MOBeef Update

It has been a sizzling summer at the checkoff-funded Culinary Center. Among its recent efforts, the culinary team set the cook timings for several of the new chuck cuts; completed photo shoots and developed recipes for those cuts and others, and began initial testing on the round. For the checkoff’s retail program, the Culinary Center managed the photo shoot for the “Easy Fresh Cooking” program, garnering 14 photos to match recipes developed earlier in the year. Formerly “Beef Made Easy,” the Easy Fresh Cooking is a program used by retailers, placing recipes and photos on beef labels. The recipes are very consumer friendly and can be made in 30 minutes or less. These photos are used by folks in the food sales industry in addition to many media placements.

In addition, the Culinary Center is close to completing the third edition of “Creating Crave,” a publication targeting chefs and food professionals with information about “Umami” and flavors that pair well with beef. This edition also includes checkoff-funded research from the chemistry of flavor study. This booklet is used mainly to help train chefs and other food professionals about beef’s flavor profile and some of the “best” flavor pairings with beef.