convert into chemicals called terpenes,
relatives of the aroma compounds in many
herbs and spices (p. 273). Another important
contributor to grass-fed flavor is skatole,
which on its own smells like manure! The
deep “beefy” flavor of beef, however, is more
prominent in grain-fed animals. And the
flavor carried in fat gets stronger as animals
get older, as more of the flavor compounds
are put into storage. This is why lamb is
generally more popular than mutton from
mature sheep.
Meat Pigments Are a Good Source of
Iron
One of meat’s nutritional strong points is
that the body absorbs its iron more
efficiently than it does iron from vegetable
sources. The reason for this is not well
understood, but it’s possible that the
pigment proteins hold onto iron and
prevent it from being bound up with