One of the most important sectors of the food industry is the meat industry. Every day, our body needs fuel for its full life. Many can not live without meat in its pure form and in 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 in this division.
How to determine the category of meat products?
Never paid attention to the fact that the same dish with its repeated preparation can be obtained in different ways.
Or you at a restaurant had lunch with a tasty and juicy steak that won your taste buds. They came home and tried to reproduce a masterpiece. At the same time, they used all the same ingredients as the cook 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, harsh? Of course, the first time you can doubt your abilities or write off everything in a bad mood and try again and again. But the desired result is not achieved? But everything is very simple. The quality of meat plays a very important role in cooking, if not the main one.
It is not easy for a simple housewife to understand all categories of meat products. Indeed, today they are not so few. 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 to know when choosing a meat or meat product is its country of origin.
Product Country
If you live in a village or just breed livestock, then you know how to feed 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 global suppliers of quality beef in the world are the USA, Australia and South America. But by this criterion one 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, familiarize yourself with the following criteria.
Remember that America is the main producer of not only 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 farms where livestock are regularly bred for sale, a special breed of animal is raised. They provide high quality meat. This is a cattle of a certain breed, which is looked after by specialists. They are responsible for ensuring that not only is nutrition complete, but also that the animal receives beneficial trace elements and vitamins.
Classification of meat by type of slaughtered animals
I. Cattle meat:
- By sex: meat of cows, castrated and non-castrated bulls.
- According to the age:
- Veal - animal meat, which at the time of slaughter was not less than 2 weeks, but not more than 3 months. In turn, veal is divided into dairy and ordinary.
- Young growth - the age of the animal is from 3 months to 3 years.
- Beef of an adult animal. His age is at least 3 years. Also in this category can be attributed to the meat of cows - heifers.
II. Meat of small cattle: mutton and goat meat.
Both that and another classification by age and sex does not have. But, nevertheless, animal meat that does not reach 1 year during slaughter is most valued.
ΠΠΠ. Pork
- Differences by gender: uncastrated males, castrated males (they are also called hogs), sows.
- By age: pig meat, gilt, pork.
- By heat treatment (by processing in the proportion of muscle mass near the bone):
- Chilled pork, the temperature of which should be in the range from 0 to +4 degrees.
- Supercooled pork with a temperature of -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 of no higher than β8 degrees.
- Paired. The meat of a freshly slaughtered animal.
- Cooled, which cannot exceed the mark of +15 degrees.
- Thawed or thawed. Usually its temperature will not be lower than β1 degrees.
All meat is divided into two main categories of fatness. It depends on the development of muscle mass and adipose tissue. But this does not apply to pork. Here we will focus on five categories.
Semi-finished meat and meat products
This group, in turn, is classified into several subgroups:
- Types: lumpy meat, minced meat, meat in the dough.
- Groups: meat, meat-containing.
- Categories of meat products: "A", "B", "C", "G", "D". The category to which the semi-finished product belongs is determined by the product itself. The higher the muscle content, the higher the product category.
- Subspecies: weighted or pre-packaged, breaded, non-breaded, stuffed and unstuffed, molded and unformed, portioned semi-finished products, boneless semi-finished products and bone products.
- By heat treatment: frozen product, frostbitten, chilled.
Next, we consider in more detail each of the categories of meat products.
What is the meat category "A" semi-finished product?
This category includes those products in the formulation of which the share of muscle tissue occupies at least 80% of the total mass. These include: semi-finished meat, meat in dough or minced. It can be dumplings containing cuttings from certain pieces of beef or pork.
But itβs very difficult to find a high-quality semi-finished meat product of category βAβ, since the classic recipe must contain most of the pork. And this automatically reduces the muscle mass in the product.
Meat products of category "B"
Category B meat product - what is it? Like the previous version, this group can be characterized as the production of semi-finished products, but in which the content of muscle tissue is not less than 60%. It can also be minced meat, meat in the dough, etc.
And if you look in more detail on the example of dumplings, then a meat product of category "B" - what is it? Yes, everything is simple. These are the same dumplings as category "A", but only with a lower beef content.
So
, you can safely buy
such dumplings and are not afraid. Since finding them is much easier 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 the meat category "B" semi-finished product?
In contrast to the first two categories, this one can already be talked about as a meat-containing product with a muscle fraction of 40 to 60% in the formulation.
The products of this group can also be consumed without any fear, but giving to children is undesirable.
Prefabricated meat category "G"
According to the recipe, the products of category "G" are similar to category "B", but the content of the muscle fraction is much less. Namely - from 20 to 40%
Semi-finished meat-containing category "D"
And, as you already understood, only 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 most minimal: less than 20%. And here the question arises: "What kind of product can this be, in which there will be practically no meat, but at the same time it will be considered meat-containing?" Itβs just sausage without meat, stuffed cabbage with minced meat, etc. Broadly speaking, these are products that do not contain meat, but their aroma and smell are present.
The basic rules that you should pay attention to when choosing a semi-finished product
Be sure to pay attention to the product labeling, 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 located is worn out or you do not see it well, then you should refuse such a purchase. Of course, this may be a mere coincidence. But most likely it was done by the markerβs staff intentionally.
This is done in order to hide the actual date of manufacture, since, most likely, the product was expired. It also happens that a few more stickers are pasted on top of the present date. Which may also be evidence that the product is expired.
Another important factor when choosing a product is the packaging condition. If you see that the container is not tight or has a non-marketable appearance, then this may indicate that the product was not stored in accordance with storage technologies. Even if the manufacturing date still allows you to buy the product, but the packaging is in doubt, then in this case it is better to leave the product on the shelf. At the same time, look at what is written on the packaging about the storage of the semi-finished product.
Where and at what temperature it should be located 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. You should not buy it. In any store, according to the technology of food storage, refrigerators with thermometers should be installed. So, if you did not find this, then you can ask the seller to bring a thermometer to measure the temperature in the refrigerator. It's your right.