Meat introduction

Question 1

Differentiate between meat and offals

Answer 1

Meat is the edible flesh or organs of an animal carcass while offal is meat from edible insides and organs of an animal.

Question 2

Offal meat can be subdivided into?

Answer 2

a) muscles - heart, oxtail, tongue, tripe
b) glands - liver, kidney, sweetbreads

Question 3

What is muscle tissue?

Answer 3

bundles of muscle fibre

Question 4

What is sarcoplasm?

Answer 4

generally known as meat juices

Question 5

The two types of connective tissue are:

Answer 5

a) collagen
b) elastin

Question 6

Define connective tissue

Answer 6

it surrounds the muscle tissue and attach fibres to one another as well as to bones.

Question 7

Nutritional value of meat

Answer 7

provides

a) high biological value protein
b) fat
c) iron
d) calcium

Question 8

Explain how meat is classified.

Answer 8

Meat is classified into:

a) red meat (becomes brown, e.g. game, beef and lamb)
b) white meat (becomes white, e.g. pork. chicken and fish)

Question 9

Types of meat:

Answer 9

1. Cow - beef and veal
2. Pig - pork
3. Sheep - mutton and lamb
4. Goat - chevon/chevron
5. Birds - poultry
6. Wild animals - game/venison
7. Fish

Question 10

Differentiate between beef and veal.

Answer 10

beef is meat from a cow that is above 9 months (older cow) whereas veal is meat from a cow that is below 9 months (suckling)

Question 11

Differentiate between mutton and lamb.

Answer 11

mutton is meat from a sheep that is above 12 months (older sheep) whereas lamb is meat from a sheep younger than 12 months (younger sheep)

Question 12

Domesticated and game poultry examples.

Answer 12

Domesticated poultry - chicken, duck, geese and turkey

Game poultry - ostrich, quail, guines fowl

Question 13

Three types of game:

Answer 13

a) feathered - ostrich, quail, guines fowl
b) aquatic - crocodile, turtle/tortoises
c) furred - springbok, buck, kudu, elephant

Question 14

Fish is classified based on:

Answer 14

1. origin - freshwater fish (rivers; dams); salt water fish (ocean; sea)
2. shape - flat fish vs. round fish
3. flesh - oily fish (turns brown when cooked) vs. lean fish
4. skeleton - fin fish have an endoskeleton while shellfish have an exoskeleton

Question 15

Differentiate between game meat and domesticated meat.

Answer 15

game meat is meat from wild animals or meat that is hunted for whereas domesticated meat is from animals which are taken care of by people, such as chicken.

another difference is that game meat is lean.

Question 16

Quality points to consider when buying meat:

Answer 16

1. meat should be fresh
2. should have a pleasant smell - no odour
3. meat should be brightly coloured (bright red); with no signs of dis colouration
4. the fat from a young animal is cream-ish while yellowish if it is an older animal
5. bone - from a young animal are pinkish and porous; but they become white if its an older animal
6. texture should be firm - it should spring back when pressed
7. check if its before the expiry date
8. the packaging should be clean and not damaged (no excess moisture or ice in the packet)

Question 17

What influnces the quality of the meat?

Answer 17

a) age - the younger the animal; the tender the meat. the older the animal; the tougher the meat.
b) muscle activity - frequently used muscles will lead to tough meat, and meat from the hind quarter will be tender
c) treatment - avoid stressing an animal before slaughter as this leads to tough meat

d) marbling - good feeding results in fat that is distributed inside the muscle (intromuscular fat) and not subcutaneous fat (on the top of the muscle)

e) good feeding - animals well fed will have marbled meat (good quality)

Question 18

Factors influencing the quality of meat during slaughter:

Answer 18

1. rapid bleeding will result in good quality meat
2. cold shrinkage - avoid placing meat in a cold area as this will cause rapid contraction of muscles which will result in tough meat
3. electrical stimulation - this allows the meat to be kept in cold areas without shrinkage
4. rigor mortis - is a set of biochemical changes that occur in the muscle upon death
5. maturing/ripening/ageing - this is done to allow the meat to relax and become tender

Question 19

Two types of ageing:

Answer 19

a) dry ageing
b) wet ageing

Question 20

Differentiate between dry and wet ageing.

Answer 20

dry ageing will hang the carcass upside down in a controlled environment for 10-12 days while wet ageing places the meat in a vacuum packet in a fridge (3 degrees Celsius) for up to 2 weeks.

Question 21

Factors included in the grading of meat:

Answer 21

a) age - determined by number of teeth
b) quantity of fat
c) size of the carcass

Question 22

Techniques used when preparing meat:

Answer 22

1. defrost - this refers to removing meat from the freezer to the fridge overnight to ensure it changes from a solid to a liquid
2. trimming - refers to neatening the meat by removing excess fat or sinewy
3. deboning/boing - this refers to removing bones from meat
4. binding - involves tying the meat with string to keep the filling ingredient inside and to keep the shape
5. barding - wrap the meat with bacon, before roasting
6. sealing - this fries the meat without browning to keep the meat juices inside
7. searing - fry the meat in order to brown it

Question 23

Meat can be cooked using what methods?

Answer 23

a)moist heat method (boiling; stewing; poaching; steaming)
b) dry heat method (fry; bake; grill; roast)

Question 24

Advantages of boning:

Answer 24

a) it removes the choking hazard
b) makes the meat easy to cut or carve
c) interesting dishes can be made

Question 25

Disadvantages of boning:

Answer 25

a) the meat becomes expensive b) a lot of time and labour are used in this process c) the meat loses shape and flavour as most of the flavour is in the bone

Question 26

Effects of heat on meat:

Answer 26

1. the fat will melt 2. the colour of the meat changes from red to pink to greyish brown 3. meat will shrink 4. proteins will casgulate and set 5. improve the flavour of the meat and taste (edible) 7. the meat detaches from the bone 8. the meat fibre may soften or become firmer when cooked

Question 27

Rules for cooking meat:

Answer 27

1. dont salt the meat 2. defrost correctly - by placing in the fridge from the freezer overnight 3. avoid excessively high or excessively low temperatures 4.avoid washing meat or inserting it into water as this removes meat juices 5. meat can also be based in sauce, marinated, barded or larded before roasting

Question 28

How should meat be stored?

Answer 28

a) meat should be stored at the bottom of your fridge so that the juices don't drip onto other foods and cause cross-contamination b) meat should be kept in a freezer which temperature is constant at -18 degrees c) you should leave space between portions of meat for air to circulate

Question 29

Explain why people might not eat meat.

Answer 29

people may take up vegetarian lifestyles because they may have concerns about animal welfare, or because of health and religious convictions, if not their own preferences.

Question 30

Recommmended portions for meat:

Answer 30

a) off the bone - 120g (with no bone) b) on the bone - 150-200g per person