Everybody loves a juicy steak, but I've always wondered exactly what the juice is. I assume it's mostly water, but what are the body fluids/cell fluids that give it the great flavor? (Apart from any liquid marinade used.)
-
Starting today August 7th, 2024, in order to post in the Married Couples, Courting Couples, or Singles forums, you will not be allowed to post if you have your Marital status designated as private. Announcements will be made in the respective forums as well but please note that if yours is currently listed as Private, you will need to submit a ticket in the Support Area to have yours changed.
-
CF has always been a site that welcomes people from different backgrounds and beliefs to participate in discussion and even debate. That is the nature of its ministry. In view of recent events emotions are running very high. We need to remind people of some basic principles in debating on this site. We need to be civil when we express differences in opinion. No personal attacks. Avoid you, your statements. Don't characterize an entire political party with comparisons to Fascism or Communism or other extreme movements that committed atrocities. CF is not the place for broad brush or blanket statements about groups and political parties. Put the broad brushes and blankets away when you come to CF, better yet, put them in the incinerator. Debate had no place for them. We need to remember that people that commit acts of violence represent themselves or a small extreme faction.
Biology/Culinary Question
- Thread starter Chesterton
- Start date
It is mostly water and melted fat and a little blood and broken down proteins from the meat.
Simple to figure out:
Take the drippings from a roasting pan and let it cool in the refrigerator. Some is fat and will separate. some is like gelatin (proteins) and some is just water.
Heat up the drippings and first the water will evaporate then the gelatin will burn then the fat.
As far as proportions are concerned... depending on the cut of meat... yes it is mostly water. Bacon may be mostly fat... especially the cheap stuff.
Simple to figure out:
Take the drippings from a roasting pan and let it cool in the refrigerator. Some is fat and will separate. some is like gelatin (proteins) and some is just water.
Heat up the drippings and first the water will evaporate then the gelatin will burn then the fat.
As far as proportions are concerned... depending on the cut of meat... yes it is mostly water. Bacon may be mostly fat... especially the cheap stuff.
Upvote
0
Okay, but can you be more specific, chemically speaking? Beef, pork, poultry and fish all produce liquid when cooked, but the liquids have different tastes. It seems weird to me that proteins and fats will produce these different flavors. Do they each have particular names or chemical make-ups which would identify where the flavor comes from?
Upvote
0
The taste differences in cooked food come from the complex differences in the breakdown products of the various heat treated fats, starches and amino-acids, from a multitude of tissues, animal grain and fermented or processed products.
There isn't a simply way to put it because it's not a simple thing.
Each cooked meat will have distinctive and unique oils and protein that cook out of it, that will change based upon the preparation.
Variety is easy to come by by changing subtle things about the process or the basic products, which is why things like cheese can taste so different, because each cheese has both different methodology and different culturing bacteria so it will produce different flavors through slightly different chemical processes.
So, it's not just the kind of meat but the fat content, the fat composition the amount of heat added and the pre-treatment that will determine how your steak tastes, all through altering the chemistry.
Upvote
0
Similar threads
