Producers are breeding today's beef for leanness and quality. The beef you find at the supermarket today has less outside and seam fat than ever before, while keeping the desirable marbling. Retailers and foodservice operators nationwide are merchandising today's beef in more innovative ways to assure convenience and satisfaction for today's discriminating consumer.

Marbling, the streaks of flecks of fat interspersed throughout the meat, contributes to the juiciness and flavor of today's beef. Marbling also plays a primary role in determining the quality of beef. The "grade" assigned to beef cuts reflects, in part, the amount of marbling in the lean, with higher grades having more marbling than lower grades. U.S. Prime, U.S. Choice and U.S. Select - the grades most often found in the retail store - come from young cattle, and have the marbling needed to provide a great eating experience.

Once shipped in carcass form, beef now reaches the retail store almost exclusively as smaller, vacuumed packaged "primal" (or wholesale) cuts, many of which are illustrated on the PGABeef website.

As part of the retail cut name, the primal name can help in determining what cookery method to use when preparing the cut. For example, more tender cuts, such as those from the rib and loin, generally can be prepared by dry heat cookery methods. However, less tender cuts, including several from the chuck and round, will require moist heat methods.

While all types of meat can be ground, ground beef is the most prevalent in today's supermarket. Ground beef is produced from wholesale meat cuts and trimmings and formulated to specific lean-to-fat ratios (such as "85% Lean", or "15% Fat"). As the leanness of ground beef increases, the price will increase as well. All ground meats should be used within 1 to 2 days of purchase, or frozen immediately for later use.