Experimental cookery

Smith states: "It is of Interest to note that, in cases where the primary aim of cooking Is to make the meat more tender (as, for Instance, In stewing), the required degree of tenderness can be reached more quickly by addition of phosphate, or what amounts to the same thing, since the meat itself contains phosphate, of concentrated stock from a previous boiling. The concentration of phosphate which gives the greatest effect is about 0.2M, but a quarter of this will have quite an appreciable effect. A suitable mixture of mono- and di-hydrogen phosphates to give a pH between 6 and 7 was employed." Meat is sometimes placed in a pickle of equal parts of vinegar and water and is used for Sauerbraten or similar dishes. Soaking in the acid is sup- posed to Increase the tenderness as well as develop a particular flavor of the meat. If the vinegar contains tannins, the meat should not be cooked in an iron utensil, for a dark color will develop from the tannins combining with the iron. The effect of the acid on the meat, which will probably depend upon the amount of acid added and the resulting pH of the meat and whether this pH is at, above, or below the isoelectric point of Its proteins, may cause the connective tissue to swell and hydrolyze the col- lagen to gelatin more rapidly when the meat Is heated. Tomatoes or sour cream are also added to Swiss steak and tomatoes to stews. Sometimes the acid appears to increase the tenderness; but often a paired cut without the acid is as tender or more tender than the one to which acid is added. Baker states that the lactic acid developed in the meat may be responsible for improvement in tenderness. He says that Walsh investigated the develop- ment of acidity in lean beef and claims that its formation is important in the preparation of canned meats. Properly matured meat, after canning, "melts in the mouth," the muscle fibers are softened, slicabllity is enhanced, and the pink color is more vivid. But in maturing or ripening changes are also brought about by enzymes and other means. 224 MEAT Cooking o£ Frozen Meat Frozen meat and poultry are obtainable in retail markets in larger cities. In addition many people freeze meat in mechanical freezer units, and the practise of obtaining compartments and freezing fresh meat in local cold storage plants in rural and small urban communities is increasing tremen- dously. Hence, the cooking of frozen meat attains importance and knowl- edge of what happens to the meat during freezing gives understanding of why it should be cooked soon after defrosting, if it is defrosted before cooking.