Hi Renee! Yes! Calcium GOOD! From "Grassfed to Finish" by Allan Nation: "MARC discovered that tenderization was caused by the enzyme u-calpain, which degrades some muscle proteins. However, u-calpain requires calcium to be present to do this." High blood calcium levels improve effect of aging.
Of course, there's the worry about keeping the calcium/phosphorus ratio correct, and it beats me, the best way to do that. I am picking up a bag of Fertrell's Grazier's Choice today, a mineral supplement that appears to supply a good level of phosphorus. The best way is letting them get it from the grass! :o) But we're years away from being able to rely on our pasture to supply the necessary minerals. Working on it! Barb ----- Original Message ----- From: "Paul & Renee Bailey" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <blackbelly@lists.blackbellysheep.info> Sent: Friday, September 28, 2007 9:51 AM Subject: Re: [Blackbelly] Thoughts on "Finishing" Lambs > > Thank you, Barb, for sharing! I always enjoy reading your posts and > comparing your notes with mine. A clarification question, though. You > stated that calcium interfers with the toughening process. Do you mean > that higher calcuim equals more tender meat? I think that's what I > read but wanted to make sure. > > > Renee Bailey > Harrison, Idaho > >> From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] >> To: blackbelly@lists.blackbellysheep.info >> Date: Fri, 28 Sep 2007 09:28:33 -0700 >> Subject: [Blackbelly] Thoughts on "Finishing" Lambs >> >>> Still, there were a couple of interesting questions that we had to >>> wait >> to find the answers to while the lambs hung at the >> abbatoir...firstly, I >> have an article that says alfalfa can taint the flavor of the meat! >> The >> second was a lot more subtle. I have read that calcium in the meat >> interferes with the toughening process that sometimes happens after >> death. Alfalfa is famous for its high content of calcium. That is not >> the only thing that makes calcium virtually a "wonder" mineral, but >> we >> sure had a vested interest in the results of this harvest. >> >> > _________________________________________________________________ > Discover the new Windows Vista > http://search.msn.com/results.aspx?q=windows+vista&mkt=en-US&form=QBRE > _______________________________________________ > This message is from the Blackbelly mailing list > Visit the list's homepage at %http://www.blackbellysheep.info > > _______________________________________________ This message is from the Blackbelly mailing list Visit the list's homepage at %http://www.blackbellysheep.info
