits are fairly broad, so we pick a store that consistently sells a leaner product (of course paying more). The extra lean is so lean that sometimes extra fat must be added. I presume that this is what you mean by minced steak.
The term mince is seldom used here, except for a "mince meat" sold in containers for use in pies, etc., that is mostly cooked spiced fruit with added fat. I had assumed that English mince was equivalent to the stuff used in MacDonalds' hamburger patties (do you still have Wimpy's in Europe or have they killed off all their patrons?) - No, I'm being facetious, I don't know how the term mince is used in the British Isles or Ireland or how hamburger is defined over there. When we first came to Canada, we had trouble with the Canadian meat cuts, but now I am familiar with them so they cause no trouble. I know nothing of English meat cuts, but some I saw in a butcher's over there seemed different to me.
Don't mention Holland! I watched a man unloading beef carcasses from a truck at a meat market- he unhooked the carcasses and tossed them out- Thunk! on the cobbles. There was one hotel with a large dining hall that served American-style steaks in Amsterdam and that was it- everything else was chopped up and cooked to death. All this is thread creep and another story or three.