SIR, – John Elliot certainly stirred up a hornet’s nest with his comments on North American beef.

I have been following the letters' page with interest and most of the contributors have been making valid points. But the comment about lack of uniformity hit the nail.

One of my neighbours here and his son are major buyers for big feedlots in Alberta and in the US. He is pretty well versed in the cattle business and I see him in the local coffee shop most mornings and quiz him a bit.

He tells me that the packers and also, naturally, the feeders are no longer interested in double or triple muscling as this restricts marbling. Out of favour are cattle which are too obviously pure Belgian Blues, Limousin, Gelbvieh, Charolais and even Hereford if they show white shoulder tops, although most white faces are acceptable and any shade of black.

They favour cattle with a decent sized rumen as this gives better marbling. I have frequently hinted to him that stopping the use of implants would open the European market to our cattle, but his reply always is that Europe would find some other trade barrier.

But the proof of the steak is in the eating and I agree with John that, on the whole, North American steaks are more to my taste. Since emigrating from Scotland, I have noticed that when I ask a waiter or waitress in Canada how long the beef has been aged, they generally can tell you – in most restaurants in Scotland, you would get a blank stare.

The problem in Canada with traditional ageing is that the sheer volume of cattle throughput of probably 3500 cattle per day at each slaughter/packing plant makes carcase hanging almost logistically impossible, as well as uneconomical. Plus there's the hygiene problems it would create.

Vacuum sealing locks the bugs out and all the juices in, just as the outer fat layer did.

Mind you, after saying all that, when our family were all staying at the North-west Castle, in Stranraer, in July, for our Golden wedding, I had one of the best steaks I have ever tasted.

Here in Canada there are still some processers, including Cargill, which are ageing some beef by hanging, but it is a very expensive and limited market. We can still get carcase hung cattle at smaller butchers and get your steak cut whatever size you want.

At the age I am now, they tend to be smaller, but when we were in St Lucia five years ago I did eat a 32-ouncer for a challenge and as we were leaving the restuarant, Andy Fergusson asked me: “Do you want me to phone for a taxi or an ambulance?”

David Caldwell

Manitoba,

Canada.