How to distinguish beef from other meats. How to choose quality pork
Are there many people among the readers of this article who can accurately distinguish beef from pork? Don't rush to answer, read the publication first.
Why is the ability to distinguish one type of meat from another so acute? The main reason is the dishonesty of some market sellers who try, under the guise of beef, to sell a piece of meat from a pig that has died of old age, and young veal is sometimes successfully “sold” to a gullible buyer under the guise of pork.
But the buyer is picky for good reason. For some diseases, eating one type of meat can be beneficial or harmful to health.
For diseases gastrointestinal tract, gastroduodenitis and stomach ulcers, eating pork is not recommended. In case of protein allergy cow's milk Beef or veal dishes are strictly contraindicated.
The restrictions on meat consumption imposed by various religions and denominations should not be ignored.
Orthodox Jews and Muslims eat beef and lamb, but the offer to try a pork dish will be taken as an insult.
For Hindus, for whom the cow is a sacred animal, eating beef or veal is a terrible and irredeemable sin.
Color
You can tell raw beef from pork by color. The color of beef is compared by many to the color of ripe raspberries, veal will have a less saturated color, but pork differs from them in color, ranging from soft pink to pink.
You should be aware of the tricks of some sellers who try to give old pork a darker and richer color using dyes.
You can recognize such meat by blotting it with a white napkin. Unnaturally bright spots on a napkin will unmistakably indicate an attempt to falsify the product.
It also happens the other way around - young veal is soaked in vinegar in order to completely remove the milky smell from the meat and sell it as pork.
If you smell even a faint odor emanating from the meat, move away from this trading place; the piece of meat offered to you is either a fake or completely spoiled and therefore unsuitable for consumption.
Pork that has been subjected to heat treatment lightens, becoming almost white; cooked beef also becomes discolored, but its color is gray.
Most often, pork is fried or baked, because when cooked, the lard contained in it makes it tougher. Beef, due to its toughness, requires more time to cook, and therefore it is either stewed or boiled.
Smell
Speaking of smells, young veal smells distinctly of milk, beef also has a milky aroma, but weaker, and pork should smell either of blood or not have a distinct smell at all.
Beef consists of large and tough muscle fibers, abundantly dotted with veins; pork meat fibers are much smaller and softer, and it itself has a smoother surface.
We wish that the dishes you prepare from both pork and beef will be tasty and healthy!
Bon appetit!
How to distinguish beef from pork? and got the best answer
Answer from Zhemchuzhin[guru]
Pork meat is lighter and pink. And the beef is red.
Reply from 2 answers[guru]
Hello! Here is a selection of topics with answers to your question: How to distinguish beef from pork?
Reply from Andrey Obolonsky[newbie]
Beef meat is darker
Reply from Olika[newbie]
by color and appearance: beef is dark red if it is old and reddish pink if it is a young calf, and pork is pale pink, the fibers of beef are longer and denser than those of pork.
Reply from Gosp One[guru]
Yes, yes! As the above-mentioned speakers said, pork meat is not so bright. Another thing is that in some places they like to tint pork and sell it like beef. At the same time, it is much easier to turn an old pig that has died of old age into a cow.
In short, for a person who has never dealt with meat, it is almost impossible to distinguish beef from pork. Use trusted sellers. 🙂
Reply from *** Tapkosaurus ***[guru]
It’s very easy to tell the difference: if the meat moos, it’s beef, and if it grunts, it’s pork. And it happens that rabbits meow and sheep bark. You need to be careful and, for example, do not buy a rabbit at the market if the skin has not been left on the paws.
Reply from Oliya[master]
In color, pork is lighter
Reply from Alisa Bogdanova[newbie]
color and smell distinguishes beef, pork and lamb
Reply from ALEKSA_[guru]
It is very easy to distinguish pork from beef, and any buyer can do it. Pieces of fresh (chilled) meat are no different at first glance. Pork, unlike beef, is fattier and lighter in color. Beef has a denser and darker texture. Pork fat is the softest, followed by beef fat in terms of softness, followed by lamb fat. Accordingly, both the consistency and color of these types of meat differ. Typically, the flesh is sold as a cut from a whole muscle, that is, a beef tenderloin will be larger than a pork tenderloin. The meat is even different in smell.
That is:
1. by color: beef is much darker, dark red, pork is pink.
2. by smell: does beef smell like milk, and pork like meat? or what?
3. by size of muscle fibers: beef has larger ones, pork has smaller ones.
Reply from Kostya Vlasov[guru]
beef is the darkest meat (from red to burgundy). Pork is the lightest (pink to bright red).
Beef meat is the most “wiry” and fibrous. , and pork is the “smoothest”.
It seemed that an experienced housewife could not be bothered by the question of the difference between pork and beef, but, nevertheless, increasingly, buyers are faced with the fact that in markets and even in public catering places, these two types of meat are replaced. Many will not pay attention to this, especially if the meat is fresh or perfectly cooked, but there are people for whom this is a fundamental issue. For example, Muslims and Orthodox Jews do not accept pork in their diet, but they have many beef dishes on their menu. Residents of India, on the contrary, consider the cow to be a sacred animal, so treating an Indian to beef is a terrible insult. Don't forget about those who are allergic to cow's milk protein. People suffering from this type of allergy are also not recommended to consume veal and beef. In these cases, it is especially important not to make a mistake with the choice of meat. Therefore, we offer some ways to distinguish pork from beef.
How to distinguish between raw pork and beef
Beef includes meat from bulls, cows, oxen, young bulls and heifers. The word itself has the Old Russian root “beef” - that is, cattle. The color of this meat varies from bright red to burgundy. The meat has this color because it contains a high iron content. There is no fat in beef, and the piece itself is fibrous, tough, with many veins. The smell of young beef and veal is milky; if bull meat comes to your table, it has a specific, even unpleasant smell.
Beef
Pork is most often pink in color; the younger the meat, the lighter the shade. Pork contains a large amount of fat, most often it is white or light in color. The meat itself is smooth, the fibers are smaller when compared to beef. The smell of raw fresh pork is almost imperceptible, but at the time of cooking, such meat smells very specific.
Pork How to distinguish between cooked pork and beef
Color muscle tissue changes during cooking. When cooked, pork will turn white, and beef will turn gray.
Pork and beef are prepared differently. Pork is rarely boiled because the meat is very fatty; in addition, when cooked, the lard acquires a gray tint, becomes tough and smells unpleasant. Therefore, most often pork is fried. Beef, on the contrary, is often boiled or stewed, since the meat is quite tough and takes a lot of time to cook.
If breaded meat is served in a cafe or restaurant, and at first glance it is difficult to understand what type of meat is in front of you, just make an incision. The beef will separate into fibers, but the pork will look whole and will not fall apart into fibers.
Conclusions website
- When raw, beef has a reddish tint and a milky smell, while pork is often pink in color and has virtually no odor.
- Beef is tough, with many veins, and pork is soft, tender meat.
- Pork has layers of fat, but beef does not.
- When cooked, pork turns white, and beef turns gray.
- Beef is fibrous meat, while pork is smooth.
- When cutting into a finished piece, the beef can be separated into fibers, and the pork will be separated into a single piece.
Why is it sometimes so important what kind of meat to buy and why the question is how to distinguish beef from pork? The answer here lies not only in gourmet preferences, because different dishes are prepared from pork and beef, and these types of meat have different tastes. But main reason are religious canons. Muslims categorically do not eat pork, as this meat is considered unclean, just like Orthodox Jews. But a real Hindu will never eat beef, because this animal is sacred to them. But when you come to the market, you can stumble upon a seller who, seeing the inexperience of the buyer, will sell a strictly prohibited product without blinking. There are several sure-fire tricks that will help you quickly distinguish pork from beef at the market by eye. In supermarkets, all types of meat are always labeled on the tray, because here it is not customary to deceive in this matter (they have plenty of their own tricks). But in the market they like to sell what the buyer wants, without caring about their reputation.
How to distinguish beef from pork by color
Beef always has a pronounced red color, and young veal is pale pink. Good meat even has a raspberry hue, like a ripe berry, only richer and darker. Beef is fundamentally different from pork in color, since the meat, regardless of the part of the carcass, always has an even, bright color, from pink to dark red.
And pork will always be a soft pink color, almost white on the tenderloin and darker on the back. Pork also has more fatty streaks, and of course, lard.
A seller who does not deceive buyers will always place a pork head, leg or lard on the counter in front of him so that the buyer can immediately see what kind of meat he is buying.
But distinguishing pork from veal is not always easy by color, so you can resort to another method of identifying meat.
How to distinguish beef from pork by smell
The smell of beef is very specific - it smells like milk. This is due to the fact that meat contains a lot of milk protein. And an allergy to cow's milk protein is also the reason that you will have to learn to distinguish beef from pork in the market and in the store.
Young veal also has a distinct milky smell - which is why it is called “milky”. Many people love this kind of meat; do not hesitate to smell it at the market to distinguish beef or veal from pork.
But pork has a pronounced smell of blood or no smell at all. This feature allows you to accurately distinguish pork from beef even when the meat is on the counter of the same seller.
If you have a protein allergy, here are a few practical advice, which will definitely be useful to you.
The average person eats about 70 kg of pork and beef per year. At first glance, it seems that it could be more natural? However, no one refuses to earn extra money. The supply and sale of meat products is no exception. What actually goes on the shelves under the guise of steamed pork or beef? The manufacturer claims that this is an animal slaughtered in the morning, but is it edible, and how can you be sure that the product is natural? More about this in the article.
Checking the composition of ground beef
One of the state television channels broadcast a program dedicated to the right choice meat products. And it showed an experiment on samples of ground beef purchased at the market. So, out of seven purchased samples, four turned out to contain pork. The fact is that beef is more expensive. And crafty sellers, when making minced beef, mix fresh farm pig meat into it. As a result, for each kilogram of such a product sold, an additional 50 rubles are earned.
When reporters from the program came to the market to expose the sellers, some of them argued that they had mixed up the trays and sold different minced meat, and the minced product had completely disappeared from other retail outlets. Therefore, if you need to buy minced meat, it is better to purchase the meat and ask the seller to twist it on the spot.
Watch out for hormones!
Chinese pork, about 10 years ago, until a moratorium was imposed on it, entered the Russian market, stuffed with antibiotics and hormones. Such growth stimulants have a surprising effect on the animal. It does not get sick, is not afraid of the cold, and quickly grows overgrown with meat. The result is maximum benefit at minimal cost. A person who eats such a hormonal product may face serious health problems.
Today, the market is open again for Chinese pork, and the product undergoes inspection and customs checks before being sold. But smuggling of illegal meat still exists. Therefore, it makes sense to purchase domestic meat rather than prepare a smuggled, unfit for food product. Moreover, farm meat is grown using approved drugs.
Melted meat
An experiment was conducted. A woman took 1 kg of pork from the market, and when she started frying it in a frying pan, a questionable amount of liquid formed. After preparing the dish without adding any ingredients, the scale showed 0.5 kg of finished meat. That is, instead of the 40% accepted for frying, it turned out to be 50%.
This is a common practice. To increase the volume of meat, sellers inject polyphosphates and food chemicals into the piece. With this brine, the product can be increased by up to 20% in weight. Another experiment showed that farm meat contains the least amount of liquid. The greatest weight loss during cooking is observed in vacuum-packed products labeled “semi-finished.”
How to recognize quality meat?
The health consequences of consuming a hormonal product are clear, but when you come to the market, how can you understand that the seller is trying to sell contraband goods under a price tag that says “home-grown meat”? The first rule: you need to choose a piece on the bone. It is not profitable to transport bones in illegal deliveries, so if you need to buy only pulp, you should resort to the second verification option.
The second rule: if the seller is confident in the quality of the product, then he will not refuse the buyer a small piece of meat for testing. Why is this necessary? The point is that in a practical way It is not difficult to identify a hormonally infused product - you can set it on fire. If there is a rubbery and unpleasant smell, then the animal was raised in violation of technology.
The third rule is to press on the meat with your finger. If a dent remains, then the piece is stale or chipped with brine.
Assortment
At the market, walking through the meat aisles, you are amazed at the huge assortment of pork, veal, and lamb brought from different cities of the Russian Federation. The inscriptions flash on the price tags: Ryazan, Lipetsk, Voronezh. The former admitted in an interview with one documentary that in 95% of cases this is not true. All meat retail outlets are distributed between two or three owners, and the product is supplied from one farm slaughterhouse.
Starting to choose meat, the seller immediately showers compliments on his product. They say that the cattle were only slaughtered in the morning, and the domesticated ones. So, according to regulatory documents Meat is considered fresh for three hours after slaughter, then rigor sets in and the product becomes unsuitable for food.
Therefore, high-quality farm meat must undergo a period of maturation in a cool room, and a priori it cannot be paired. This is a chilled or cooled product. But here the buyer is faced with another deception - defrosted meat disguised as chilled meat. Easy to check. You need to touch the piece with your finger. It should be non-sticky, elastic, and the muscle fibers should look elastic. If you smell the product, the smell is of fresh meat, not dampness. In general, defrosted meat is not harmful to health; it spoils the taste of the dish.
How to distinguish farm meat from homemade meat?
This question does not concern only those who have friends in the village who raise a small number of livestock. But what about mothers who want to feed their child a natural product? Farm supplies are massive. The owners there purposefully work on quantity. Of course, they use some (albeit approved) drugs for the growth of livestock. Domestic animals are raised on food waste, tops and hay.
How to distinguish country meat from farm meat? The answer is simple - appearance. The color of the homemade product is uneven, each part of the carcass is a different shade. Farm cuts appear to be a uniform color. You should also pay attention to lard. Cattle raised in rural conditions have a thick (5-10 cm) layer of fat. Therefore, at the point where thin lard is sold, the meat is most likely unnatural.
Farm meat: reviews
People stopped trusting each other. This is justified. Nowadays farm products are hard to find. After all, under their guise, overbought goods are sold, it is unknown where they came from and who grew them. Price is the second problem. One restaurateur says that it is cheaper to take a calibrated French duck breast than to buy a farm-made one.
In general, the idea of selling farm products is great. After all, grandma doesn’t always know whether her cow is sick or not. What about vaccinations? Conscientious farmers raise animals according to all the requirements: timely vaccination, clean drinking, separation of birds and If the product comes to the counter from such a farm, then the buyer likes the product for its taste and the absence of consequences from its use.