The derivatives of the cow are those products prepared or processed products which are taken from the cow milk, meat and skin. The first two are essential for human nutrition, while the third is important for the production of a wide variety of accessories for personal use as well as for home, industry and commerce.
The contributions of nutrients to the body are highlighted: protein, calcium, vitamins and minerals; the aid in the prevention of diseases and the multiple uses that the products that can be made with leather provide, both used and preferred.
Almost nothing is wasted from the cow, in most of the world except India. There it is a sacred animal, considered a symbol of fertility and motherhood; They are protected by law and no one can harass, mistreat them, much less kill them.
The most outstanding cow derivatives
1- milk
It is a natural and complete food, which is extracted by milking from the mammary glands, udders, of domesticated mammals. The product belonging to the cow is called milk. When it is from another mammal, it is required to add the name of the species, for example: goat's milk, sheep's milk or buffalo's milk.
Cow's milk is the most consumed in the world and factors such as diet, race and season of the year, among others, make the milk's constitution vary. It has water, proteins, lipids, carbohydrates, mineral salts (sodium, potassium, calcium, iron, magnesium, phosphorus, chlorides and citric acid).
Also, it has a high content of water-soluble vitamins (C, B1, B2, B6, B12, niacin, pantothenic acid, folic acid, biotin, choline and inositol), fat-soluble vitamins (A, E, D and K) and enzymes (lactenin, lactoperoxidase, catalase, reductase, lipase, phosphatase, protease, amylase, and lysozyme).
Due to its composition and its PH (degree of acidity, which is between 6.5 and 6.7), milk is an excellent medium for microbial development: bacteria, molds and yeasts. This originates a series of chemical modifications that allow alterative processes and useful processes (elaboration of other products such as cheese and yogurt).
Milk is a highly perishable product and a transmitter of infectious bacteria for the human body. Therefore, after milking, the milk is subjected to a heat pasteurization treatment (purification at high temperatures without altering the composition and qualities of the liquid), which can be low (62 ° C for 30 minutes) or high (72 ° C during 15 minutes).
A wide variety of milks are available on the market: natural and whole milk (UHT), evaporated (subjected, in the same container that is delivered to the consumer, to heat treatment that destroys germs), lactose-free milk, milk condensed milk cream and powdered milk, among others.
There is also a rich variety of dairy derivatives such as cheese, yogurt and butter.
Yogurt is a coagulated (thickened) milk product that is obtained from fermentation by the action of the microorganisms Lactobacillus bulgaricus and Streptococcus thermophilus. There are natural or fruity flavors.
The fresh or mature cheese, solid or semi-solid, is obtained by separating the whey after coagulation from natural milk, or from matters obtained from milk, by the action of rennet or other appropriate coagulants.
Butter, made exclusively from fully purified cow's milk or cream, is healthier than margarines or other spreads. When made with milk from grass-fed cows, it is rich in conjugated linoleic acid (CLA), which helps fight cancer and diabetes.
2- Meat
Beef is a fundamental product in the diet for animal consumption and is the basis of a good diet. However, experts recommend eating the sufficient amount required by the body.
This is because doing it in very high amounts could be harmful. The ways of cooking are wide: it can be roasted, fried, braised, sweated and baked.
Among the cuts, to mention a few are the following: the fillet or T-Bone, which is made up of loin and fillet, separated by a T-shaped bone; Thin loin, which belongs to the center, is more expensive and has a rich flavor. The tail of the rump, the favorite of the Californian barbecue, and the churrasco or sirloin, which has a lot of flavor, juices and texture.
In the ribs is the ancho bife, a soft meat, with a lot of fat, which makes it very tender and delicious; the wide steak with bone, shaped like a shoulder and very juicy; and the strip roast, elongated with abundant fat, with intermediate bones.
The skirt, cut known as flank steak or sobrebarriga, has a lot of flavor and comes from the diaphragm, from where the lean-cut vacuum steak, with intense flavor, is also derived.
The buttock, low in fat, which is on the upper part of the hind leg and the chest, somewhat hard, located at the back of the front leg.
3- Leather and other uses
Once cleaned and processed, the skin of the cow has multiple uses. It is used in the manufacture of accessories that complement daily clothing such as bags, purses, briefcases, shoes and jackets.
Products are also manufactured for home decoration and comfort, such as chairs, sofas, bed backs, rugs and curtains.
The sebum or fat is used to make soap, the hair from the tail to make brushes, the intestines for the string of tennis rackets, the cartilage and bones to extract the collagen with which gelatin is produced, the horns to make buttons and organic waste to make fertilizers.
References
- Food Microbiology: Analytical method for food and drinks By Rosario Maria Pascual Anderson, Vicente Calderón and Easter.
- Kitchen By Hermann Grüner, Reinhold Metz processes.
- The productive and commercial globalization of milk and its derivatives By Luis Arturo García Hernández.
- Nutrition for educators By José Mataix Verdú.
- Habits of consumption and demand of products meat in Spain. Samir Mili, Mario Mahlau, Heinrich P. Furitsch.
- Harris, Marvin-cows, pigs, wars and witches.
- Cuts of meats of beef: a guide for the lovers of the meat by Greyza Baptista, September 10, 2010.