[quote]Malevolence wrote:
I think the Jury is still out on this one. I have heard compelling arguments on both sides of the fence. Raw Foodists believe that our bodies weren’t designed to handle basically anything that was prepared, and they seem to get along just fine, although, I have not heard of any raw foodists becoming fecking large? and also, I’ve never actually known one personally to really say.
Typically, I prefer a bloody steak to a cooked steak and I will go as rare as I can(I think the french call it blue after a certain point) that is from a taste/texture point of view though, not a nutritional point of view.
I have heard(mostly from the intarweb) that we absorb animal proteins a lot better when they aren’t cooked and that the cholesterol affects us less. Additionally, the vitamin content remains optimal and easily absorbed.
Which sounds all well and good.
But I have also heard the exact opposite(from nutrition science texts and qualified nutritionists), and that we essentially need to cook meats to get the most out of them, despite having the ability to eat them basically raw.
Naturally, it’s easier to want to trust the latter source since it is the more ‘official’ of the two, but at the same time. Science isn’t always ‘right’, and sometimes what’s good for you changes a lot as new studies are conducted.
Nutrition science is a relatively new field, and while we do know a lot about the human body, there is still a lot more to know. Especially when we’re giving it all manners of things to digest that our ancestors couldn’t even fathom.
So, I think the current literature says you don’t really gain anything from eating raw meats except an increased chance of viruses and bacteria. Personally, I think that raw meats taste better and I seek them out when possible.
Although, Raw ground meat is a no-no from just about every source I’ve heard. Ground meats are usually of a much lower quality than cut meats and even worse, they are ground and mixed up so it’s harder to kill the bacterium that might be harmful.
With a steak, all you really have to do is singe the outsides because that’s where the bacteria is, then the inside can be basically completely raw. You can’t do that with ground meats, so you’re taking a bigger risk when you eat them raw.
Hope some of that helped.
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the term “blue” as applied to a very rare steak has died out because there’s so much iron in today’s beef to make it red.
ground is a great way to eat raw meat. steak tar-tar is one of my favorite meals.
it’s should be noted that there’s nothing inherently wrong with ground meat if you know that it’s fresh. the best way to do this is to grind it yourself of course. the next best is to have a butcher whom you trust do it for you, and consume it shortly after. ground meat simply has greater surface area,like all of it, exposed to potential bacterial growth. whereas a whole steak it’s only the outside you need to cook off.
any good restaurant that’s making tar-tar will likely be grinding a steak to order. but you should check.