On food and cooking the science and lore of the kitchen ( PDFDrive ) 290

remove liquid water from the muscle fluids, the increasing concentration of salts and trace metals promotes the oxidation of unsaturated fats, and rancid flavors accumulate This inexorable process means that quality declines noticeably for fresh fish and poultry after only a few months in the freezer, for pork after about six months, for lamb and veal after about nine months, and for beef after about a year The flavors of ground meats, cured meats, and cooked meats deteriorate even faster Freezer Burn A last side effect of freezing is freezer burn, that familiar brownish-white discoloration of the meat surface that develops after some weeks or months of storage This is caused by water “sublimation” — the equivalent of evaporation at belowfreezing temperatures — from ice crystals at the meat surface into the dry freezer air The departure of the water leaves tiny cavities in the meat surface which scatter light and so appear white The meat surface is now in effect a thin layer of freeze-dried meat where oxidation of fat and pigment is accelerated, so texture, flavor, and color all suffer Freezer burn can be minimized by covering the meat as tightly as possible with water-impermeable plastic wrap Thawing Meats Frozen meats are usually thawed before cooking The simplest method — leaving the meat on the kitchen counter — is neither safe nor efficient The surface can rise to microbe-friendly temperatures long before the interior thaws, and air transfers heat to the meat very slowly, at about onetwentieth the rate that water does A much faster and safer method is to immerse the wrapped meat in a bath of ice water, which keeps the surface safely cold, but still transfers heat into the meat efficiently If the piece of meat is too large for a water bath, or ... cooking The simplest method — leaving the meat on the kitchen counter — is neither safe nor efficient The surface can rise to microbe-friendly temperatures long before the interior thaws, and air.. .the meat surface which scatter light and so appear white The meat surface is now in effect a thin layer of freeze-dried meat where oxidation of fat and pigment is accelerated, so... transfers heat to the meat very slowly, at about onetwentieth the rate that water does A much faster and safer method is to immerse the wrapped meat in a bath of ice water, which keeps the surface