How to understand that the meat has gone bad advice from professionals

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

Meat, like any other product, cannot stay fresh all the time. Over time, under the action of various enzymes, microorganisms, and molds, it deteriorates and becomes unsuitable for human consumption. Any hostess should be able to identify a low-quality product. But how do you know if the meat has gone bad? The advice of experienced chefs will help to deal with this issue.

Key indicators

Before you start cooking anything from meat, you need to be sure that it is fresh enough and suitable for further processing. Suspicious products should not be used. This may lead to undesirable consequences. Novice housewives in such cases ask the same question: how to understand that the meat has gone bad? Experienced professionals or those who often encounter a similar problem can answer it. According to them, there are three main indicators of the freshness of meat:

1. Appearance. The meat of any animal should have a color from bright pink to darkbrown. Any iridescent overflows and grayish shades are unacceptable. If there are bones or joints in a piece of meat, then they should be white. For fat layers, a yellowish tint is acceptable.
2. Smell. When buying a product in a store, you definitely need to smell it. But how do you know if the meat has gone bad? Usually an external examination is not enough. Here we must remember that fresh meat practically does not smell, with the exception of a slight shade of milk. Any extraneous "flavors" indicate poor quality of the product.
3. Consistency. How do you know if meat has gone bad? To the touch, fresh meat should be elastic and fairly dense. The fossa, which is formed with light pressure by hand, usually disappears immediately. A spoiled product, on the contrary, will be loose. Your finger goes into it like butter. In addition, a fresh piece of meat will never be sticky and slippery.

Knowing these indicators, it is easy to distinguish a good product from a bad one.

Is the stuffing spoiled?

Inexperienced housewives often get lost when it comes to minced meat. How to understand if the meat has gone bad if before your eyes is not a whole piece, but a chopped semi-finished product? However, the freshness of minced meat is determined by the same indicators.

The product must be well inspected, smelled and be sure to touch it with your hands. Only then can a final decision be made as to its suitability. Take, for example, ground beef. It doesn't have to be cherry red. AtIn storage, the beef gradually begins to darken from the inside. This is caused by the lack of direct access to oxygen. In the middle, the stuffing may even turn brown over time. But this is quite normal. The semi-finished product should not smell bad. This is a clear sign of a spoiled product. Here we must always remember that even in a fresh product there are bacteria. Therefore, in the presence of any suspicious aroma, it is better not to risk it. In conclusion, minced meat must be touched by hand. If it is sticky, slippery, or too wet, then no heat treatment will fix such a product.

Determination of pork freshness

Each type of meat has its own characteristics. For example, there is pork on the counter in the store. How do you know if meat has gone bad? Here again, we need to remember three main signs.

The color of a piece of pork must be pale pink. A darker shade indicates that it is either no longer fresh, or the meat of an old animal is in front of you. In this case, it is better to refuse such a purchase. A dish prepared from such pork will be disgusting in taste and will not give pleasure. If the meat is very pale, then growth hormones may have been added to animal feed. It is not safe to cook food from such products. If the meat looks normal on the outside, this does not mean that it should not be smelled. Sometimes sellers try to hide an unpleasant odor with spices or table vinegar. The presence of any foreign flavors indicates that the product is not as good as it seems. When pressed with a fingerpork, like any other meat, must be elastic. When buying a product on the market, one must not forget to check for the presence of a sanitary inspection stamp.

Characteristics of Spoiled Chicken

Poultry is no exception. It can also become unusable with prolonged and improper storage. How do you know if chicken meat has gone bad? The inadequate quality of such a product is determined according to the scheme already familiar to everyone. First, the color of the meat changes from pink to grey. This is acceptable in small quantities. The carcass can be cooked a little more. If there is very little natural shade left, then such a chicken can no longer be saved. Secondly, spoiled poultry meat has a characteristic unpleasant odor. It is very difficult to get rid of it, yes, and it is not necessary.

Third, the skin of a spoiled carcass will be slippery and sticky. A small coating is formed on the surface in the form of a thin shiny film. Sometimes you have to deal with an already finished product. For example, spoiled fried chicken smells like sulfur or rotten eggs. And no spices will help here. And another important sign is the presence of mold. Even the initial formation of fluffy black or green formations is a signal that the product is completely spoiled.