type; these include the French Charolais and
Limousin, and the Italian Chianina, which is
probably the largest breed in the world (4,000-
pound bulls, double the size of the English
breeds).
American Beef The United States developed a
uniform national style when federal grading
standards for beef were introduced in 1927
(see box, p. 136), with the highest “Prime”
grade reserved for young, fine-textured meat
with abundant marbling. Purebred Angus and
Hereford beef were the model for three
decades. The shift in consumer preference to
lower-fat meat brought revisions of the USDA
grades to allow leaner meat to qualify for the
Prime and Choice grades (see box below).
Nowadays, U.S. beef comes mainly from
steers (males castrated as calves) and heifers
(females that have never calved) between 15
and 24 months old, and fed on grain for the
last four to eight months. Recent years have