How to determine that the meat has deteriorated: 3 sure signs

For the preparation of healthy and tasty chops, cutlets, goulash, only fresh products should be used. But not every housewife knows how to understand that the meat has deteriorated and it is better to get rid of it. Sometimes, after a purchase, they forget about it for several days, putting it in the refrigerator for only a couple of hours - until the evening, when there will be more free time.

Basic indicators

Before you start creating delicious and fragrant culinary masterpieces, it is important to be sure of the quality of the ingredients. Beginning housewives who want to surprise loved ones with something tasty, face a similar problem more often. Experienced culinary specialists highlight several parameters that indicate the quality of a piece of meat, be it pork, beef or poultry.

• Colour.

The flesh should have a color from bright pink (chicken) to dark brown (beef). Any stains, gray patches are unacceptable. If there are bones in the piece, their color should be white, as in the joints. Fat layers can be yellow or almost white.

• Smell.

A high-quality product practically does not smell. Some meats may have a subtle milk flavor. If there are extraneous odors, it means that irreversible decomposition processes began in the product.

• Structure.

Elasticity, density - characteristics of fresh meat. The pulp should be pressed. If the resulting hole disappears immediately - a good quality product. And the finger itself should "enter" into it almost like oil.

When buying meat on the market, a piece should be held in your hand: fresh will never be sticky or slippery.

Determination of freshness by meat

The meat of different animals has its own characteristics. If only pink color is normal for pork, then even a small amount of grayish is acceptable for chicken. When preparing meat for further processing, sites with this color just need to be cut.

Pork

Color will help to recognize the staleness of a meat piece. Fresh product obtained from a young animal should be pale pink. Darker shades indicate his windwardness. If the tenderloin is obtained after slaughtering an old pig, the dish for which the product is bought will be spoiled. Old pork tastes bad.

It happens that meat, on the contrary, is very light. This may indicate the addition of growth hormones to animal feed. It is not safe to use such a tenderloin.

If the piece looks great outwardly, you need to smell it and feel it. Sometimes meat sprinkled with spices gets onto the shelves. You should refuse such a purchase: unscrupulous sellers can hide the unpleasant aroma that has appeared.

A hen

With prolonged and improper storage, the chicken carcass, as well as its individual parts, can become unusable. In a spoiled fillet, the pink color changes and turns gray. If there are few such sites, you can save the meat by cutting them to a healthy tissue and slightly boiling the remaining piece.

A spoiled chicken has a characteristic unpleasant odor, which is impossible to mask.

Another parameter indicating the poor quality of the product, or rather, its unsuitability, is a sticky and slippery skin. On the surface, a slight coating forms in the form of a thin shiny film. If the finished chicken lay in the refrigerator for a long time, you can also determine by its condition whether it is suitable for consumption. The smell of sulfur, the appearance of a greenish color - a signal that it is time to throw away the product.

Beef

Since beef is a perishable product, it is important to correctly determine the condition of the meat.The main parameters for determining three. But if doubts remain, auxiliary signs can be taken into account.

Determination of freshness of beef meat

Turkey

The color of fresh meat may vary. The key role in this case is played by the bird species.

Signs of quality and fresh product:

• the surface of a light dry skin without damage, bruising, bruising,
• subtle smell;
• lack of mucus and sticky layer;
• when pressed, rapid return of form and lack of fluid;
• healthy shine and even color;
• light fatty layers (fat darkens in old birds);
• bulging eyes without clouding near the cornea (if the hostess plans to buy a whole turkey.

The freshness of minced meat is determined by the same characteristics as for a whole piece of meat: external state, smell.

Spoiled meat is a dangerous product. Its use can lead to sad consequences. If the hostess does not plan to cook something from meat in the near future, then even the freshest tenderloin is better to put in the freezer.