Meat has great nutritional value, therefore it does not occupy the last place in human nutrition. However, this product can be harmful to the body if not fresh. For this reason, you need to approach it carefully.
It is important to know the main signs of quality meat, then enterprising sellers will not be able to sell stale goods that will not benefit health. It is on them that you should be guided in order to protect yourself from a low-quality product.
Appearance
First of all, you should take a closer look at the appearance of the meat. So, the color of good-quality beef should be red, similar to a shade of ripe raspberries, while the color of veal should be pink. It is important to remember that the older the animal, the darker the shade of the meat. Fresh lamb will have a brownish red color, while pork will have a pinkish white and slightly grainy texture. It so happens that there is a rainbow effect on the surface of pork, but this is not an indicator of the quality or poor quality of the product.
You should also pay attention to fat. Beef should be white, yellowish or cream in color, firm in consistency. You need to push it, while it should crumble, not smear. Calf fat should be white with a yellowish tinge, while cow fat should be dark yellow. Pork fat is soft, white or pale pink, while lamb fat is white and dense. The gray color of the fat indicates the poor quality of the product. It is important to remember that meat does not have a uniform color, if this is observed, then it is soaked in potassium permanganate. Sellers resort to this measure in order to rid the product of the sweetheart.
Smell
If everything is in order with the color of the meat, then you should smell it. The smell of a quality product should be pleasant, without extraneous shades. There are times when the meat smells like pharmaceutical preparations or has no smell at all. This indicates a stale product that has been soaked in solutions. It is better to refuse to buy such meat, as it can be harmful to health.
Consistency
Another indicator of quality meat is its special consistency. It is necessary to press on the product, the hole that forms on a piece of fresh meat is quickly leveled. A recess will form on the stale product, which can be filled with liquid. If the piece leaks slightly, then this indicates the "weight" of the meat with a syringe and water. Blurred edges of the food are a sign of soaking in vinegar solution. The freshness of the meat is determined by a litmus test. Fresh meat juice turns it red. If the product remains on the counter for more than 3 days, the litmus will not react to the juice. This method will help to buy fresh meat, although it is not available to everyone.
