The Piedmontese (Italian: razza bovina Piemontese) is a breedofcattle from the region of Piedmont, in north-west Italy. The calves are born fawn in colour, turning grey-white as they mature.
Its origins date back to some 25,000 or 30,000 years ago when Zebu (Bos taurus indicus) migrating from what is today Pakistan arrived in this area of plains, hills and mountains, surrounded on three sides by the Alps and Apennines and, unable to get any further, they interbred with the local Aurochs (Bos primigenius). The breed developed through natural selection followed by the normal processes of domestication and, particularly from the late nineteenth century when the characteristic postpartum hypertrophic muscle growth first appeared, through selective breeding. The first herd-book was opened in 1877.
The cattle are raised both for their milk, which is used for a number of the region’s traditional cheeses (Castelmagno, Bra, Raschera, and Toma Piemontese), and for meat: beef from the Piedmontese cattle is seen as a premium product.
The Piedmontese breed carries a unique gene for inactive myostatin, which increases muscularity, and also reduces the fat content while improving tenderness in the beef. This low fat beef is also lower in calories, higher in protein and contains a higher percentage of the good Omega 3 Fatty Acids. The fullblood population is considered homozygous for this in-active myostatin gene.The beef from Piedmontese and Piedmontese-cross cattle is consistent for these qualities of leanness and tenderness because it is a genetic influence rather than an environmental effect.
The herd in Piedmont numbers some 273,000 head of cattle.
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