Our Highland scheme is a specialist range, available specifically for the Christmas season at Waitrose.The Highland breed has grazed the Scottish Highlands and Western Isles for over 1500 years and has a long and distinguished ancestry. They are one of the British Isles’ oldest and most distinctive cattle breeds, easily recognisable due to their thick flowing coat and sweeping horns.
It is on the vast areas of poor mountain land with high annual rainfall and bitter winds that Highland cattle, as their name suggests, thrive. They are capable of surviving in the harshest climates, where other breeds would struggle, this is largely due to their ‘double coat’ – a soft downy undercoat coupled with a long oily overcoat – which keeps them protected from the elements. They are also a naturally hardy breed, known for making the most out of poor foraging situations.
Highland cattle yield a highly nutritious and healthy end product as it is a lean but well-marbled meat, resulting in lower levels of fat and cholesterol and a higher protein and iron content than other beef.