As negotiations get underway at COP28, we compiled a list of the leading research documenting the connection between meat and greenhouse gas emissions.
I’ll admit I’ve never had a single steak that was more than $30 uncooked, I simply do not have the disposable income to justify spending $120 on a single meal, so I’m not really sure what I’m missing out on there.
From your explanation of meat, I think it’s clear you’re not a huge fan of meat in general or that you’ve often been stuck with bad cuts of meat.
I love meat in other contexts, but I’m not super into it on its own if it’s lightly seasoned. I have had steak from a local grass fed farm (Vermont), which, I have to imagine, was a very high quality piece of meat. I consider myself a fairly adept cook, and cooked the meat rare with salt and pepper and a healthy amount of fresh local butter. It was good, but… Overall, I found the complexity of flavor to be lacking, as I do with any lightly seasoned meat. For me, a regular old steak can’t compare with heavily seasoned and flavored meat like BBQ pulled pork. I think we definitely have different preferences in that regard.
I’ll admit I’ve never had a single steak that was more than $30 uncooked, I simply do not have the disposable income to justify spending $120 on a single meal, so I’m not really sure what I’m missing out on there.
Luxury food has a logarithmic value increase. A $120 steak is as much better than a $60 steak as a $60 is than a $30, and so on. Compare the best steak you’ve had (about $30?) to the worst steak you’ve had (about $15?). A $60 is that much better than the $30, so a diminishing return. A $120 steak is that much better than the $60. It’s incredible, but not something you would want to eat every day even if you were wealthy.
I love meat in other contexts, but I’m not super into it on its own if it’s lightly seasoned
That’s understandable. We cannot know how much is simply different tastes or how much is the quality you have never tried.
I have had steak from a local grass fed farm (Vermont), which, I have to imagine, was a very high quality piece of meat
I, too, am from New England. There’s a lot of gamey cattle around in the grass-fed world for some reason. I would wager what you had is better than some, still. Anything is better than frozen stuff that came out of a warehouse.
It was good, but… Overall, I found the complexity of flavor to be lacking, as I do with any lightly seasoned meat
Interesting. You talk about steak the way so many people I know talk about Scotch. An A-B test could perhaps be a world-changer to you. That said, steak flavor is a little simpler in general. Expensive steak is usually more about texture, the balance of umami, and what flavor profile the cut has shining enough that you can tell the cut on taste alone. A good filet mignon has this tendency to melt in your mouth just a bit, like a marshmallow. No fat, no veins, no inconsistency in its silky texture. A good prime rib could be tougher, because there’s that specific flavor you look for in the middle, and that specific marbling on the sides where you get these crunchy bacon-like ends sandwiched between paper-thin layers of fat, so thin as to not be off-putting to eat generously. The people I know who swear by Rib-Eye will drive 100 miles and pay $100 for the top tier rib-eye. I’m not a Rib-Eye guy, so as much as I enjoy it, I can’t speak for it quite so well.
For me, a regular old steak can’t compare with heavily seasoned and flavored meat like BBQ pulled pork
That’s understandable. And I can imagine BBQ Pulled Cauliflour (or whatever) is a closer match to BBQ Pulled Pork than any vegan dish is to the meat dishes I like. My favorite pulled pork is marinated lightly in wine, so you’re still tasting pork first, not some BBQ. We have a local meal in my area called cacoila, and it’s both amazing with the spices supplementing the meat… and dirt cheap.
I’ll admit I’ve never had a single steak that was more than $30 uncooked, I simply do not have the disposable income to justify spending $120 on a single meal, so I’m not really sure what I’m missing out on there.
I love meat in other contexts, but I’m not super into it on its own if it’s lightly seasoned. I have had steak from a local grass fed farm (Vermont), which, I have to imagine, was a very high quality piece of meat. I consider myself a fairly adept cook, and cooked the meat rare with salt and pepper and a healthy amount of fresh local butter. It was good, but… Overall, I found the complexity of flavor to be lacking, as I do with any lightly seasoned meat. For me, a regular old steak can’t compare with heavily seasoned and flavored meat like BBQ pulled pork. I think we definitely have different preferences in that regard.
Luxury food has a logarithmic value increase. A $120 steak is as much better than a $60 steak as a $60 is than a $30, and so on. Compare the best steak you’ve had (about $30?) to the worst steak you’ve had (about $15?). A $60 is that much better than the $30, so a diminishing return. A $120 steak is that much better than the $60. It’s incredible, but not something you would want to eat every day even if you were wealthy.
That’s understandable. We cannot know how much is simply different tastes or how much is the quality you have never tried.
I, too, am from New England. There’s a lot of gamey cattle around in the grass-fed world for some reason. I would wager what you had is better than some, still. Anything is better than frozen stuff that came out of a warehouse.
Interesting. You talk about steak the way so many people I know talk about Scotch. An A-B test could perhaps be a world-changer to you. That said, steak flavor is a little simpler in general. Expensive steak is usually more about texture, the balance of umami, and what flavor profile the cut has shining enough that you can tell the cut on taste alone. A good filet mignon has this tendency to melt in your mouth just a bit, like a marshmallow. No fat, no veins, no inconsistency in its silky texture. A good prime rib could be tougher, because there’s that specific flavor you look for in the middle, and that specific marbling on the sides where you get these crunchy bacon-like ends sandwiched between paper-thin layers of fat, so thin as to not be off-putting to eat generously. The people I know who swear by Rib-Eye will drive 100 miles and pay $100 for the top tier rib-eye. I’m not a Rib-Eye guy, so as much as I enjoy it, I can’t speak for it quite so well.
That’s understandable. And I can imagine BBQ Pulled Cauliflour (or whatever) is a closer match to BBQ Pulled Pork than any vegan dish is to the meat dishes I like. My favorite pulled pork is marinated lightly in wine, so you’re still tasting pork first, not some BBQ. We have a local meal in my area called cacoila, and it’s both amazing with the spices supplementing the meat… and dirt cheap.