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Food Science > Meat > Flashcards

Meat Flashcards

1
Q

Meat types

A

Red meat species = cattle, sheep & goats - White meat species = chickens & pigs
Other meat species = deer, ducks, buffaloes, horses, camels, dogs, kangaroos, emus

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2
Q

Pig & poultry are becoming more popular: why?

A

Are cheaper to produce than beef & mutton
- Intensification growth practices
- Perceived to be healthier by affluent consumers:

Leaner meats = little or no visible fat in skinless pork &
chicken

Redder meats associated with large fat amounts

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3
Q

Meat carcases sold as

A
  • Sides
  • quarters (hinds or fores)
  • wholesale cuts (large cuts such as entire rounds, loins, ribs or chucks)
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4
Q

boxed beef

A
  • removing more bone & fat from carcase as it’s cut into smaller portions
  • vacuum-packed to reduce spoilage & shrinkage - placed into boxes for easy shipping & handling
  • Boxed beef reduces shipping costs, labour costs & provides increased value of fat & bone to packer
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5
Q

Meat grading

A

Establishes & maintains uniform trading standards & aids in determination of value of various meat cuts

  • Carcases are given a quality grade (yield grade is used for lamb; Australia Pork also uses yield grade for pork).

Dentition (number of teeth), weight & fat depth used to define animal’s meat class & grading

Meat quality depends on breed, heredity, sex, feeding, pre- slaughter & slaughtering conditions, dressing, carcass cooling & storage conditions

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6
Q

Meat Structure & Composition

A

skeletal muscle from the animal carcase – beef & veal (cattle), pork (pigs) & lamb (sheep)

General composition:
- ~70% water
- ~21% protein
- ~8% fat - contributes to product “juiciness”, tenderness & flavour of meat & processed
meats (& reduces their formulation costs)
- ~1% minerals (ash)
- provide complete protein sources containing all essential amino acids in favourable quantities
- The protein has high biological value (BV)
Contains all amino acids essential for human health
excellent source of iron as more biologically available than plant sources, or added fortification

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7
Q

BV

A

measure of proportion of absorbed protein from a food which becomes incorporated into the proteins of an organism’s body

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8
Q

main animal classes slaughtered in Australia

A

cattle & calves = bovine
- sheep & lambs = ovine
- pigs = porcine

Other slaughtered animals in lesser numbers = goats (caprice) & horses (equine)

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9
Q

Slaughtering systems

A

vary according to animal class & abattoir sophistication

  • Methods used to slaughter animals can influence
  • Carcass and meat quality
  • Animals’ welfare
  • Safety of personnel operating the system
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10
Q

Australia slaughter law

A

“The slaughter of animals for food must be carried out in a humane manner. Regardless of religious or cultural beliefs, animals must be humanely rendered unconscious via stunning prior to slaughter.”

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11
Q

Slaughtering steps

A
  1. handling of livestock
  2. stunning - renders animal unconscious prevents pain or distress during
    exsanguination.
  3. sticking = cuts major blood vessels in neck or thorax = animal bleeds to death
  4. skinning and dehariing and evisceration = removing non edible parts. done in a way to prevent contact of carcass with dirt
  5. inspection - identify abnormalities or disease that would make the meat and edible offal unfit for human consumption
    - carried out by specially licenced veterinarians or meat inspectors (other roles = animal welfare and hygiene standards, grading)
  6. washing and grading - done with a fine spray of water to remove surface blood & bone dust
    - effectiveness may be increased by using hot (80°C) water or by including low concentrations of organic acids, chlorine or other agents in water
  7. refrigeration = done after being bled, skinned & eviscerated (removal of internal organs),
    - carcases are chilled for 24-48h before grading & processing
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12
Q

chilling

A

Chilling done immediately after slaughter to prevent carcase spoilage

If carcase chilled too quickly = cold shortening occurs & subsequent toughness
* Cold shortening = occurs when muscle chilled to <16°C before rigor mortis completion
* If carcase frozen before rigor mortis completion = results in “thaw rigor” & subsequently extremely tough meat

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13
Q

Rigor mortis

A

Many changes take place in muscle immediately after slaughter, that convert muscle to meat
* Muscle contract & stiffen = rigor mortis
* At time of slaughter muscle very tender -> but as rigor
mortis begins, becomes progressively less tender until rigor
mortis completed
- Beef = 6-12h required for completion of rigor mortis
Pork = 1-6h

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14
Q

Meat Aging

A

After rigor mortis completion, more changes take place resulting in beef becoming progressively more tender
* Beef holding in the refrigerator = aging period
* Increased tenderness due to natural enzymatic changes taking place in muscle
* Tenderness increase continues only for ~7-10 d after slaughter – beef held at ~2°C
* Beef held at higher temperatures tenderise more quickly BUT may also spoil & develop off flavours
* Pork & lamb rarely aged = lack of tenderness not encountered as lamb & pork relatively young age when slaughtered

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15
Q

Meat Tenderising

A

Tenderness, juiciness & flavour = components of meat palatability

  • Juiciness & flavour normally don’t vary a great deal but tenderness can considerably vary from one cut to next
  • Most cause of beef, pork, lamb & veal tenderness variation
    genetics
    species & age = beef>lamb>pork>veal, 9-30 months
    feeding = indirect effects
    muscle type,
    carcase suspension
    electrical stimulation - Done to “hot” carcases immediately after slaughter increases
    tenderness
    chilling rate,
    quality grade= Carcases from young animals (up to 40 months of age) are eligible for MLA grading
    aging,
    mechanical tenderising= Grinding is very popular means of increasing
    meat tenderness (esp. beef)
    chemical tenderising,
    freezing & thawing,
    cooking & carving
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16
Q

Salt concentrations and meat tenderness

A
  • Salt at certain concentrations increases meat
    tenderness
    Salt tenderises by softening connective tissue protein (collagen) into more tender form
    Hence cured meats (e.g. hams) more tender than uncured meats
17
Q

Marinading

A
  • Improves tenderness & adds taste variety
  • Basic ingredients include salt (or soy sauce), acid (vinegar, lemon, Italian salad dressing, or soy sauce), & enzymes
    (papain, bromelin, ficin or fresh ginger root)
  • Sometimes alcohol (wine or brandy) added for flavour
  • Addition of several tablespoonfuls of olive oil seal surfaces from air & thus result in meat staying fresher & brighter in colour for longer period of time
18
Q

Thawing

A

Done slowly in refrigerator generally results in greater
tenderness compared with cooking from frozen state
- Slow thawing minimises toughness effect from cold shortening (when present) & reduces moisture loss amount
- Microwave thawing should be done on lower power setting or manually alternating cooking & standing times

19
Q

Freezing

A

Rate of freezing plays small role in tenderness
- When meat frozen very quickly = small ice crystals form
- When meat frozen very slowly = large ice crystals from = disrupt components of meat muscle fibres & slightly increase tenderness
 BUT also increase juice loss upon thawing
 Juice loss = meat less juicy upon cooking & perceived as being less
tender

20
Q

Cooking + tenderising

A
  • As progresses, contractile meat proteins become less tender & major
    connective tissue protein (collagen) become more tender
21
Q

Carving and tenderising

A

Muscles, muscle bundles & muscle fibres surrounded by connective tissue
- For carcase cuts & wholesale cuts = cut at right angles to length of muscle = severs maximum amount of connective tissue & bone more evenly distributed in that area
- Consumers should carve cooked meat at right angles to length of the muscle fibre or “against the grain” to achieve maximum tenderness
 Cutting “with the grain” = “stringiness” & thus less tenderness

22
Q

Meat curing

A

Was used as a preservative method * Now used more for flavour & colour
enhancement
* Some curing agents:
- Salt = added to preserve & add flavour
- Sodium nitrate & sodium nitrite = fix red colour of meat, acts as a preservative & prevent botulism
- Sugar = provides colour stability & flavour - Spices = produce desired flavour

23
Q

Meat colour

A
  • Myoglobin = protein that is the primary colour pigment of meat
  • Function is to store oxygen in muscle tissue
  • Denatured by prolonged air exposure or by cooking (goes from red to brown)
  • Oxygen present = meat is bright red colour
  • Oxygen absent = meat is purplish in colour
24
Q

Meat smoking

A

Smoke
- Protects fat from rancidity
- Contributes to colour characteristics
- Creates unique flavours in processed meats
* Highly smoked products of past have largely given way to milder smoking methods = reduced but not eliminated smoke effectiveness as microbial growth inhibitor
* Smoke most effective microbial growth inhibitor when used with other preservation techniques

25
Q

Meat specialities

A

Dry sausages = salami or pepperoni
- May or may not be characterised by bacterial
fermentation
- When fermented = intentional encouragement of lactic acid bacterial growth = useful as meat preservative & producing typical tangy flavour
- Ingredients mixed with spices & curing materials, stuffed into casings & put through carefully controlled long continuous air-drying process

Semi-dry sausages = mortadella, devon, bologna
- Usually mildly seasoned & heated in smokehouse to fully cook product & partially dry it
- Are semi-soft sausages with good keeping qualities due to lactic acid fermentation

26
Q

Salami

A

cured sausage, fermented & air-dried meat

27
Q

Pepperoni

A

an American variety of salami, usually made from cured pork & beef mixed together

28
Q

Meat freezing

A

Properly wrapped, fresh meat cuts held at -18°C
or less for months if cut is a fatty meat like pork
- Storage time limited because at freezer temperatures, fat gradually oxidizes, producing off-flavours
* Beef can be held for years
* Once frozen, meat should not be thawed &
refrozen
* Few cured meats or sausages frozen = salt in their formulation increases rate of rancid flavour development, & spice flavours may change during frozen storage

29
Q

Meat storage (months)

A

Beef: Mince, Roast, Steaks: 4,12, 12
Lamb:Steaks Roast; 9
Pork:Cured, Fresh roasts Fresh sausages: 2,8,2
Veal:Chops/cutlets Roasts: 9
Cooked meat: Meat dinners Meat pie: 3

30
Q

Meat Cooking

A

Method depends on cut
* Cuts low in connective tissue = steaks & chops from rib & loin = dry heat cooking including pan frying, broiling, roasting, or grilling or BBQ
- Dry heat rises temperature very quickly = meat flavour develops before contractile proteins have opportunity to become significantly less tender

31
Q
A

Food Science (3 decks)

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