We shouldn't be scared of veal

Promoting veal is important to us here at Field & Flower, as proper free-range veal production helps support the British dairy industry. Male dairy calves that aren’t reared in traditional farming systems are often transported to continental veal farms, or even destroyed if they’re considered unsuitable for beef production. As with all meat, it’s very important to ensure you know exactly where your veal is coming from and how it’s been produced.

Here’s what you need to know about veal…

What turns people off?
Veal has developed something of a bad reputation over the past twenty years. This is due to poor farming practices and low standards of animal welfare. These practices include the use of veal crates, which thankfully have been banned in the UK since the 1990s. Veal crates were designed to restrict the animals’ movement, meaning that some calves weren’t even able to turn around.

What is the difference between white veal and rose veal?
White veal comes from calves aged eight months or under who are fed a low-iron, milk-based diet. This diet is designed to keep their flesh pale in colour, an attribute considered desirable in some areas. The lack of roughage and iron in this unnatural diet can lead to health issues like anaemia.

Rose veal comes from calves aged between eight and twelve months old. High welfare rose veal calves, like ours, live outdoors and are suckled by their mothers. They then enjoy a natural diet of grass and forage.

Where should you source veal from?
It’s important to choose your veal carefully, as rose veal is produced to much higher standards of animal welfare than white veal. All of our RSPCA-accredited British rose veal comes from grass fed cows, born and reared on West Country farms.

How do you cook veal?
Veal is more mild in taste than beef, with more delicate flavours. It’s also lower in saturated fat than beef. If you haven’t tried veal before, we would recommend starting with veal chops. This is a fairy thick cut which comes bone-in for extra flavour. Fry them in a griddle pan with a little butter for around 15 minutes, or until they’re crisp and golden. Another popular cut of veal is Osso Bucco. The name Osso Bucco is Italian and translated literally means ‘bone with a hole’ playing reference to the marrow hole that is at the top centre of these shank cuts. The trick with Osso Bucco is to cook it low and slow in plenty of herbs and seasoning.