Keto gravy

(Karla Sykes) #1

Tonight I am making keto gravy with xanophyill gum. It is used as a thickener in food and I got it at Walmart for $5.36. I see many of these at the health food store for 15 bucks. Walmart is becoming a growing trend for carrying some of the keto products like cauliflower rice or cauliflower mashed potatoes. I also have a lot of keto friendly products like cheap vegetables their 80/20 ground beef is $2.99 a pound. But their meat is from Cargill and it’s not the best company to buy your meat from based on what I’m told

#2

My local WM has Xantham gum for about that same price. It also has Monkfruit and several other sugar substitutes, but not Swerve, which is my preference for that rare occasion.

(Karla Sykes) #3

My local Walmart have swerve for $7.88. It is amazing how cheap their products are compared to like health food stores

(Tyler) #4
(Karla Sykes) #5

Wow

(Ken) #6

Typically, whenever a retailer chooses to use the term “Angus Beef” it means they intend to sell the product at premium prices. There is no inherent difference in quality from Angus compared to any other beef. It’s really more of a preference in production, as Angus throw smaller calves, reducing calf mortality and improving production. In effect, marketing hype when it comes to meat quality.

#7

The gravy looks yummy!

Could you please post a photo of the nutrition label for the xanophyill gum? I want to see if it’s the same as my xanthan gum from a nutritional standpoint. I couldn’t find anything online about it.

Thanks!

#8

Angus beef includes a wide range of quality but CAB as a group and CAb prime have a different amount of fat than your average (and I repeat—average—) choice cuts. Still. Wide variability exists among similar gradings of Holstein cattle

(Karla Sykes) #9

Yes as soon as I get home I’ll take a picture of it

(Ken) #10

To my knowledge, there is no specific grading system for.Angus. the grading system applies to all beef cattle, angus being no different than any other, with quality determined by Grade. So Angus is not a quality term, only a marketing one. The only difference in breeds have to do with traditional dairy breeds like Holsteins, which have a.different skeletal structure and can therefore bring lower prices on the hoof. Of course the Packers will still get whatever the meat grades out to.

#11

CAB has specific requirements for maturing, size, age and appearance to be CAB. CAB can nonetheless (and in some parts of the country) also graded , almost always choice or prime. While the grading system (select-prime) apples to all cattle, only predominantly black cattle with the 10 grading selection criteria https://www.certifiedangusbeef.com/brand/specs.php are requirements for CAB. CAB is in addition to the primary grades and to say that it is simply a marketing term is incorrect. That said, you can’t argue that they have marketed the crap out of it.

(Ken) #12

Ah, that’s essentially a marketing website. The question is Certified by who? When they say Angus influenced that means about all beef cattle. As always, it’s the USDA grading system that really provides the quality determination. Anything other than that is just hype to try to get you to pay more money.

If you’re paying making more because of a CAB or similar designation their marketing strategy is working.

#13

I realize you have convinced yourself that CAB is purely marketing, but just in case anyone else isn’t all in on that idea here goes. You didn’t care for CAB association links so I will stick with USDA links for references.

The answer to “certified by who” is here :
The certifers are here: https://www.ams.usda.gov/services/auditing/certified-beef-programs/g1 that is to say USDA inspectors who are AMS graders.

The requirements are here https://www.ams.usda.gov/sites/default/files/media/G1CertifiedAngusBeef.pdf including . Phenotypic or genotypic requirements of the American Angus Association’s (AAA) Live
Animal Specification;
b. Classed as Steer or Heifer carcasses only1
;
c. U.S. Prime or Choice and have a minimum marbling score of Modest 01
;
d. Less than 30 months of age with lean color, texture, and firmness, meeting the requirements for
A maturity in the U.S. grade it qualifies for1
;
e. Medium or fine marbling texture1, 2
;
f. Ribeye Area (REA) of 10.0 to 16.0 square inches 3
;
g. Hot Carcass Weight (HCW) of 1,050 pounds or less 4
;
h. Fat Thickness (FT) less than 1.0 inch5
;
i. Moderately thick or thicker muscling and tend to be at least moderately wide and thick in
relation to their length6
;
j. No hump exceeding 2 inches in height 7
;
k. Practically free (not detracting from visual quality) of capillary rupture in the ribeye muscle;
and
l. Free of “dark cutting” characteristics

The live animal requirements are here: https://www.ams.usda.gov/sites/default/files/media/AAALiveAnimalSpecification.pdf
This last set of requirements defines the monitoring and assessment requirements for CAB with options of Continuous USDA supervision, Ante-mortem lot inspection, and
Program monitoring. The details of Quality Assessment personnel are left to the reader.

SO suffice it to say that I do not agree with your broad (unsupported) statements that CAB is just marketing hype.

Perhaps you are much more familiar with the cattle industry than I had assumed and maybe you think I have this wrong but I am thinking you have reached a conclusion without enough review.

(Ken) #14

I have read all your links. What I see is a very elaborate procedure designed to create a uniform process to produce a consistent product. Said product will then be marketed.to command higher prices from the consumer, based on the consumers perception of higher quality. I certainly do not disagree with the producers attempts to command higher prices. And yes, my mothers side of the family are or were beef producers, and yes I live in a farming community and know many farmers. Things like this are daily topics of discussion around my community. Kind’a like San Franciscans having discussions on how to avoid stepping in poop.

Apples to Apples, given meat being graded the same and leaving the grass fed issue for another discussion, the quality is identical. Charging more for CAB is merely marketing

Feel free to buy and eat what you want, but when you become an advocate for something you should expect your assertions to be challenged. And no, I have no idea if you have a connection to the CAB product, or if its only the flavor of Kool-Aid you’ve decided to drink.

#15

Well you have assumed I even buy CAB. I buy prime beef almost exclusively now. I can tell you from a great deal of experience that CAB briskets, ribeyes and NY strips look better to me (a reasonably trained eye) than the comparable choice products. There are CAB products that grade as prime but I cannot say there is any difference there. I know parts of the country that don’ raise those black heifers poo-poo CAB and you are free to believe it is all hype. I don’t know how much beef you have bought but I am going to be shocked if you have looked through 10% of the briskets I have cooked, much less looked at carefully. You really seem to think I am advocating for CAB. I just want to point out that factually there are legitimate criteria for the product and it is not all some marketing hype which you seem to believe. I haven’t made any claims that it was worth extra money. You seem to think it is worth zero more. I know for a fact that I would pay a little more. If I still bought choice.

(Ken) #16

Angus is a popular breed for beef where I live. You do see others, but Angus is popular because of fewer problems calving than other breeds. In my small town, we have two stores that sell meat. One is a Supercenter with a nationwide presence, the other is from s smaller Statewide chain known for purchasing meat produced within our State. The smaller chain sells better meat. It’s because they only sell Choice Grade. If they tried to use breed as a determinant of quality they’d get laughed at, too many retired farmers in the Community. The big store sells Select grade meats at the same or higher prices than the other store. It also sells grass fed and other type meats like you might find in other areas accros the Country. The smaller store sells more meat because it offers a higher quality product due to Grade. I usually wait until the big store discounts their product. It’s not bad, just not worth full price.