
Bone marrow was kept in a Stone Age meat locker - bookofjoe
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/09/science/marrow-israel-cave.html
======
mikehotel
The vague nutrition language in the Times article, led me to the study [1],
which has more specifics:

“Marrow composition was mostly unsaturated FA (78%), especially
monounsaturated (74%), and only 22% comprised saturated fats (table S1). Oleic
(C18:1n-9) was the most abundant FA in marrow (36% in week 0), with a
significant decrease per week (−0.7 ± 0.14%; P < 0.001). Other FA, like
palmitoleic (C16:1n-7), palmitic (C16:0), and vaccenic (C18:1), had lower
percentages (10 to 16%) and remained constant over time.

The energy value of marrow obtained from metapodial bones ranged from 123 kcal
(bone from week 2 in the outdoor autumn scenario) to 2.7 kcal (bone from week
6 in the outdoor spring scenario). The energy contained in one bone in good
conservation conditions (i.e., up to 9 weeks in the outdoor autumn scenario or
the first few weeks in the outdoor spring scenario) could be comparable to the
crude energy content of 25 g of fresh meat.”

1\.
[https://advances.sciencemag.org/content/5/10/eaav9822](https://advances.sciencemag.org/content/5/10/eaav9822)

------
tempguy9999
I don't understand how meat stored in ambient conditions and quite warm
temperatures (main article seems to say ~20C) doesn't go off.

~~~
EricE
Oxygen - or lack of. Think about it - marrow is sealed inside the bone. They
had to use stone chisels to free it so it could be consumed :)

~~~
tempguy9999
Christ I'm an idiot - for some reason I thought they'd opened the bones up
before storing them :( Of course not. Thanks.

------
chmars
Bone marrow, still in the bone and with Fleur de Sel, is one of my favorite
dishes!

How do Americans think about bone marrow as a dish?

~~~
yostrovs
Crickets is what you'll get from Americans on this topic. Chances are they
haven't seen it in a restaurant or anywhere else.

~~~
goodluckchuck
I can’t speak for all Americans, but it’s fantastic and sadly inaccessible.
Grocery stores either don’t have them, want to charge an unreasonable premium
as if it’s exotic, or ideally will give them away. However that’s a perk the
butcher gets for friends, family, and loyal customers. Unfortunately, I don’t
have such a relationship with a butcher, so it’s a rare treat. Those who do
have access are very much into it.

~~~
tptacek
I don't know if "exotic" is the right word, but they are scarce; there aren't
many good marrow bones compared to the amount of meat on a cow. I have good
relationships with a couple Chicago butchers (I was an investor) and I'd have
to ask far ahead for the marrow bones. Since there's so little of it to sell,
they're more likely to make a product that stretches them, like marrow butter
or bone marrow burgers, than to simply sell the bones.

~~~
kevinmchugh
I was reliably able to get them at Paulina Meat Market without advanced notice
a couple years ago when I lived nearby. The only caveat is they don't like to
saw them when it's busy or close to closing time. So if you don't have a
bandsaw, go off hours

