Ham, bacon, and salt pork are probably the best known of cured pork
products. The loins when cured are often known as Canadian bacon.
Dried or chipped beef and corned beef are among the more familiar
cured-beef products. Beef cured in a brine is known as corned beef. Beef
cuts most often cured are the plates, flanks, and rumps, though from the
lower grades the chucks and rounds are often used. Dried beef is cured in
a sweet pickle, then dried and smoked. Usually the rounds and sometimes
the shoulder clods are used for dried beef.
Cold storage. The passing of rigor, ripening, and development of
putrefaction are delayed by quickly chilling the dressed meat and keeping
it at a low temperature just above the freezing point of meat. Moran states
that if the dressed meat is chilled slowly more protein is denatured than if
it is chilled quickly, and, because bacteria attack denaturated protein more
STORAGE OF MEAT IN THE HOME 213
rapidly than native protein, quick chilling is one means of increasing the
storage life of meat.
Chemically conditioned cold. Moran states that with temperature con-
trol alone the storage life of chilled beef is about 35 to 40 days. If, in
addition to low temperature control, what is sometimes known as ^'chem-
ically conditioned cold," i.e., 10 per cent of carbon dioxide, is used in the
storage atmosphere, the storage life of the meat may be extended to 60 or 70
days. The carbon dioxide retards or checks bacterial growth but if too
much is used with red meats such as beef and mutton, the surface of the
meat turns dark. This is because of the decreased amount of oxygen ob-
tained by the meat when carbon dioxide is increased. For fish a higher
percentage of carbon dioxide can be used. Stansby and Griffith have re-
ported that haddock packed in ice and plus an atmosphere of 15 to 40 per
cent of carbon dioxide have their storage life doubled over that when
packed in ice alone.
Contamination with bacteria and storage life. Another factor affecting
the storage life of meat is the initial contamination with bacteria. But with
care the initial contamination should be small. Other things being equal,
the smaller the initial load of bacteria the longer the storage life of the
meat. Spoilage by bacteria, yeasts, and molds is largely surface, and in
general does not extend to a greater depth than ^ to ^ inch. Hoagland,
McBryde, and Powick in their investigations of changes in beef during
cold storage above freezing found that "bacteria and molds grow on the
surface of cold storage carcasses but do not penetrate to any great depth
(less than 1 inch in 177 da3^s)."
Microorganisms may enter the meat by penetration from the surface,
which is a slow process, and by following the cavities in meat, that is, the
blood and lymph vessels.
Empey found that bacteria grow and develop very slowly on meat during
rigor, as a /»H of approximately 5.3 to 5.6 is not a desirable one for their
growth. Stansby and Griffith also found that bacteria do not develop rapidly
on fish during rigor.
Humidity. Mueller and Richardson have reported that dry air as well
as the low temperature is a factor in preventing bacterial growth. Hoag-
land, McBryde, and Powick found that in a cooler with low humidity the
growth of mold on the surface of the meat at 177 days was no greater than
in a cooler with higher humidity at 53 days.
Page 170
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Ham, bacon, and salt pork are probably the best known of cured pork
products. The loins when cured are often known as Canadian bacon.
Dried or chipped beef and corned beef are among the more familiar
cured-beef products. Beef cured in a brine is known as corned beef. Beef
cuts most often cured are the plates, flanks, and rumps, though from the
lower grades the chucks and rounds are often used. Dried beef is cured in
a sweet pickle, then dried and smoked. Usually the rounds and sometimes
the shoulder clods are used for dried beef.
Cold storage. The passing of rigor, ripening, and development of
putrefaction are delayed by quickly chilling the dressed meat and keeping
it at a low temperature just above the freezing point of meat. Moran states
that if the dressed meat is chilled slowly more protein is denatured than if
it is chilled quickly, and, because bacteria attack denaturated protein more
STORAGE OF MEAT IN THE HOME 213
rapidly than native protein, quick chilling is one means of increasing the
storage life of meat.
Chemically conditioned cold. Moran states that with temperature con-
trol alone the storage life of chilled beef is about 35 to 40 days. If, in
addition to low temperature control, what is sometimes known as ^'chem-
ically conditioned cold," i.e., 10 per cent of carbon dioxide, is used in the
storage atmosphere, the storage life of the meat may be extended to 60 or 70
days. The carbon dioxide retards or checks bacterial growth but if too
much is used with red meats such as beef and mutton, the surface of the
meat turns dark. This is because of the decreased amount of oxygen ob-
tained by the meat when carbon dioxide is increased. For fish a higher
percentage of carbon dioxide can be used. Stansby and Griffith have re-
ported that haddock packed in ice and plus an atmosphere of 15 to 40 per
cent of carbon dioxide have their storage life doubled over that when
packed in ice alone.
Contamination with bacteria and storage life. Another factor affecting
the storage life of meat is the initial contamination with bacteria. But with
care the initial contamination should be small. Other things being equal,
the smaller the initial load of bacteria the longer the storage life of the
meat. Spoilage by bacteria, yeasts, and molds is largely surface, and in
general does not extend to a greater depth than ^ to ^ inch. Hoagland,
McBryde, and Powick in their investigations of changes in beef during
cold storage above freezing found that "bacteria and molds grow on the
surface of cold storage carcasses but do not penetrate to any great depth
(less than 1 inch in 177 da3^s)."
Microorganisms may enter the meat by penetration from the surface,
which is a slow process, and by following the cavities in meat, that is, the
blood and lymph vessels.
Empey found that bacteria grow and develop very slowly on meat during
rigor, as a /»H of approximately 5.3 to 5.6 is not a desirable one for their
growth. Stansby and Griffith also found that bacteria do not develop rapidly
on fish during rigor.
Humidity. Mueller and Richardson have reported that dry air as well
as the low temperature is a factor in preventing bacterial growth. Hoag-
land, McBryde, and Powick found that in a cooler with low humidity the
growth of mold on the surface of the meat at 177 days was no greater than
in a cooler with higher humidity at 53 days.