Not all people know what fresh meat means. Some believe that this concept is a characteristic of the best and freshest product, and try to acquire it in the first place. But is that true?
Fresh meat characteristics
The main property of such meat is the highest freshness. In accordance with GOST, it is paired for the first one and a half hours after the slaughter of the animal. In practice, the time interval during which the product is attributed to this thermal stage is somewhat longer, up to four hours.
The meat is characterized by an inhomogeneous state of the fibers, with excessive stress in some places, water content is observed. There is no characteristic odor. If you boil it, then the broth will turn cloudy.
Meat needs some time to “ripen” and move into the category of chilled. The period required for this depends on which animal it is fresh meat. Pork, for example, will reach the required state in about a week. The chicken will need only a couple of days. And the beef will ripen in a month.
Matured meat is different from fresh meat. Its color and muscle structure change, the fibers become softer. On top there is a dried crust.
Where is fresh meat used?
Fresh meat is not recommended to fry or cook, it is not suitable for barbecue. Regardless of the time spent on the heat treatment, it will remain tough and tasteless. Even a long stay in the marinade will not improve the taste. And it is unlikely that they will be able to find the meat of only the killed animal on sale.
But there are some types of products for the manufacture of which only meat of slaughtered cattle is used. These are sausages and sausages, sausages.
Single stage cooling
In order for fresh meat to ripen, but not deteriorate, it should be subjected to a cooling procedure. There are several ways. One of the most used is single-stage cooling.
The procedure involves placing fresh meat in the refrigerator compartment with an air temperature of zero. Because of this, more time is required for the meat to cool to the desired temperature (minimum 24 hours), which leads to an increased percentage of drying. It is not surprising that the weight of fresh meat is greater than that of chilled meat, since excess water leaves it during ripening. Weight loss using this technology can reach 2% (normal). In practice, it can be higher. With large volumes is a significant loss.
With a large production volume, it is necessary to have a sufficient number of cooling chambers, which requires additional investment and space for their placement.
The cooling of fresh meat is associated with a uniform coating of the carcass with a fairly dense crust. With high humidity, it can become thicker, which harms the product and reduces its shelf life.
This method has not only disadvantages, but also a significant advantage. Since cooling occurs gradually over a long period of time, muscle mass is relaxed without the risk of contraction.
Two-stage cooling
It is also called blast chilling technology. The cooling of fresh meat at the first stage occurs with air in conditions of negative temperature. If the flow of meat carcasses that are fixed to the overhead conveyor is constant, then the temperature inside the chamber does not change. For cooling carcasses of different cattle, individual temperature conditions are necessary. So for pork, they should be between -6 and -12 degrees. The procedure takes about 2 hours. Beef cools at a higher temperature - from -3 to -5, for about 5 hours.
Quick cooling helps minimize weight loss. Usually they are in the range of 1-1.5%.
At the second stage, well-cooled meat is placed in the refrigerator for about a day with a temperature inside the chamber of about zero.
As a result of applying this technology, the meat acquires an excellent appearance and a longer shelf life. This is also associated with the formation of a very thin crust, which is capable of transmitting oxygen.
If the seller in the market or in the store claims that he is selling fresh meat, you should not trust him. This is nothing more than a publicity stunt.