On food and cooking the science and lore of the kitchen ( PDFDrive ) 282

cold-water bath or cold-air blast Prolonged water-chilling can add a significant amount of water to the carcass: U.S regulations allow 5– 12% of chicken weight to be absorbed water, or several ounces in a 4-pound bird By contrast, air-chilling, which is standard in much of Europe and Scandinavia, actually removes water, so that the flesh becomes more concentrated and the skin will brown more readily Kosher and halal meats are processed according to Jewish and Muslim religious laws respectively, which among other things require a brief period of salting These practices don’t allow meat birds to be scalded before plucking, so their skin is often torn The plucked carcasses are then salted for 30– 60 minutes and briefly rinsed in cold water; like air-chilled birds, they absorb little if any extraneous moisture Salting makes meat fats more prone to oxidation and the development of off flavors, so kosher and halal meats don’t keep as long as conventionally processed meats Rigor Mortis The Importance of Timing, Posture, and Temperature For a brief period after the animal’s death its muscles are relaxed, and if immediately cut and cooked will make especially tender meat Soon, however, the muscles clench in the condition called rigor mortis (“stiffness of death”) If cooked in this state, they make very tough meat Rigor sets in (after about 2.5 hours in the steer, 1 hour or less in lamb, pork, and chicken) when the muscle fibers run out of energy, their control systems fail and trigger a contracting movement of the protein filaments, and the filaments lock in place Carcasses are hung up in such a way that most of their muscles are stretched by gravity, so that the protein filaments can’t contract and overlap very ... in (after about 2.5 hours in the steer, 1 hour or less in lamb, pork, and chicken) when the muscle fibers run out of energy, their control systems fail and trigger a contracting movement of the protein filaments, and the. .. immediately cut and cooked will make especially tender meat Soon, however, the muscles clench in the condition called rigor mortis (? ??stiffness of death”) If cooked in this state, they make very tough meat...keep as long as conventionally processed meats Rigor Mortis The Importance of Timing, Posture, and Temperature For a brief period after the animal’s death its muscles are relaxed, and if immediately cut and cooked will make