Horse meat

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Raw horse fillet (from France)

Horse meat is the meat of the domestic horse . Today it is rarely used as food in Germany , and more frequently in parts of Austria and Switzerland . It is mainly sold in horse butcher shops, in Switzerland it is also available from the major distributors Coop and Migros . Some dishes in German cuisine are traditionally prepared with horse meat, for example the Rheinische Sauerbraten .

The slaughter parts and their uses

Schematic representation
A   fillet , is the least strained muscle and therefore the best piece of the horse (provides steak meat)
B   back , is very sheer, without bacon and tendon (delivers steak from the back)
C   Upper shell (delivers steak meat) with upper shell lid (delivers roulades) is tender, juicy meat
D   Seemer and Seemerrolle, supplies meat for braising (roast meat, roulades, goulash)
E  Front back , delivers steak meat (grilling, pan-fried, gratinated)
F   Prime rib , provides meat for braising (braised meat, goulash)
G   Breast , provides meat for braising (braised meat, goulash)
H   Bug (bow) , supplies meat for smoking and curing (horse ham, smoked meat)
I   abdominal flap
J   Front leg , is very stringy and provides meat for cooking (soup meat, boiled sausage)
K   hind leg meat
L   neck
M   head , delivers together with I , K , L processing meat (crackling sausage, cooked sausage, horse fat etc.)

  • Sauerbraten and other horse meat products in the shop of a German horse butcher's shop

  • Horse sausage in the shop of a German horse butcher's shop

  • Ground horse meat at a meat stand in a market hall in Tampere , Finland

Ingredients and consistency

Horse meat is red to dark red and has a firm consistency. Meat from young horses is light red and tastes only slightly different from beef. Only the meat of older horses has the characteristic dark color and the typical taste. The older the animal, the more tender its meat. The taste of horse meat is somewhat sweet, which is attributed to the high glycogen content .

Horse meat is high in iron and very low in fat. 100 grams contain on average:

preparation

Horse meat is usually prepared like beef , even if the cooking times are usually shorter, as horse meat is generally more tender. Because of its low fat content, it tends to dry out.

history

Berliners dismantle a horse (May 1945)

Horse meat is one of the oldest foods known to man. Bone finds near Solutré in France , but also cave paintings such as in Lascaux indicate that the horse was probably a popular prey of the Ice Age hunters. Animal bones from the Botai culture in Kazakhstan show that horses were consumed almost exclusively. Even after its domestication and use as a riding, draft and pack animal, the horse did not lose its importance as a meat supplier. Many of the ancient peoples, including the Persians, Greeks and Romans, ate horse meat, and ritual ceremonies were also often known, e.g. B. the Equus October . Celts and Teutons also developed sacrificial cults around the horse. It is also assumed that the crossed horse heads on many gables of farmhouses in Lower Saxony go back to the custom of attaching the heads of sacrificed horses to the houses. Also the image of the talking horse's head in the fairy tale of the goose princess “O du Falada, since you hang” is interpreted by some as a reminder of this rite. All great equestrian peoples such as the Huns , Mongols and Indians ate horse meat. Horse meat consumption was also widespread in China . The Indian Rig Veda describes the sacrifice and preparation of a horse (RV 1,162).

The occidental horse meat ban

Pope Gregory III issued a ban on eating horse meat in 732:

"Inter ea agrestem caballum aliquantos adiunxisti comedere, plerosque et domesticum. Hoc nequaquam fieri deinceps sanctissime sinas frater, sed, quibus potueris Christo iuvante modis, per omnia conpesce et dignam eis interdicto paenitentiam. Inmundum enim est atque exsecrabile. "

“Among other things, you mentioned that some ate wild horses and even more ate tame horses. Under no circumstances, holiest brother, must you allow such a thing to ever happen. Rather, with the help of Christ, intervene in every possible way and impose on them the penance they deserve. Because doing this is impure and despicable. "

- Letter from Pope Gregory III. to Boniface

Experts disagree on the motivation behind the ban: For some, it was primarily directed against the cult practices of the pagan Germanic tribes , whose Christianization was currently in progress. Others claim that there was a shortage of war horses and that the Pope simply did not want the valuable war material to end up in the saucepan. Pope Gregory's ban was confirmed by his successor, Zacharias . Boniface carried it into the country. In the Christianization of Iceland the islanders by the Catholic Church of the participation was expressly approved by horse meat; Life on the northern volcanic island was too meager to be allowed to withdraw these meat suppliers from the Icelandic kitchen .

Reintroduction

Despite the papal prohibition, the Middle Ages were not free from the consumption of horse meat. Some documents testify that the meat of wild horses in Westphalia was eaten by the local monks. The skinner who killed old horses often sold their meat to the poor on the street. Virtually all wars were marked by severe famine, and horse meat then became a competitive luxury.

In the 19th century, in the era of rationalism , the horse meat ban was questioned louder and louder. Prominent opponents of the ban, such as the French military veterinarian Emile Decroix , organized show banquets with horse meat in order to convince people to eat horse meat. He was concerned on the one hand with the poor sections of the population who could not afford meat and lived on the verge of malnutrition, and on the other hand with the carriage horses in the big cities that were tortured to the last breath. If the owners were able to sell their old horses to the butcher, the animals would be redeemed in good time and a cheap, high-quality source of food would be created for the working masses. However, it did not become a food of the same rank as other types of meat. Around 1825 a German natural history book says: "It shouldn't taste bad, and in case of need it has often been enjoyed in Europe."

Despite the massive protests of the traditional butchers on the one hand and the wealthy riding class on the other, the ban finally fell and the first horse slaughterhouses opened their doors. Similar movements took place all over Europe. However, the culture of enjoying horse meat initially only established itself in the French-speaking countries. In France , horse meat consumption peaked in the 1950s and 60s. Since then it has been falling steadily and is now barely more than 2% of total meat consumption. In France, horse meat is still offered on the meat shelves of practically all supermarkets. Horse butchering is common on the Channel coast.

In Vienna some horse butchers have a long tradition to this day. The “ Dürre ” (sausage) and especially the horse liver cheese are particularly popular.

Production and consumption

Horse butcher shop on Munich's Viktualienmarkt

Horse meat is consumed in many countries around the world, but to varying degrees. In many Romanic countries horse meat is a more common food, in the Germanic countries, however, only a little. With an annual per capita consumption of 900 grams, Italy is ahead of other traditional horse meat countries such as Belgium and France. Germany and Portugal have the lowest consumption (50 grams per year).

Germany

Over 6600 horses were slaughtered in Germany in 2018.

Switzerland

This cultural barrier can also be found within Switzerland: Horse meat has been eaten in French-speaking Switzerland for a long time, but only recently in significant quantities in German-speaking Switzerland. Mostbröckli is a traditional horse meat dish in Eastern Switzerland .

United States

In the United States, the “Stop the Horseslaughter” movement has banned the consumption of horse meat in some states, such as California . However, killing the horses to make animal feed and glue is still allowed. More radical groups also want to take action against the export of slaughtered animals to Europe, since the USA is the world's largest exporter of horse meat with around 50,000 tons annually.

religion

Jewish dietary laws

The Jewish dietary laws prohibit according to Lev 11.3  EU consumption of horse meat as horse neither to the ruminants are still cloven-hoofed animals are.

Islam

In Islam , the consumption of horse meat is according to the teaching of the Shafi'i , Hanbali and Maliki not prohibited, but rather that of donkey meat. In Al-Bukhari, this permission is traced back to an instruction given by Muhammad during the conquest of Khaibar : "The Messenger of God has forbidden us to eat donkey meat in Khaibar, but horse meat is allowed." The Hanafis restrict the consumption of horse meat to this effect that the horse should be useful to people in jihad . In Hanafi doctrine, the consumption of horse meat is cited in the legal category of "reprehensible acts" ( makrūh ), but such acts are closer to what is permitted ( makrūh tanzīhī ) than to what is forbidden ( makrūh taḥrīmī ). According to the Alevi belief, the consumption of horse meat is forbidden.
In Indonesia, on the island of Sulawesi in the Jeneponto province, horse meat consumption is widespread. The population is mainly Islamic. A popular dish is "Coto Kuda", a soup made with horse meat, vegetables, peanuts and spices.

criticism

A horse butcher's shop in Pezenas in the Languedoc

Horse meat is a controversial food. It used to be under the papal spell and was decried as "poor people's food", today it is mainly emotional reservations that make many people reject horse meat.

False declaration as beef

In February 2013, horse meat was found in alleged beef products in several European countries .

Animal welfare problem with American producers

The Tierschutzbund Zürich (TSB), in collaboration with other animal welfare organizations, has taken a critical look at horse meat imports into Switzerland. Film recordings from the USA , Canada , Argentina and Mexico apparently show how horses are beaten with sticks and bitten by dogs while being loaded, how sick animals suffer and die if left untreated, how horses are transported to the slaughterhouse for more than a day without water, food or rest breaks are improperly anesthetized there. Observations in 2018 and 2019 showed no improvement in conditions. In Switzerland only a small amount of horse meat is produced at 411 tonnes per year (2011). Around 5,000 tons are imported each year, most of them from Canada, Mexico and Argentina.

Non-slaughter horses

Horses that have been treated with certain medication are no longer allowed to be slaughtered, which is noted in the so-called equine passport. However, many horse owners still want slaughter for economic reasons. It also happened that her horse was illegally resold to a butcher after being sold. Official veterinarians were often unable to detect a forgery of an equine passport.

literature

Web links

Wiktionary: Horse meat  - explanations of meanings, word origins, synonyms, translations
Commons : Horse meat  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ German Society for Nutrition e. V .: The myth of horse meat . Dge.de. Retrieved June 8, 2010.
  2. ↑ Hans-Joachim Rose: Kitchen Bible - Encyclopedia of Culinary Studies . Tre Torri, Wiesbaden 2007, ISBN 978-3-937963-41-9
  3. ↑ Michael Witzel; Toshifumi Gotō: Rig-Veda. The sacred knowledge. First and second circle of songs. Verlag der Weltreligionen, Frankfurt 2007, ISBN 978-3-458-70001-2 , p. 726. "The somewhat more specific mention of the horse sacrifice is important as a testimony to animal sacrifice in ancient times."
  4. ↑ Bonifatii: epistula 28
  5. ↑ Marvin Harris : Taste and Reluctance . Klett-Cotta, Stuttgart 2005, ISBN 3-608-94412-5
  6. ↑ Dr. Strack: Natural history in pictures , I. Delivery of mammals . Arnz & Comp., Verlag der lithographischen Anstalt, Düsseldorf approx. 1820–1826
  7. ↑ Federal Statistical Office: ante-mortem and meat inspection. P. 5 , accessed on February 4, 2020 (1.1 Slaughtered animals examined - total number of animals accepted for slaughter or emergency slaughtered).
  8. ↑ al-Buchārī: aṣ-Ṣaḥīh: Kitāb aḏ-ḏabāʾiḥ wa-ṣ-ṣaid; bāb 27: luḫūm al-ḫail ; see also: al-mausūʿa al-fiqhīya. 5th edition. Kuwait 2005. Volume 5, pp. 138-139; AJ Wensinck and JH Kramers: Concise Dictionary of Islam. Brill, Leiden 1941. p. 709
  9. ↑ al-mausūʿa al-fiqhīya. 5th edition. Kuwait 2005. Volume 5, p. 139
  10. ↑ Johann Kresmárik: Contributions to illuminate the Islamic criminal law, with regard to theory and practice in Turkey In: Journal of the German Oriental Society (ZDMG), Volume 58 (1904), pp 85-86; al-mausūʿa al-fiqhīya. 5th edition. Kuwait 2005. Volume 5, pp. 138-139
  11. ↑ a b c Markus Hofmann: Cruelty to animals in horse meat production. In: nzz.ch . February 20, 2013, accessed October 7, 2019 .
  12. ↑ Stop for horse meat imports from torture production in North and South America. In: tierschutzbund-zuerich.ch. October 4, 2019, accessed October 7, 2019 .
  13. ↑ faznaturundwissenschaft: horse meat, a risk food: the background to the outrage. February 13, 2013, accessed on February 4, 2020 (German).
  14. ^ NDR: Horse scandal: animals illegally slaughtered. Retrieved February 4, 2020 .