Buffalo Meat
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Buffalo meat is the meat of the
water buffalo The water buffalo (''Bubalus bubalis''), also called domestic water buffalo, Asian water buffalo and Asiatic water buffalo, is a large bovid originating in the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia. Today, it is also kept in Italy, the Balkans ...
, a large bovid, raised for its milk and meat in many countries including
India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
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, the
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and
Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...
. Buffalo meat is known by various names in different countries. In some places it is known as red beef, or buff in India and Nepal; in other countries, it is known as carabeef, a
portmanteau In linguistics, a blend—also known as a blend word, lexical blend, or portmanteau—is a word formed by combining the meanings, and parts of the sounds, of two or more words together.
of " carabao" and "beef", originally coined in
Philippine English Philippine English is a variety of English native to the Philippines, including those used by the media and the vast majority of educated Filipinos and English learners in the Philippines from adjacent Asian countries. English is taught ...
in the 1970s to distinguish the meat of water buffaloes. Meat taken from a buffalo younger than 20 months is known as padwa in India, pado in Nepal and bansgosh in Pakistan. Buffalo calves are often referred to as buffalo broilers and brought up exclusively on milk for the purpose of being slaughtered young for meat.Ross C (1975). Alternative Livestock: with particular response to the water buffalo (Bubalus bubalis).In: ''Meat''. 1st publication pp. 507 524.Bhat PN, Lakshmanan V (1998). The Buffalo meat Industry in India. An over view. In: Buffalo prod. health. 1st publication. ICAR pp. 185–214.Ross, 1975; Bhat and Lakshmanan, 1998


Social significance

Due to the religious importance of cows and restrictions on beef in India and Nepal (and some places in easter bhutan), there is a need to differentiate buffalo meat from beef. In countries like India, for religious reasons, a considerable part of the population does not eat
beef Beef is the culinary name for meat from cattle (''Bos taurus''). Beef can be prepared in various ways; Cut of beef, cuts are often used for steak, which can be cooked to varying degrees of doneness, while trimmings are often Ground beef, grou ...
(meat of
cattle Cattle (''Bos taurus'') are large, domesticated, bovid ungulates widely kept as livestock. They are prominent modern members of the subfamily Bovinae and the most widespread species of the genus '' Bos''. Mature female cattle are calle ...
). In a large number of the Indian states and in Nepal, slaughtering cattle is prohibited.


Differences from beef

Water buffalo The water buffalo (''Bubalus bubalis''), also called domestic water buffalo, Asian water buffalo and Asiatic water buffalo, is a large bovid originating in the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia. Today, it is also kept in Italy, the Balkans ...
are a type of bovid, but their meat is different from beef in many respects. Buffalo meat has a lower
fat In nutrition science, nutrition, biology, and chemistry, fat usually means any ester of fatty acids, or a mixture of such chemical compound, compounds, most commonly those that occur in living beings or in food. The term often refers specif ...
content, and its fat is milky white, compared to the yellow-white fat of beef. Buffalo meat is darker in color, and buffaloes, because of their larger size, have harder bones than cows. Buffalo meat has a lower muscle pH of 5.6±0.4 whereas beef muscle has a pH of 6.4±0.7. It also has a significantly smaller amount of
collagen Collagen () is the main structural protein in the extracellular matrix of the connective tissues of many animals. It is the most abundant protein in mammals, making up 25% to 35% of protein content. Amino acids are bound together to form a trip ...
in its muscles, but the species does not differ significantly in the degree of intramuscular collagen cross-linking.


Production

Buffalo have exceptional muscular development and thus they are considerably heavy, with some weighing more than a
tonne The tonne ( or ; symbol: t) is a unit of mass equal to 1,000  kilograms. It is a non-SI unit accepted for use with SI. It is also referred to as a metric ton in the United States to distinguish it from the non-metric units of the s ...
. The main agricultural use of buffalo is to obtain milk. India has the largest number of buffalo and is the largest producer of its milk, producing nearly 57 million tonnes of it annually. This accounts for 67% of global production. Slaughtering buffalo for meat is a secondary agricultural priority. Buffalo meat from young buffalo has a much better quality as they have a higher proportion of muscle and a lower proportion of fat as compared to other cattle meat. The highest quality buffalo meat is known as "padwa" in India, taken from a buffalo younger than 24 months. India accounts for about 43% of the world buffalo meat production, with
Uttar Pradesh Uttar Pradesh ( ; UP) is a States and union territories of India, state in North India, northern India. With over 241 million inhabitants, it is the List of states and union territories of India by population, most populated state in In ...
producing the most, followed by
Andhra Pradesh Andhra Pradesh (ISO 15919, ISO: , , AP) is a States and union territories of India, state on the East Coast of India, east coast of southern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, seventh-largest state and th ...
and
Maharashtra Maharashtra () is a state in the western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. It is bordered by the Arabian Sea to the west, the Indian states of Karnataka and Goa to the south, Telangana to th ...
. In the 21st century, buffalo meat production in India has been growing and has increased from 4.1 million tonnes CWE ( carcass weight equivalent) in 2014 to 4.3 million tonnes CWE in 2015. In India, during the calendar year 2014–2015, consumption estimates had been forecasted to rise from 3.1% and 3.5% to 2.1 and 2.175 million tonnes CWE respectively, according to the US Department of Agriculture.


Quality parameters of buffalo meat

For centuries buffalo have been used as
draught animal A working animal is an animal, usually domesticated, that is kept by humans and trained to perform tasks. Some are used for their physical strength (e.g. oxen and draft horses) or for transportation (e.g. riding horses and camels), while ot ...
s as they have good muscular development. Buffalo are generally fed on coarse feeds; they convert them into the protein-rich lean meat. Buffalo can be suitably grown in countries having poor feed resources. Thus, buffalo are generally raised using straw crop residues and they are very cheap to feed. Some can work until the age of 30. When buffalo are reared up to 24 months and fed with milk, their meat is of high quality. Buffalo meat is lean and rich in protein and less fatty than beef. This has created a high demand for buffalo meat among health-conscious consumers (Desmond, 1990). Buffalo may also be more resistant to disease than cattle. The nutrient requirements of buffalo steer constitute 1.8 kg TDN, 6.6 MCal ME, 0.24 kg DCP, 11 g P and 14 g Ca. On ad libitum and high concentrate (75:25) based rations the growth rate is 610 g/day (with feed efficiency of 7:1). The protein content of buffalo meat is higher than chicken, and due to this buffalo meat is also called "poor people’s protein".


Indian export

India is one of the world’s biggest exporters of buffalo meat. According to US Department of Agriculture, India leads over the next highest exporter Brazil. In 2015, India exported more than 2.4 million tonnes of buffalo meat and its allied products. Brazil exported 2 million tonnes and Australia 1.5 million tonnes. These two countries constitute 58.7% of all buffalo meat exports. India has 23.5% of global buffalo meat exports. In fiscal year 2014, the export share of India was 20%. According to data obtained from Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE), most of India’s export is to Asian countries, which import more than 80% while African countries import around 15%. Within Asia, Vietnam imports 45% of the buffalo meat exported from India. Buffalo meat exports from India have been growing at an average of approximately 14% yearly since 2011 and fetched more than $4.8 billion in 2014. Last year was the first time India has earned more from the export of buff than it did from
Basmati rice Basmati () is a variety of long, slender-grained aromatic rice which originates from the Indian subcontinent, mainly in the regions of Nepal, Punjab, Haryana, Sindh and many other states and provinces of India and Pakistan.Agricultural Outlook and United Nations Food, show there is increasing trend of meat consumption in India. However, the data also show that the consumption of buffalo meat has been falling over the years. It has come down by (-) 44.5% in 2014 from 2000. This fall in consumption has been taking place because of an increase in the price of buffalo meat and health consciousness. Consumption of chicken went up by 31% in that period, showing that white meat is taking precedence over red meat.


Gallery

File:Yam tin khwai.jpg, The Thai dish ''Yam tin khwai'' is a spicy and sour Northern Thai soup made with the hoof of a water buffalo


See also

* Beefalo * Buffalo burger * Sukuti


References


Further reading

*Kondaiah N (2002). Meat and by-products.In: Handbook of Animal Husbandry''.'' 3rd revised edition. pp. 950–975. New Delhi, India: DIPA, ICAR.


External links

{{Authority control Water buffalo Meat by animal Native American cuisine