Alec Titan
Meat is made from muscle tissue, which undergoes chemical and physical changes before it becomes edible. These changes begin before slaughter and continue after death, when the animal's blood circulation ceases and its heart stops beating. This means the muscle can no longer use oxygen, and so begins to produce lactic acid, which causes a decline in pH levels. The muscle fibres, or myofibrils, contain filaments arranged in a repetitive pattern. When cooked, the muscle-movement proteins unfold and form intricate knots, causing the meat to become more firm.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Muscle tissue undergoes chemical and physical changes before it becomes edible meat | Slaughtered animal's blood circulation ceases, and its heart stops beating, meaning the muscle can no longer use oxygen |
| Muscle fibres are bundled together with connective tissue | Muscle fibres, also known as myofibrils, contain filaments arranged in a repetitive pattern |
| Muscle-movement proteins myosin and actin unfold and form intricate knots when cooked | This is a similar chemical process to cooking an egg, and meat becomes more firm during this denaturation process |
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What You'll Learn
The chemical changes that take place in slaughtered animals
Muscle becomes meat through a series of chemical and physical changes that take place before and after slaughter.
The journey from muscle to meat begins before slaughtering. So-called "pre-slaughter stress" can dramatically affect meat quality. In pigs, this process is referred to as pale soft exudative meat, resulting in meat that is a very pale colour and that tastes particularly acidic. In cattle and sheep, the equivalent is Dark Firm and Dry Meat.
Once slaughtered, the animal's blood circulation ceases and its heart stops beating. Since blood helps bring oxygen to the muscles and push waste products away from them, this means that the muscle can no longer use oxygen. Once all the oxygen is depleted, the way in which the muscle breaks down energy changes, and it begins to produce lactic acid. As lactic acid builds up, pH levels decline.
Lactic acid serves as a preservative, lessening deterioration of the carcass until the temperature of the muscles reaches 4°C (40°F). At this point, rigor mortis (the stiffening of the muscles in death) begins to set in.
When myosin and actin, muscle-movement proteins, are cooked, they unfold and form intricate knots—a similar chemical process occurs when you cook an egg. And, like an egg, meat becomes more firm during this denaturation process.
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The physical changes that take place in slaughtered animals
Muscle tissue undergoes chemical and physical changes before it becomes edible meat. The journey from muscle to meat begins even before the slaughtering process. For instance, so-called "pre-slaughter stress" can dramatically affect meat quality. In pigs, this process is referred to as pale soft exudative meat, resulting in meat that is a very pale colour and that tastes particularly acidic. In cattle and sheep, the equivalent is the self-explanatory Dark Firm and Dry Meat.
Once slaughtered, the animal's blood circulation ceases, and its heart stops beating. Since blood helps bring oxygen to the muscles and push waste products away from them, this means that the muscle can no longer use oxygen. Once all the oxygen is depleted, the way in which the muscle breaks down energy changes, and it begins to produce lactic acid. As lactic acid builds up, pH levels decline.
Meat muscle is made out of fibres that are bundled together with connective tissue. Muscle fibres, also known as myofibrils, contain filaments arranged in a repetitive pattern alongside the other myofibrils. When myosin and actin, muscle-movement proteins, are cooked, they unfold and form intricate knots—a similar chemical process occurs when you cook an egg. And, like an egg, meat becomes more firm during this denaturation process.
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The structure of meat
Meat is made from muscle tissue, which undergoes chemical and physical changes before it becomes edible. The journey from muscle to meat begins before the slaughtering process, with so-called "pre-slaughter stress" affecting meat quality. For example, pigs can develop pale soft exudative meat, which is very pale and tastes acidic. Cattle and sheep can develop dark firm and dry meat.
Once an animal is slaughtered, its blood circulation ceases and its heart stops beating. As blood helps bring oxygen to the muscles and push waste products away from them, the muscle can no longer use oxygen. Once all the oxygen is depleted, the way in which the muscle breaks down energy changes, and it begins to produce lactic acid. As lactic acid builds up, pH levels decline.
Meat muscle is made out of fibres that are bundled together with connective tissue. Muscle fibres, also known as myofibrils, contain filaments arranged in a repetitive pattern alongside the other myofibrils. When myosin and actin, muscle-movement proteins, are cooked, they unfold and form intricate knots—a similar chemical process occurs when you cook an egg. And, like an egg, meat becomes more firm during this denaturation process.
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The chemical composition of muscle tissue
Muscle tissue undergoes chemical and physical changes before it becomes edible meat. Once an animal is slaughtered, its blood circulation ceases, and its heart stops beating. As blood helps bring oxygen to the muscles, this means that the muscle can no longer use oxygen. Once all the oxygen is depleted, the way in which the muscle breaks down energy changes, and it begins to produce lactic acid. As lactic acid builds up, pH levels decline.
Meat muscle is made out of fibres that are bundled together with connective tissue. Muscle fibres, also known as myofibrils, contain filaments arranged in a repetitive pattern alongside the other myofibrils. When myosin and actin, muscle-movement proteins, are cooked, they unfold and form intricate knots—a similar chemical process occurs when you cook an egg. And, like an egg, meat becomes more firm during this denaturation process.
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The denaturation process
Muscle becomes meat through a series of chemical and physical changes. The journey from muscle to meat begins even before the slaughtering process. For example, "pre-slaughter stress" can dramatically affect meat quality. In pigs, this process is referred to as pale soft exudative meat, resulting in meat that is a very pale colour and that tastes particularly acidic. In cattle and sheep, the equivalent is Dark Firm and Dry Meat.
Once an animal is slaughtered, its blood circulation ceases, and its heart stops beating. Since blood helps bring oxygen to the muscles and push waste products away from them, this means that the muscle can no longer use oxygen. Once all the oxygen is depleted, the way in which the muscle breaks down energy changes, and it begins to produce lactic acid instead. As lactic acid builds up, pH levels decline.
Meat muscle is made out of fibres that are bundled together with connective tissue. Muscle fibres, also known as myofibrils, contain filaments arranged in a repetitive pattern alongside the other myofibrils. When myosin and actin, muscle-movement proteins, are cooked, they unfold and form intricate knots—a similar chemical process occurs when you cook an egg. And, like an egg, meat becomes more firm during this denaturation process.
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Frequently asked questions
Muscle tissue undergoes chemical and physical changes before it becomes edible meat.
The journey from muscle to meat begins before the slaughtering process.
Once slaughtered, the animal's blood circulation ceases, and its heart stops beating. This means that the muscle can no longer use oxygen.
Once all the oxygen is depleted, the muscle begins to produce lactic acid.
Meat muscle is made out of fibres that are bundled together with connective tissue.
