Thousands of years ago, our distant ancestors ate raw meat. It provided them with nutrients, but it was dangerous to health due to the possible presence of pathogenic bacteria and parasites. In addition, raw meat was difficult to chew and was digested more slowly by the body. When people learned to make fire about 1 million years ago, everything changed dramatically. Meat cooked over fire turned out to be tender, tasty and aromatic food. Today, there are different ways to cook meat, and each person is free to cook it the way he likes best. Do you know what happens to meat when we cook it at high temperatures? Now we will tell you everything, as always briefly and in simple words.
During cooking, many chemical reactions occur inside the meat, which change its appearance, taste and smell. Image: YouTube
Contents
- 1 The secret of meat readiness
- 2 How to get juicy meat
- 3 What determines the taste of meat
- 4 Degrees of meat roasting
The secret of meat readiness
The authors of the Live Science project told about why meat becomes tastier after cooking. They talked with experts from different fields of science and found out how meat changes under the influence of high temperatures.
Meat becomes tasty as a result of complex chemical reactions. Image: depositphotos.com
On the stove, fire or in the oven, meat becomes slightly firmer, gives off a pleasant aroma and becomes tastier. All this is the result of three chemical processes.
How is juicy meat obtained
At high temperatures, the process of protein gelation begins in meat. In simple terms, the proteins contained in meat form a gel that can hold water and other substances.
Meat proteins are usually divided into three main groups: myofibrils, sarcoplasmic proteins, and components of connective tissues (for example, collagen). When heated, all of them are destroyed and the meat becomes harder, but at the same time retains moisture inside itself – that is, it becomes juicy.
The meat becomes juicy due to the gelation of proteins. Image: tripadvisor.com
If heated too much and too quickly, the meat can become dry and tasteless. So chefs believe that the best way to cook meat is to keep it on low heat for several hours.
However, the cooking method depends on the type of meat. Beef chops are usually cooked over low heat, but beef tenderloin is recommended to be cooked over high heat. At least, that's what the Live Science authors say. If you disagree, write in the comments on our Zen channel how meat is actually best cooked.
What determines the taste of meat
Meat becomes juicy due to the gelation of proteins. But how does it get its rich taste?
The rich flavor of meat is the result of the Maillard reaction. Image: menshealth.com
What makes meat delicious is the Maillard reaction. It occurs when the amino acids in the meat react with sugars (natural or marinated) at temperatures above 141 degrees Celsius. The Maillard reaction produces hundreds of new flavor and aroma compounds.
Read also: Can a person be allergic to meat?
Degrees of doneness of meat
Raw meat is red, and after cooking it turns brown. The color of the meat is due to the protein myoglobin, which loses its structure at temperatures above 77 degrees Celsius.
It is noteworthy that the color of the meat can vary depending on the degree of roasting. At a temperature of 52 degrees, you get rare meat (meat), which is cold and red inside. Meat at medium rare(medium rare) is warmer inside and has a pinkish tint – it is cooked at a temperature of 57 degrees, frying for 1-3 minutes on each side. Fully cooked meat is called well done, cooked at a temperature above 70 degrees and has a gray color.
Degrees of meat doneness. Image: dzen.ru
The speed of the above reactions depends on the cooking method, temperature and duration. For example, frying or grilling increases the Maillard reaction, which enhances the taste of meat – that's why kebabs are so tasty (and healthy!).
The taste of meat also depends greatly on the type of animal, gender, age and many other factors. There is scientific evidence that even stress before death can worsen the taste of an animal's meat.
Many people give up meat because they do not want to torture animals even indirectly. In addition, you can find information that meat is harmful to health. Perhaps to some extent it is harmful, but more is definitely more. Meat is a rich source of protein, which is necessary for tissue growth and repair. It also contains important vitamins and minerals, such as iron, zinc and B vitamins.
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