Veal

In the United States, veal is meat from immature animals of the bovine species. The minimum age for slaughter is 3 weeks and the maximum about 3 months. The best meat comes from animals 4 to 8 weeks of age and may be of either sex. Veal has been a luxury ever since the Sumerians first began taming the wild cattle wandering the plains of Mesopotamia, who ate the animals young whenever they could be spared from their prime purposes for milk and as draft animals. The Romans were quick to take up the enjoyment of eating the tender meat of young animals and were already enjoying suckling pig and young lamb. To protect the dwindling breeding stock from the excesses of the Roman table, 3rd-century emperor Alexander Severus forbade the slaughter of calves. During the Middle Ages, veal made its way into blancmange, which literally means "to eat white." Although it's known as a sweet preparation today, it was originally savory, a veal stew made white with almond milk. A faint evolutionary line can be drawn to blanquette de veau, a stew of veal with cream.

The French have always loved veal. King François I was said to have demanded veal daily. Its popularity was likely due to the influence of Italian cooking. introduced by Catherine de' Medici when she married King Henry II. One particular cut of veal, the "scallop", has a curious military history. It's said to have originated in Spain and was introduced to Milan when the city was part of the Spanish Empire in the 16th century. The scallop is the emblem of Spain's patron saint, St. James, carried by the troops of Charles V. When Milan was later occupied by Austrian soldiers under Marshal Radetsky, he introduced the scaloppine to the Viennese imperial kitchens of Emperor Franz Josef, where it became the famed Wiener schnitzel.

In the U.S., veal farmers take bull calves from the herd when they are 100 to 120 pounds (45 to 55 kg) and raise them for 18 to 20 weeks until they are about 300 pounds (136 kg). They feed the calves a diet based on milk or soy-based formulas, which produces the firm, pale pink flesh for which veal is best known. Provimi, a shortening of "protein, vitamins and minerals", is another name for milk-fed veal.

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