On food and cooking the science and lore of the kitchen ( PDFDrive ) 292

will kill the bacteria and leave the meat edible for three months However, it will still be adulterated meat Many consumers set a higher standard than the absence of living pathogens and months of shelf life for the food from which they take daily nourishment and pleasure People who care about food quality will seek out meat produced locally, carefully, and recently, and for enjoyment within a few days, when it’s at its best Cooking Fresh Meat: The Principles We cook meat for four basic reasons: to make it safe to eat, easier to chew and to digest (denatured proteins are more vulnerable to our digestive enzymes), and to make it more flavorful The issue of safety is detailed beginning on p 124 Here I’ll describe the physical and chemical transformations of meat during cooking, their effects on flavor and texture, and the challenge of cooking meat well These changes are summarized in the box on p 152 Heat and Meat Flavor Raw meat is tasty rather than flavorful It provides salts, savory amino acids, and a slight acidity to the tongue, but offers little in the way of aroma Cooking intensifies the taste of meat and creates its aroma Simple physical damage to the muscle fibers causes them to release more of their fluids and therefore more stimulating substances for the tongue This fluid release is at its maximum when meat is only lightly cooked, or done “rare.” As the temperature increases and the meat dries out, physical change gives way to chemical change, and to the development of aroma as cell molecules break apart and recombine with each other to form new molecules that not only smell meaty, but also ... provides salts, savory amino acids, and a slight acidity to the tongue, but offers little in the way of aroma Cooking intensifies the taste of meat and creates its aroma Simple physical damage to the muscle fibers causes them to release more of their fluids and. .. them to release more of their fluids and therefore more stimulating substances for the tongue This fluid release is at its maximum when meat is only lightly cooked, or done “rare.” As the temperature increases and the. . .and texture, and the challenge of cooking meat well These changes are summarized in the box on p 152 Heat and Meat Flavor Raw meat is tasty rather than flavorful It provides salts, savory amino acids, and a