Grain-fed vs. Grass-fed Beef? Kids Have No Clear Preference in OSU Taste Test
PORTLAND, Ore. â€" Children can tell the difference between grass- and grain-fed beef, but when it comes to preference, they're evenly split, according to taste tests that Oregon State University conducted at two grade schools in Portland.
(Media-Newswire.com) - PORTLAND, Ore. – Children can tell the difference between grass- and grain-fed beef, but when it comes to preference, they're evenly split, according to taste tests that Oregon State University conducted at two grade schools in Portland.
Portland Public Schools asked OSU to conduct the surveys as part of its effort to serve more locally produced food. The district had been considering serving hamburger patties made from local grass-fed cattle instead of the grain-fed beef that it now serves. The district doesn't know the origin of its supplier because it comes from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's entitlement program, which buys beef from all over the United States.
But before purchasing the costlier grass-fed beef, school officials needed to know if students would even like it and could detect a difference, said Gitta Grether-Sweeney, an assistant director for the school district's nutrition services department. So they consulted someone who understands taste buds: Ann Colonna, the manager of the Sensory and Consumer Program at OSU's Food Innovation Center. Located in northwest Portland, the research center helps develop, test and market edible products made from Northwest commodities.
This fall Colonna asked 96 students at the Clark at Binnsmead school in southeast Portland to taste three similar-looking hamburger patties and identify the one that was different. In some cases, two came from grass-fed beef and the third was from grain-fed cattle. In other instances, it was the other way around. Seventy-three of the students correctly identified the patty that was different.
With a difference detected, Colonna moved on to the next level: preference. So in November, she asked 91 students in third through fifth grades at Abernethy Elementary in southeast Portland to taste two hamburger patties made from the two types of beef served in the prior taste test.
The students were not told that one was made from grass-fed cattle and the other was from grain-fed herds. Sitting at tables in the cafeteria, each student received a quarter of a patty in a wheat bun served on a paper plate with either the number 372, denoting the grain-fed beef, or 681, the code for the grass-fed one.
After eyeballing, eating, smelling and sometimes even licking the patties, the students then turned to their paper ballots and circled the number of the patty they preferred. Forty-five students preferred the grass-fed while 46 liked the grain-fed best.
"For now, since there was not a strong preference for the grass-fed patty, and it is more expensive, we will not be able to afford to serve the grain-fed patty on a regular basis," Grether-Sweeney said.
The grain-fed beef the district serves costs $17.11 per case ( with 140 patties per case ) and the particular brand of grass-fed beef it tested costs $44.85 a case ( with 75 patties per case ), she said.
She added that Portland Public Schools would still dish up the grass-fed beef in all its cafeterias on Jan. 8 as part of its "Local Lunches" program financed by the Kaiser Permanente Community Fund and administered by Portland-based Ecotrust, which is fostering a regional food system in the Pacific Northwest. Under the program, once a month the district serves a meal made entirely of products from Oregon, Washington or northern California.
After the Abernethy students turned in their ballots, Cory Schreiber asked the students to describe why they liked the patties they chose. Schreiber manages a program called Farm to School for the Oregon Department of Agriculture that aims to put more locally produced food in schools.
"I liked 681 because it had a tiny bit of salt," a boy said.
Another girl said she preferred the grain-fed beef because "it tasted kind of like bacon and the other one was too salty and too dry."
As instructed, the students also wrote their opinions on the backs of their ballots. One student who liked the grass-fed patty wrote "it's like the burgers I eat at home."
Another student wrote, "I like 372 better than 681 because it tasted crunchier and had more flavor to it. #681 was saltier and very dry."
A girl who identified herself on her ballot as "critic of my family's food" wrote: "The burger that was [labeled] 372 had a nice texture to it very moist and tender. I could really taste the flavor of it. [It] wasn't too chewy like the other one. It was sort of crispy when I tasted the end of it."
Through an entitlement, Portland Public Schools gets the beef it serves in hamburgers from the USDA. The district then solicits bids from processors to grind up the meat, shape it into patties and cook and freeze them. The district, which Grether-Sweeney said serves 3.4 million lunches and 2.1 million breakfasts a year, buys its burgers from a processor in Cincinnati, Ohio. The grass-fed beef the students tasted in the surveys came from Portland-based SP Provisions, which processes a brand of beef called Cascade Natural Beef. It's made from Angus steers in Oregon and Washington that are raised on grass, but for the last four months of their lives are fed grain and corn to fatten them up, said Jim Register, the general manager of the company. In the taste tests, which were funded by the USDA, both types of patties were cooked in an oven. Because the grain-fed one is shipped pre-cooked, that meant it was actually cooked twice. The patties looked similar except that the grain-fed one was a little darker because of the double cooking. The patties contained 80 percent beef and 20 percent fat. The grain-fed patty contained hydrolyzed corn protein, dextrose, salt, flavorings, sodium phosphates and caramel color. Because the grass-fed one didn't contain any seasonings, Schreiber sprinkled salt on it for a more equal comparison with the salted grain-fed one.
Note to Editors: The following photos are available for use in the media:
• A student at Abernethy Elementary in Portland, Ore., writes on a ballot which beef patty he prefers during a taste test conducted by Oregon State University. The test compared grass- and grain-fed beef. Photo by Lynn Ketchum. http://extension.oregonstate.edu/news/images/BurgerTaste201_orig.jpg
• A student at Abernethy Elementary in Portland, Ore., examines a beef patty during a taste test conducted by Oregon State University. The test compared grass- and grain-fed beef. Photo by Lynn Ketchum. http://extension.oregonstate.edu/news/images/BurgerTaste204_orig.jpg
• A student at Abernethy Elementary in Portland, Ore., writes on a ballot which beef patty she prefers during a taste test conducted by Oregon State University. The test compared grass- and grain-fed beef. Photo by Lynn Ketchum. http://extension.oregonstate.edu/news/images/BurgerTaste229_orig.jpg
• A student at Abernethy Elementary in Portland, Ore., examines a beef patty during a taste test conducted by Oregon State University. The test compared grass- and grain-fed beef. Photo by Lynn Ketchum. http://extension.oregonstate.edu/news/images/BurgerTaste230_orig.jpg
About Oregon State University: OSU is one of only two U.S. universities designated a land-, sea-, space- and sun-grant institution. OSU is also Oregon’s only university designated in the Carnegie Foundation’s top tier for research institutions, garnering more than 60 percent of the total federal and private research funding in the Oregon University System. Its more than 19,700 students come from all 50 states and more than 80 countries. OSU programs touch every county within Oregon, and its faculty teach and conduct research on issues of national and global importance.
Related Content
Release Date
This story was released on 2008-12-19. Please make sure to visit the official company or organization web site to learn more about the original release date. See our disclaimer for additional information.