FOODS 2Mrs. Raterman

Beef

Types of Meat1. Beef: comes from mature cattle over

12 months of age.Wholesale cuts: a large cut of meat

shipped to a retail grocery store or a meat market.

Retail cuts: a smaller cut of meat taken from a larger wholesale cut and sold to consumers in retail stores.

Ground beef: fat content cannot be more than 30%

Types (continued)2. Veal: comes from young cattle less than 3 months of age.Very little fat; light pink color and a delicate flavor.

Inspection and Grading

All meat shipped across state lines must be examined.

Quality grades based on: marbling, maturity, texture, and appearance.

Marbling: flecks of fat throughout the lean portions; seen as little white streaks or drops.

Top 3 USDA Grades for Beef

USDA Prime: the highest grade; tender, juicy, and flavorful; greatest marbling, served in fine restaurants and some meat stores.

USDA Choice: high quality; good marbling, slightly less than prime; found in retail stores. Sufficient marbling for taste and tenderness.

USDA Select: has the least marbling; lower cost. Leaner, not as juicy, tender, or flavorful.

Grades

Grades

Prime ChoiceSelect

Beef Cuts

Beef Cuts

There are basically two types of meat: dark and white

Red, or dark meat is made up of muscles with fibers that are called slow-twitch. These muscles are used for extended periods of activity, such as standing or walking, and need a consistent energy source.

The protein myoglobin stores oxygen in muscle cells, which use oxygen to extract the energy needed for constant activity. Myoglobin is a richly pigmented protein. The more myoglobin there is in the cells, the redder, or darker, the meat.

Dark Meat Cont.

When dark meat is cooked, myoglobin's color changes depending on what the meat's interior temperature is. Rare beef is cooked to 140° F, and myoglobin's red color remains unchanged.

Above 140° F, myoglobin loses its ability to bind oxygen, and the iron atom at the center of its molecular structure loses an electron.

White Meat

White meat is made up of muscles with fibers that are called fast-twitch. Fast-twitch muscles are used for quick bursts of activity, such as fleeing from danger. These muscles get energy from glycogen, which is also stored in the muscles.

White meat has a translucent "glassy" quality when it is raw. When it's cooked, the proteins denature and recombine, or coagulate, and the meat becomes opaque and whitish.

White Meat

Cows and pigs are both sources of dark meat, though pig is often called "the other white meat." Pigs' muscles do contain myoglobin, but the concentration is not as heavy as it is in beef.

Chickens have a mixture of both dark and white meat, and fish is mainly white meat.

Tenderizing Meat

External treatments can be applied to meats to increase their tenderness. These include the use of enzymes, salts, acids, and mechanical methods such as grinding or pounding.

Enzymes

Enzymes are sprinkled on meat, which is then pierced with a fork to drive the enzymes below the surface. Sold as salt or liquid mixtures that contain: papain from papayas, bromeline from pineapples, ficin from figs, and rhyozyme from fungi.

Salts

Brining meat (that is, putting meat into a salt-water solution) adds moisture to the meat. Brining adds salt and water to the cells so that When the meat is cooked and water is squeezed out, there is still water left in the cells because water was added before cooking.

Acids

Marinades:Vinegar, wine, and lemon, tomato, or other fruit juices.

Not only tenderize meat but add flavor

Meat should be cut into small pieces, such as teriyaki or kabobs.

Mechanical Tenderization & Electronic Stimulation

Meat can be tenderized mechanically by a number or methods, including, grinding, cubing, needling, and pounding.

A electric current is passed through the carcass after slaughtering.