“There will be solid connective tissue instead of meat”: what is the danger of mincing

In minced meat varieties – we get it

Minced meat can be in several categories, determined by the amount of muscle tissue (ie meat) in the composition of the product. Victoria Oganesova, an expert in animal food products, explained how to spot this when choosing store-bought ground beef. “More than 80% of muscle tissue in category A ground beef should be in category B – 60% to 80%, category C – 40% to 60%, category D – 20% to 40% and finally. Category D—up to 20%,” she says.

If you haven’t read the label, you can choose ground beef by name. According to the expert, GOST R 55365-2012 “Minced meat. Specifications” described the requirements for the following minced meat: category A – “Beef”, “Lamb”, “Horse”; category B – “Moscow”, “Pork”, “Home”, “Miscellaneous”; Category B – “Gentle”.

It is definitely not worth buying minced meat in categories D and G, warns Dmitry Bystrov, associate professor of technology at the Moscow State University of Food Production. “Well minced meat is categories A and B. It is better not to take anything below, as these types of minced meat will have solid connective tissue instead of meat and other additives that will increase the mass of the product,” he says.

According to the technologist, minced meat in large-scale production facilities is made either from fresh raw materials or from meat that has not been frozen more than once. “Mince should not be made from re-frozen raw materials. But if you buy minced meat by weight, unfortunately, here the manufacturer can twist it from anything and freeze it as much as you want, ”says Dmitry Bystrov. According to him, refreezing directly affects not only the quality of the product, but also future meals.

The fact is that with repeated freezing, the water in the meat turns into crystals, which, when thawed, “grow” and tear the structure of muscle tissue.

“In this way, the liquid in this structure is not retained and the meat becomes like a sponge. Accordingly, all the juice contained in the meat will simply come out. And cutlets or meatballs made from it will be tasty and not juicy, but rubbery, ”says he.

What additives can be in minced meat

Many are afraid to buy ready-made minced meat, as they believe that instead of meat it goes into cartilage, bone and skin. Dmitry Bystrov assures that in large productions these parts are not added to the minced meat, although there is capacity for this. “If you use modern industrial meat grinders, you can even turn a whole cow! They will crush everything – bones, teeth and hooves. But none of these do stuffing, believe me,” he assures.

The technologist adds that skin and cartilage can be added to shredded chicken, but only if mechanically deboned poultry meat is used to produce the product. With this cooking method, the fillets are removed from the bones, and then the bones with meat remains are pressed through a sieve under a special press, as a result of which the bones remain on the sieve and go into the meat. mince.

In the composition of minced meat of some large manufacturers you can find collagen protein. According to Bystrov, they are made from the same bones, joints, tendons and skin. “It may even include hair, teeth and nails that have been fermented and treated in a special way,” she says. The technologist explains that the task of collagen protein is to retain moisture in products, but minced meat manufacturers, in their opinion, add collagen to reduce the cost of the product.

“So the producer saves money: instead of meat, he first adds water, and then adds collagen, which absorbs this water like a sponge. As a result, the collagen protein can be quite a large volume of meat,” says the technologist.

By weight or store

There is a huge difference between ground meat on a tray bought from the market and pickled meat from the market. According to Dmitry Bystrov, in terms of safety, store-bought ground beef made in large factories is better than loose ground beef. The technologist explains this by the fact that the production in meat processing plants is completely aseptic and automatically extends the shelf life of the product.

Bulk ground beef may be of high quality, but Bystrov recommends purchasing it only from trusted places. “If you have a butcher friend that you always get good ground beef, why not. The main thing is that the meat grinder and countertop are clean, and the minced meat is stored in the refrigerator, ”says.

Victoria Oganesova adds that storing minced meat in trays is easier to identify because it has all the markings on the packaging. But in his opinion, it is also safe to buy ground beef by weight on the fixed market, because there are always veterinarians out there checking all the products.

“You should be wary of minced meat and other meat products purchased at hand – from “farmers”, “retirees” at fairs without permission. “The risk of buying a product that does not meet the standards and conditions in such places is very high,” he said.

What should be the color and smell of ground beef?

According to Dmitry Bystrov, any meat product, if it is fresh, practically does not smell. Minced meat can have a light, non-irritating meat odor without harsh, sour or unpleasant notes. Don’t believe the vendors who say, “The ground beef suffocates, it needs to breathe.” That means the product is not fresh,” he says.

Victoria Oganesova agrees that odor is an excellent marker for determining the breakdown of proteins and fats, so if you have the opportunity to smell the ground beef before you buy it, you definitely should. But the technologist considers that the color of minced meat is the main indicator of product freshness.

“If the meat is noticeably darker and the fat is yellow rather than milky white, then it’s likely that the ground meat has already started to oxidize,” he explains.

Dmitry Bystrov explains that the ground beef should be pink or light pink and the chicken should be lighter, especially if it’s lean ground beef from the breast. “If the color of the minced meat is too bright, the manufacturer may have added sodium nitrite as a preservative. It not only prolongs the shelf life, but also acts as a color stabilizer, which brings out the color,” he says. According to the technologist, you should not be afraid of this preservative, because in the composition of sausages and sausages there is always sodium “However, the WHO has recognized it as a carcinogen, so it’s best not to abuse it,” he adds.

According to technologists, you should not be afraid of the liquid in a pan with minced meat. But its complete absence should be warned. “This may indicate that the manufacturer has added collagen or another water-retaining agent and all the moisture is in the ground beef,” says Bystrov. He explains that the liquid is broth, the color of which also indicates the freshness of the product.

“The juice should be pinkish in color. If it is dark brown or brown, this indicates that the minced meat has been shifted for a long time. And in this humid environment, pathogenic microflora develops very well and quickly. You shouldn’t eat minced meat like that,” she warns.

Some minced meat is made immediately with seasonings, these are, as a rule, ready-made semi-finished products for making cutlets or meatballs. According to Victoria Oganesova, there is nothing wrong if you buy a product for which its quality has been checked. “If the product is bought from a reliable place, spoiled meats are analyzed and understood. If we take the ground meat “by hand”, no one here can make any guarantees, theoretically, the spices can mask the products that are starting to spoil,” he explains.

What is ground beef by weight?

Entrepreneur, grocery store owner Albert Zakirov told socialbites.ca how and in what batches minced meat is made. According to him, the most popular ground beef among buyers is a pork and beef mix, which sellers often call “homemade.” He explains that in such minced meat there is always more pork (about 70-80%), because it is much cheaper than beef.

If the pork is taken from the scapula or ham, the beef is called “stuffing”. “This is a large block of frozen, pressed beef that is thawed and passed through a meat grinder,” he says. That’s why Zakirov recommends buying meat and making the minced meat yourself.

“Briquette meat is not washed, it turns as it is. It’s not scary, because it will be heat-treated, but I still think it’s better to make your own ground beef, ”says Zakirov.

The entrepreneur adds that in the markets, ground beef by weight can be made from something completely different from what is indicated on the label. “Half the stuffing is the decorations. The rest is made from chicken stomachs and hearts. It turns out beautiful stuffing, and the layman will never understand what it is made of, ”says. Zakirov does not recommend buying ground turkey. “Because the turkey is more expensive, they can cheat and add chicken to lower the cost of the product,” she says.