EMU MEAT ON THE MENU

Emu meat

Checking out diverse and eccentric flavours seems to be the hottest mantra among the young, upwardly mobile food connoisseurs of metropolitan India. People are now seen increasingly preferring experimentation with their food & beverage options, and are seeking out new restaurants, which are offering something truly different. Emu meat is one such excit ing option in metropolitan India's food & beverage scenario that can attract great popularity among the nonvegetarian diners.

Here it deserves a mention that Australian emus are the second largest member of the rat ite group of flightless birds, which include ostrich, rhea, cassowary and kiwi. Emus are native to Australia and were originally imported to the United States as breeding stock for the US zoos.

Emu meat is an unconventional meat which food buffs in India would crave for. The USP of the product is that it is a fat free and cholesterol free red meat with added nutrit ional value and within affordable price range. According to American Emu Association (AEA), emu is a deep red coloured meat with no marbling. It has 5.5 pH value. As it is a lean meat, there will be almost no shrinkage involved during cooking.

The Meat for the Heart

Emu meat is a brilliant choice for India's health conscious consumers who are likely to love the taste of this meat. It can be considered as a replacement for most beef and other red meat dishes. This red meat is similar in taste and texture to lean meat, but incredibly lower in cholesterol, fat and calories. The meat is extremely low in fat, containing only 3 gm fat per 100 gm of serving. The emu meat is 98 percent fat free. Emu meat, on an average, has 8.4 gms of proteins, 4.7 gms of fat, 8.5 mcg of vitamin B 12, and 2.5 percent saturated fats. It has cholesterol of only 87 mg. No wonder, emu meat presents a potent healthy combination.

Moreover, the fat is 43 percent monounsaturated, which results in lower levels of'bad' LDL cholesterol content in human bodies. At the same time, Emu meat has high content in iron and protein. Besides, emu meat contains more vitamin C as compared to other red meats along with four times less calories as compared to beef.

It is not surprising that of late, athletes and bodybuilders have begun to have emu meat, as it does not overload the body with fats and cholesterol and contains measurably more protein per serving than beef and poultry. By enjoying emu meat, these sportspersons can reduce their fat and cholesterol intakes significantly. The American Heart Association (AHA) has recommended it as a heart-healthy choice of alternative meat.

Besides the health benefits, emu has taste benefits too. Tender, juicy and delicious, emu meat is ideally suited to a wide variety of cooking styles. It involves shorter cooking times and lower temperatures, and is best around the country.

Emu Means Business

Emu farming in India is also gaining popularity among the business honchos, as it has the potential to garner good profit . Now, the re are about 900 emu farms across the nation; a rapid escalation from a single emu farm in 1996. In this regard, the market ing strategies adopted by India's Emu Farming Association deserve credit. Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra leads the game in emu farming.

Besides emu meat, another reason behind the growth in emu farms is the bird's oil, Which is believed to have built-in medicinal values. The fact that emu can live in any climate has also perhaps contributed to the growth of emu farming in India.

Emu oil is has started gaining immense market value for its exceptional therapeutic and healing aspects. It especially helps to cure joint and muscle pains and even help erase wrinkles and fine lines. Pure emu oil can be used internally for its healing Omega 3, 6, and 9 benefits. Similarly, externally the oil can alleviate skin rashes. It is believed that emu oil can effect ively address arthritis, eczema, acne, stretch marks, hair loss, headaches, bruises, and burns too.

Emu has great market value and business potential, which goes much beyond its meat and oil. Here it deserves a mention that the emu feathers, eggs and toenails are being used to make creative jewellery and are also used to craft backgrounds for fine artistic paintings. From an end user's stand point, the emu embodies a natural resource with great utilitarian value.

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Emu Lands in the  Indian Capital

In the recent past, TallBird EMU Farms introduced emu meat for the capital's food connoisseurs. The launch was held over cocktails and a wide gamut of emu delicacies was cooked live by some of the eel ebrated Chefs of the country. The venue of the event was at Cibo, Hotel Janpath, New Delhi.

Displaying his enthusiasm at the launch, Vinay Sharma, Founder & CEO, TallBird Farms, said, "We have envisaged similar events for Gujarat & Kolkata in the coming days. TallBird EMU Farms is a leading player in the country with a proposed pipeline of rearing of over 10,000 emu birds. Owing to the premium category of our emu meats, our plans are to introduce emu meat at premium restaurants at the initial stage, and then percolate it down to the common consumer, in a phased manner."

"As it is a red meat which is 98 percent fat free, the guests would have another healthy option as far as red meat is concerned," explained Chef Nishant Choubey, the Executive Chef at Cibo, Hotel Janpath.

By Tapapriya Lahiri in "Hammer Food & Beverage Business Review", vol. IX, n. 4, August/September 2011, India, excerpts pp. 58-60. Adapted and illustrated to be posted by Leopoldo Costa.