[Sca-cooks] Slaughtering

[Avraham haRofeh of Northpass]

> Why / how does hanging a carcass help tenderize it?
> Phillipa

Turning to the Bible, Harold McGee's "On Food and Cooking," he says,

Exactly what happens during aging is not known, but the general impression
is that the muscle's own enzymes are the principle agents. As lactic acid
accumulates in the tissues after slaughter, it begins to break down the
walls of lysozymes, the cell bodies that store protein-attacking enzymes. As
a result, these enzymes, whose normal function is to digest proteins in a
controlled way for use by the cells, are liberated and attack the cell
proteins indiscriminately. Flavor changes are probably the result of the
degradation of proteins into individual amino acids, which generally have a
strong flavor.It is not clear whether these same enzymes also tenderize the
meat by breaking up the actin-myosin complex; the evidence is contradictory.
Whatever the cause - enzymes, continuing mechanical tension, an unfavorable
balance of acids and minerals - the muscle filaments do undergo some
disintegration, and the tissue becomes softer.

Avraham

*******************************************************
Avraham haRofeh of Northpass (soon to be "of Sudentur")
     (mka Randy Goldberg MD)
RandomTag: I didn't get the documentation for the manuals.



---
Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free.
Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com).
Version: 6.0.431 / Virus Database: 242 - Release Date: 12/17/2002