Categories of meat products "A", "B", "C", "D", "D": what does it mean

2024 Author: Isabella Gilson | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:14

One of the most important branches of the food industry is the meat industry. Every day, our body needs fuel for its full functioning. Many cannot live without meat in its pure form and processed. But not everyone knows that there are categories of meat products by which they are classified.

Let's try to figure out how to divide meat products into groups. And in order not to poison yourself and your family and not buy a spoiled product, every housewife should be guided by such a division.

How to determine the category of meat products?

Never paid attention to the fact that the same dish, when cooked repeatedly, can turn out differently.

Or you dined in a restaurant with a delicious and juicy steak that captivated your taste buds. Came home and tried to reproduce the masterpiece. At the same time, they used all the same ingredients as the chef in the restaurant, but did the result only upset you? Is your meat significantly different from the one you fell in love with? Is it dry and hard? Of course, the first time you can doubt your abilities or write everything offbad mood and try again and again. But the desired result is not achieved? But everything is very simple. The quality of the meat plays a very important role in cooking, if not the main one.

It can be difficult for a simple housewife to understand all categories of meat products. Indeed, today there are not so few of them. But in our article we will try to consider the main features of the separation of meat and products that contain it.

So, the first thing you need to know when choosing meat or a meat product is its country of origin.

Product's country of origin

If you live in a village or just keep livestock, you know how to feed the animals. Only then can you be sure of the quality of the product from which you cook at home.

But if this is not possible, and you buy meat in the market or in the market, then remember the following. The main world suppliers of quality beef in the world are the USA, Australia and South America. But this criterion can only indirectly assess the quality of fresh meat. The maximum that you can find out is the conditions in which livestock was raised. There is no need to talk about proper sanitary standards. To do this, you should familiarize yourself with the following criteria.

Remember that America is the main producer of more than just beef.

Cattle breed

One of the fundamental criteria when choosing fresh meat is the breed of the animal. It is this factor that determines the taste of the original product.

On the farmswhere on a regular basis they are engaged in breeding livestock for sale, they grow a special breed of animal. They provide high quality meat. These are cattle of a certain breed, which are looked after by specialists. They are responsible for ensuring that not only the food is complete, but also that the animal receives useful trace elements and vitamins.

Classification of meat by type of slaughtered animals

I. Cattle meat:

1. By sex: meat of cows, castrated and non-castrated bulls.
2. Age:

• Veal - the meat of an animal that, when slaughtered, was at least 2 weeks old, but not more than 3 months old. In turn, veal is divided into dairy and ordinary.
• Young animals - the age of the animal from 3 months to 3 years.
• Beef of an adult animal. His age is at least 3 years old. Also in this category can be attributed the meat of cows - heifers.

II. Small cattle meat: lamb and goat meat.

Both of them have no classification by age and gender. But, nevertheless, the meat of an animal that does not reach 1 year at the time of slaughter is most valued.

III. Pork

1. Sex differences: uncastrated males, castrated males (also called hogs), sows.
2. By age: piglets, gilts, pork.
3. By heat treatment (by processing in the proportion of muscle mass at the bone):

• Chilled pork, the temperature of which shouldbe between 0 and +4 degrees.
• Supercooled pork at -1.5 to -3 degrees.
• Frozen meat. Its temperature inside the thigh should be from -3 to -5 degrees, in the thickness of the thigh muscles from 0 to -2.
• Frozen with a temperature not higher than -8 degrees.
• Paired. Meat from a freshly slaughtered animal.
• Cold, which cannot exceed +15 degrees.
• Thawed or thawed. Usually its temperature will be no lower than -1 degrees.

All meat is divided into two main categories according to fatness. It depends on the development of muscle mass and adipose tissue. But this does not apply to pork. Here we will talk about five categories.

Semi-finished meat and meat-containing products

This group, in turn, is classified into several more subgroups:

• Types: lumpy meat, minced meat, meat in dough.
• Groups: meat, meat-containing.
• Categories of meat products: "A", "B", "C", "D", "D". The category to which the semi-finished product belongs is determined by the product itself. The more muscle content, the higher the category of the product.
• Subspecies: by weight or packaged, breaded, non-breaded, stuffed and non-stuffed, shaped and unshaped, portioned semi-finished products, semi-finished products without bone and bone.

For heat treatment: frozen product, frostbitten, chilled

Next, let's take a closer look at each of the categories of meatproducts.

What is a semi-finished meat product of category "A"?

This category includes those products in the formulation of which the proportion of muscle tissue is at least 80% of the total mass. These include: semi-finished meat, meat in dough or chopped. These can be dumplings containing tenderloin from certain cuts of beef or pork.

But it is very difficult to find a high-quality semi-finished meat product of category "A", since most of the pork must be present in the classic recipe. And this automatically reduces the content of muscle mass in the product.

Meat products category "B"

Meat product category "B" - what is it? Like the previous option, this group can be characterized as semi-finished products, but in which the content of muscle tissue is not less than 60%. It can also be minced meat, meat in dough, etc.

And if you look in more detail at the example of dumplings, then the meat product of category "B" - what is it? Yes, everything is simple. These are the same dumplings as category "A", but with less beef.

So, you can safely buy such dumplings and are not afraid. Since it is much easier to find them than the products of the first category. But at the same time, make sure that the filling is meat, and not meat containing. Otherwise, this is a completely different product

What is a meat semi-finished product of category "B"?

Unlike the first two categories, this one can already be spoken of asmeat-containing product with the presence in the recipe of the muscle share from 40 to 60%. Products of this group can also be consumed without any fear, but it is undesirable to give to children.

Meat semi-finished product category "G"

According to the recipe, products of category "G" are similar to category "C", but the content of the muscle share is much less. Namely - from 20 to 40%

Semi-finished product meat-containing category "D"

And, as you already understood, only a meat-containing product with a minimum amount of meat fibers can be attributed to the last category. And accordingly, the proportion of muscle mass will be the smallest: less than 20%. And here the question arises: "What kind of product can it be, in which there will be practically no meat, but at the same time it will be considered meat-containing?". These are simply meat-free sausages, minced vegetable cabbage rolls with meat streaks, etc. Broadly speaking, these are products that do not contain meat, but have its aroma and smell.

Basic rules to pay attention to when choosing a semi-finished product

Be sure to pay attention to the labeling of the product, which indicates its category. Of course, it is necessary to check the production time of the goods. If the place where the date should be is erased or you can’t see it well, then you should refuse such a purchase. Of course, this could just be a coincidence. But most likely this was done intentionally by the employees of the marker.

This is done in order to hide the real datemanufacture, as most likely the product was expired. It also happens that a few more stickers are pasted over the real date. Which could also be an indication that the product is expired.

Another important factor when choosing a product is the condition of the packaging. If you see that the container is not sealed or has a non-marketable appearance, then this may indicate that the product was not stored in accordance with storage technologies. Even if the date of manufacture still allows you to buy the product, but the condition of the packaging is in doubt, then it is better to leave the product on the shelf. At the same time, look at what is written on the packaging about storing the semi-finished product.

In what place and at what temperature it should be, also matters. If the refrigerator is turned off, and the product must be stored at sub-zero temperatures, then, of course, the right choice should be made. It's not worth buying. In any store, according to the technology of food storage, there should be refrigerators with thermometers. So, if you haven’t found this, then you can ask the seller to bring a thermometer to measure the temperature in the refrigerator. It's your right.