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Veal is the meat of young male calves. The calves are slaughtered when they are 18 to 20 weeks old. To keep Veal light in colour, the amount of iron in the calves' diets is controlled. Most Veal is "milk-fed": they are fed a nutrient-rich milk (derived from milk by-products such as whey), which costs about 10 times more than grain, thus the higher price of Veal compared to beef.

Veal is not aged, except for what aging it undergoes during shipping, as there is not enough fat in it to protect the meat to allow aging much beyond that.

Provimi Veal is very expensive. The calves undergo a special rearing process of being fed milk, protein, vitamins and mineral supplements. The name Provimi comes from that: protein, vitamins, minerals.

Substitutes
Boneless pork chops pounded thin.

History
In dairy farming, new female calves were always welcome, as they would become milk producers. But the males were unneeded -- so Veal evolved.

The Roman food writer, Apicius, lists a recipe for fried Veal (Vitellina Fricta) in chapter 8 of his cookbook, "de re Coquinaria".

The Dutch developed milk-fed Veal.

Also called:

Other entries for: Veal

Escallop, Veal

Other entries for:

Meat
Affettati, Beef, Buffalo, Cap On / Cap Off, Game, Goat, Institutional Meat Purchase Specifications, Minced Meat, Offal, Paillards, Pork, Potted Meats, Poultry, Roasts, Sausages, Sheep, Steak, Venison, Yak