On food and cooking the science and lore of the kitchen ( PDFDrive ) 286

seen,slowcookinggivestheagingenzymesa
chancetodoinafewhourswhatwould
otherwisetakeweeks.
CuttingandPackaging

Inthetraditionalbutcheringpracticethat
prevaileduntilthelate20thcenturybutis
nowrare,animalcarcassesaredividedatthe
slaughterhouseintolargepieces—halvesor
quarters—whicharethendeliveredtoretail
butchers,whobreakthemdownintoroasts,
steaks,chops,andtheotherstandardcuts.The
meatmightnotbewrappedatalluntilsale,
andthenonlylooselyin“butcher’spaper.”
Suchmeatiscontinuouslyexposedtotheair,
soittendstobefullyoxygenatedandred,and
itslowlydriesout,whichconcentratesits
flavoratthesametimethatitleavessome
surfaceareasdiscoloredandoff-flavoredand
inneedoftrimming.
Themoderntendencyinbutcheringisto


breakmeatdownintotheretailcutsatthe
packinghouse,vacuum-wraptheminplastic
preciselytoavoidexposuretotheair,and
delivertheseprepackagedcutstothe
supermarket.Vacuum-packedmeathasthe
economicadvantageofassembly-line
efficiency,andkeepsforweeks(asmuchas
12forbeef,6to8forporkandlamb)without

anyweightlossduetodryingortrimming.
Oncerepackaged,meathasadisplay-caselife
ofafewdays.
Carefullyhandled,wellpackagedmeat
willbefirmtothetouch,moistandevencoloredinappearance,andmildandfreshin
smell.
MeatSpoilageandStorage

Freshmeatisanunstablefood.Oncealiving
musclehasbeentransformedintoapieceof
meatitbeginstochange,bothchemicallyand
biologically.Thechangesthatweassociate