[Sca-cooks] Oxen and steers, was Recent Test

[Daniel Myers]

On Feb 11, 2004, at 9:46 AM, Kirsten Houseknecht wrote:

> i thought an Ox was a working castrated male cow.
> that is, a steer that pulls things.

Not having much of an Ag background, I had (mistakenly) assumed that 
Oxen were a separate bovine species that were somewhat more primitive 
than domesticated cattle.  This turns out not to be even close - learn 
something every day, eh?

It looks like the word "Ox" is not very tightly defined.

 From http://www.ruralheritage.com/ox_paddock/ox_whatis.htm

"To be culturally and historically accurate when defining an ox, we 
must use the "right" definition as provided by the Random House 
Dictionary, which says that an ox is "The adult castrated male of the 
genus Bos used as a draft animal and for food."

"Although, by United States standards, this definition is correct 
culturally, historically, and scientifically, it has its problems. Only 
two species in the genus Bos used for work are called "oxen"—Bos 
indicus (Zebu-type cattle with humps) and Bos taurus, the European 
breeds (no humps). Other species in the genus Bos, such as yaks, may be 
worked, but are not called "oxen."

"To define the word "ox" as encompassing all animals in the bovine 
family would include a lot of species that are not even domesticated. 
And it would include both males and females. This might be acceptable 
in some broad, casual context, but not if scrutinized by ox teamsters 
and agricultural historians in the United States."


The site goes on in amazing detail.

- Doc


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  Edouard Halidai  (Daniel Myers)
  http://www.medievalcookery.com/
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