How to tell if meat has gone bad: 3 sure signs

Not every housewife knows how to understand that meat has spoiled and it is better to get rid of it. Sometimes after purchase they forget about it for several days, putting it in the refrigerator for just a couple of hours - until the evening, when more free time appears.

Basic indicators

Before you start creating delicious and aromatic culinary masterpieces, it is important to be confident in the quality of the ingredients. Beginning housewives who want to surprise their loved ones with something tasty are faced with a similar problem more often. Experienced chefs identify several parameters that indicate the quality of a piece of meat, be it pork, beef or poultry.

• Color.

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

• Smell.

A quality product has virtually no odor. Some meats may have a subtle milk aroma. If there are foreign odors, it means that irreversible decomposition processes have begun in the product. If fresh meat was in a plastic bag, it acquires a specific smell, it is not spoiled, but before cooking it is better to learn how to how to get rid of meat odor.

• Structure.

Elasticity and density are the characteristics of fresh meat. It is worth pressing on the pulp.If the formed hole disappears immediately, the product is of good quality. And the finger itself should “fit” into it almost like butter.

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

Determining freshness by meat type

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

Pork

Color will help you recognize if a piece of meat is stale. Fresh product obtained from a young animal should be pale pink. Darker shades indicate its windiness. If the tenderloin is obtained after the slaughter of an old pig, then the dish for which the product is purchased will be spoiled. Old pork has a bad taste.

It happens that the meat, on the contrary, is very light. This may indicate the addition of growth hormones to animal feed. It is not safe to eat this kind of cut.

If a piece looks great on the outside, you need to smell and touch it. Sometimes meat sprinkled with spices ends up on the shelves. You should refuse such a purchase: unscrupulous sellers can hide the unpleasant aroma that appears.

Chicken

If stored for a long time and improperly, the chicken carcass, as well as its individual parts, may become unusable. In spoiled fillets, the pink color changes and becomes gray. If there are few such areas, you can save the meat by cutting them down to healthy tissue and lightly boiling the remaining piece.

Spoiling chicken has a characteristic unpleasant odor that cannot be masked.

Another parameter indicating the poor quality of the product, or rather its unsuitability, is sticky and slippery skin. A slight coating forms on the surface in the form of a thin shiny film. If cooked chicken has been in the refrigerator for a long time, you can also determine by its condition whether it is suitable for consumption. The smell of sulfur and the appearance of a greenish color are 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. There are three main parameters to determine. But if doubts remain, you can take into account auxiliary signs.

Determining the freshness of beef meat

Turkey

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

Signs of a high-quality and fresh product:

• the surface of the light dry skin without damage, bruises, bruises,
• subtle odor;
• absence of mucus and sticky layer;
• when pressed, the shape quickly returns and there is no liquid;
• healthy shine and even color;
• light fat layers (fat darkens in old birds);
• bulging eyes without clouding of the cornea (if the housewife 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 condition, smell.

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