On food and cooking the science and lore of the kitchen ( PDFDrive ) 267

Rapid, confined growth favors the production of white muscle fibers, so modern meats are relatively pale They’re also tender, because the animals get little exercise, because rapid growth means that their connective-tissue collagen is continuously taken apart and rebuilt and develops fewer strong cross-links, and because rapid growth means high levels of the protein-breaking enzymes that tenderize meat during aging (p 143) But many meat lovers feel that meat has gotten less flavorful in recent decades Life intensifies flavor, and modern meat animals are living less and less Changing Tastes for Fat: The Modern Style In the early 1960s, American consumers began to abandon well marbled beef and pork for less fatty cuts and for lean poultry Since marbling develops only after the animals’ rapid muscle growth slows, the meat industry was happy to minimize fattening and improve its production efficiency Consumer and producer preferences for lean beef led the USDA to reduce its marbling requirements for the top grades in 1965 and 1975 The modern style of meat, then, combines elements of the traditional styles: young like the city meats, lean like the country meats, and therefore both mild and easily dried out during cooking Cooks now face the challenge of adapting hearty country traditions to these finicky ingredients Quality Production: A French Example There have been small but significant exceptions to this general trend toward producing meat as cheaply as possible In the 1960s, the French poultry industry found that many consumers were dissatisfied with the standard chicken’s bland flavor and tendency to shrink and fall off the bone when cooked Some producers then developed a production scheme guided by considerations of quality as ... 1960s, the French poultry industry found that many consumers were dissatisfied with the standard chicken’s bland flavor and tendency to shrink and fall off the bone when cooked Some producers then... elements of the traditional styles: young like the city meats, lean like the country meats, and therefore both mild and easily dried out during cooking Cooks now face the challenge of adapting hearty country traditions to these...its production efficiency Consumer and producer preferences for lean beef led the USDA to reduce its marbling requirements for the top grades in 1965 and 1975 The modern style of meat, then, combines