Terroir and Beef
I wanted to tell you about a fantastic blind steak tasting event I attended recently. It was the first Food Bloggers Playdate in New York. Mark Tafoya and Jennifer Iannolo put out the call to fantastic and fanatical food bloggers to convene for a tasting party.
We were lucky enough to have the guidance of Carrie Oliver of Oliver Ranch, who provided the steaks along with a fascinating presentation about how, similar to wine, the terroir and variety of the cattle will alter the flavor and texture.

Where it is raised, what it is fed, the conditions it’s kept in are all important. Oliver Ranch hand-selects artisan ranchers who produce delicious, signature styles of beef. What an amazing and surprising night. One of the best parts was that so many of us chose different favorites. There was no consensus on the best steak, just the steak we liked best. Fantastic. The impetus for the event was having Jaden of Steamy Kitchen in town from Florida. Most of us knew each other from Twitter, but it was time to meet in person.

Anu Karwa from Swirl Events brought along some terrific wines to pair with the beef and I got to meet the lovely Betty Fussell, author of Raising Steaks: The Life and Times of American Beef. Betty also wrote The History of Corn. If you're interested in learning more about the types of beef you may be missing out on, try the following links.
The impact of Region
The impact of Breed
The impact of Ranchers
This video is a slow pan of the table as we listen to Carrie describe what we'll be tasting. Terroir for beef! FTW


This was just the first of many more Food Blogger Play dates. What should we taste next?