Meat tenderizer
As a meat tenderizer ( English tenderizer ) are collectively various vegetable enzymes and designated produced by them means that the tissue of meat loosen, thus making it crumbly. The enzymes used, papain , bromelain and ficin, are obtained from papayas , pineapples and figs . Also Kiwis contain a protein-dissolving enzyme, which actinidain .
principle
Fresh meat is tough - especially due to the connective tissue that surrounds the muscle fibers . Only after hanging out for a few days to two weeks, depending on the type of meat, does it become tender, caused by the enzymes contained in the meat ( autolysis ) and bacterial metabolic products, especially lactic acid , which partially convert the connective tissue into gelatine . Marinating for hours or days also loosens the tissue with acid. Meat tenderizers, on the other hand, contain enzymes that work much faster, which dissolve the connective tissue through proteolysis - a process that takes place in a similar way during digestion. They are therefore used to shorten hanging, also as a substitute for marinating or long braising of meat that is particularly rich in connective tissue. These enzymes remain largely inactive at cold store or refrigerator temperature. They only take effect when heated, until they finally curdle during the cooking process .
The Indios traditionally used the juice of papaya and pineapple to prepare meat dishes. The physicist and hobby chef Nicholas Kurti investigated various methods of tenderizing meat and demonstrated the enzymatic effect at a meeting of the Royal Institution in 1969 using the example of a roast pork in one half of which he had injected pineapple juice.
How to use
In the 1970s, in some countries such as the US and UK, meat tenderizers were injected into the bloodstream just before slaughter , which allowed them to spread through the tissues. This made it possible to avoid hanging out, but this practice made sensitive innards such as kidneys, liver and tongue unsaleable. There were also protests by traditional meat producers, which led to this procedure being banned. A somewhat different, more complex process is the injection into the meat shortly after slaughter, but this only works locally and therefore has to be carried out several times.
Meat tenderizers for the home essentially consist of salt as an extender to make it easier to dose the enzymes. Other ingredients, depending on the manufacturer, are sugar , lactose , monosodium glutamate (flavor enhancer), spices , seasoning and release agents such as magnesium carbonate . These meat tenderizers are used instead of simple salt, they sometimes also serve as seasonings . So that the enzymes can distribute themselves in the meat, meat treated in this way should rest for up to a few hours before cooking, depending on the thickness.
Mechanical meat tenderizers
The so-called steakers are sometimes referred to as meat tenderizers in simple versions for the household. These are devices that use numerous blades arranged like a nail board to sever the muscle fibers and thereby loosen the tissue. Due to the associated increase in surface area and tissue destruction, the meat dries out more easily during frying. Meat tenderizers are also used for the same purpose .
literature
- Eva Kapfelsberger, Udo Pollmer : Eat and Die. Chemistry in our food . Kiepenheuer & Witsch, 1982, ISBN 3-462-01503-6 ( Deutschlandradio Kultur ).
- Hervé This : riddles and secrets of culinary art. Explained scientifically . 11th edition. Piper, Munich 2008, ISBN 978-3-492-23458-0 .
- Anna-Lisa Kratzel: Meat tenderizer - Vegetable proteolytic enzymes (Harnisch - Hygiene Report)