- 1. Check the Color
- 2. Observe the Temperature
- 3. Assess the Texture
- 4. Smell the Smell
- How to preserve meat at home
- How to prepare meat while maintaining its nutritional value
To buy meat that is both good for consumption and of good quality, it should be checked, still on the market, if the meat follows some principles or standards that are easy to observe, but that guarantee that the meat can be purchased and is safe to eat:
1. Check the Color
The meat must be red and never gray, greenish or bluish. These are signs that the meat is getting spoiled;
2. Observe the Temperature
The meat must be stored in a refrigerator with a controlled temperature between 0 to 3 degrees, to ensure that the meat does not spoil, even if it is within the expiration date indicated on the packaging. This temperature must be visible on the market display thermometer.
3. Assess the Texture
When pressing with the finger, the meat should return to the initial state quickly, disappearing the finger mark. Slimy textures are also not desirable and indicate poor meat for consumption;
4. Smell the Smell
The meat should not have an intense smell. Any unpleasant aroma can indicate that the meat is already spoiling and should not be eaten.
In the case of ground meat, to ensure that it is not mixed with other ingredients such as bones, fats and even cardboard, it is best to watch the meat being ground at the time of purchase. Industrialized products such as sausages, hamburgers or sausages, where lower quality ingredients are used, the important thing is to ensure that they are consumed within the expiration date, observing the same principles for choosing meat.
How to preserve meat at home
At home, the meat should be kept in the refrigerator, on the upper shelf for a maximum of 2 or 3 days and in the freezer for an average period of around 4 months. Draining the water from the package before storing helps to ensure that the meat remains good for consumption and tasty.
Another important tip is that the meat, both refrigerated and processed, must be purchased last in the super market and must be the first to be kept in the refrigerator or returned to the freezer to ensure that there is no temperature variation that can accelerate the process of putrefaction.
How to prepare meat while maintaining its nutritional value
Before preparing frozen meat, the best method is to defrost in the refrigerator at night, for example. But in the case of processed and industrialized foods such as sausage, hamburger, sausages in general and even ground meat, in addition to always checking the date and expiration date, which is on the bottom or the lid of the packaging, it is essential to read the ingredients the labels of these foods.
In the case of chicken, the signs that must be observed are the same as those used for meat, observing a pink and whole meat that does not yield to the pressure of the finger and is also not viscous nor has an unpleasant aroma, as it can be kept in the refrigerator for 3 to 4 days, a day longer than red meat on average.
