Meat, in its broadest definition, is animal tissue used as food. Most often it refers to skeletal muscle and associated fat, but it may also refer to non-muscle organs, including lungs, livers, skin, brains, bone marrow, sweetbreads, and kidneys. The most commonly eaten meats in industrialised countries come from animals that are raised for food. These animals - and the meat that comes from them - include cattle (beef and veal), pigs (pork), sheep (lamb and mutton), and poultry (chicken, ducks, geese etc) which is discussed in its own category. Game, be it wild or, as latterly, farmed, is eaten to a lesser extent.

While all meat has characteristics in common, from a consumer's point of view the meats of individual species have different qualities, influenced by their breed, age, sex, diet, level of activity and manner of slaughter.

For the cook, the cut of meat is also significant. Butchery, however, is fraught with confusion. The way an animal is jointed varies from country to country, even from region to region, according to the nationally preferred methods of cooking, and also evolves with food fashion. This complexity is compounded by the various, often overlapping, names given to similar cuts.

Key to understanding the virtues of the various cuts of meat is an appreciation of which part of the animal they are from and their function. Those muscles which had the most exercise, generally the forequarter and the lower part, develop the coarsest fibres and tend to be the toughest, with a correspondingly full flavour. Fat, particularly intra-muscular fat, called marbling, also contributes to tenderness and flavour; during cooking it melts and penetrates the tissue, separating and lubricating the fibres. Bones also add flavour, as well as conduct heat.

These factors determine the most appropiate method of cooking: tender meat suits hot, dry modes; tougher meat is better suited to slow, moist cooking which dissolves the collagen in the connective tissue surrounding the muscle fibres.

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