Piedmontese (cattle)

The Piedmontese (razza bovina Piemontese) is a breed of cattle from the region of Piedmont, in north-west Italy. The calves are born fawn in colour, turning grey-white as they mature.

The breed developed through natural selection followed by the normal processes of domestication and, particularly from the late nineteenth century when the characteristic postpartum hypertrophic muscle growth (‘double muscling’) first appeared, through selective breeding. The first herd-book was opened in 1877.

The cattle are raised both for their milk, which is used for a number of the region’s traditional cheeses (Castelmagno, Bra, Raschera, and Toma Piemontese), and for meat: beef from the Piedmontese cattle is seen as a premium product.

The herd in Piedmont numbers some 273,000 head of cattle.

Piedmontese beef
Piedmontese beef is meat from cattle having 1 or 2 copies of the inactive myostatin gene. This attribute provides a lower lean-to-fat ratio as well as a more marbled cut of red meat than from cattle having the "active" version of the gene. The active-myostatin gene acts as a "governor" on muscle growth; Myostatin is a protein that instructs muscles to stop growing. In effect, when inactive, as it is with Piedmontese cattle, it no longer prevents muscle development which is what allows for the condition sometimes referred to as "double muscling".

Piedmontese beef is regulated by the USDA, which requires that organizations involved in the sale of Piedmontese beef meet labeling and nutritional verification requirements. Steaks from Piedmontese crosses contain less marbling and chemical fat (3.8 percent) than those from other breeds (eg., 4.1 percent for Charolais and Gelbvieh crosses; 5.6 percent for Hereford-Angus crosses) we have evaluated. Since fat contains about 225 calories per ounce and lean contains about 31.5 calories per ounce, beef from Piedmontese crosses … has relatively low caloric content. Caloric content of beef increases about 2.2 calories per one percent change in chemical fat or about 3.3 calories per degree of marbling. As fat content of beef increases, percentage of protein and water decreases. Thus, protein content is slightly greater in low fat beef with a low fat content. —Dr. Larry Cundiff, Research Leader, USDA MARC Germplasm Evaluation

This low fat beef is also lower in calories, higher in protein and contains a higher percentage of the good Omega 3 Fatty Acids. The fullblood population is considered homozygous for this in-active myostatin gene.The beef from Piedmontese and Piedmontese-cross cattle is consistent for these qualities of leanness and tenderness because it is a genetic influence rather than an environmental effect.