Experimental cookery

Freezing. When meat is frozen, the unbound water forms ice crystals. These crystals on thawing, with their dissolved substances tend to exude from the cut surfaces of the meat. Empey found the drip from frozen and thawed meat very similar in composition to fluid pressed from unfrozen meat. He found a direct relationship between the hydrogen-ion concentra- tion and the capacity of the muscle to hold fluid. Minimum drip occurred when the pH of the muscles had not dropped below 6.3. However, he did no work to determine the tenderness of the meat in connection with pH or at what pH it would be most desirable to freeze the meat for quality and palatability after cooking. The writer's experience thus far is that meat that is not tender before freezing does not improve in tenderness by freezing. This would indicate that for palatable meat it is preferable for meat to be ripened sufficiently before freezing. Meat may be frozen rapidly or slowly. In rapid freezing the meat Is subjected to a very low temperature so that freezing occurs In a short time. The advantage of this method is supposed to be due to the fact that the ice crystals have little time to grow; hence they are smaller and break the fibers to a smaller extent. There Is considerable controversy as to which is the best procedure. Moran says that In their studies rapid freezing possessed no advantages over slow freezing as regarded the quality of the product, but that In each case the most important factor affecting the quality was the storage temperature. Lowe and Keltner found no difference in the quality of poultry frozen by rapid and slow methods. Many reports In the literature Indicate that it Is preferable to keep the meat or poultry at quite low temperatures, —10° to — 15°F., to prevent desiccation of the meat. Tressler believes It Is desirable to have the temperature as uni- form as possible, for a fluctuating temperature also increases moisture loss. Each piece of meat or bird should be wrapped to prevent moisture loss. Tressler says, ''Severe desiccation causes a considerable loss of flavoring components, and makes the frozen product tougher, less easily cooked, and therefore, less desirable for food." Defrosting. The method of defrosting seems to be particularly im- portant for poultry. Snyder found poultry defrosted In water markedly less desirable In flavor than poultry defrosted in cold air, i.e., in a refrigerator. THE USE OF SALT 225 The method of defrosting was also more important than drawing and length of storage period in determining flavor, although the giblets of undrawn birds were not so desirable as those of drawn birds. Many questions are received from Iowa women regarding the flavor of poultry frozen and stored in local plants. It is a common practise for these women to defrost the poultry in water, but their frozen meat is defrosted in cold air. Beef and meats having extensive cut surfaces of the muscles tend to "drip" more than poultry after defrosting. Since loss of this fluid also Fig. 23. — Standing rib roast of beef. Showing thermometer inserted for reading interior temperature of the meat. results in loss of flavor and nutritive value, it is desirable to cook the meat soon after defrosting or even before defrosting. Defrosted meat is also more susceptible to bacterial attack.