5 best ways to determine in 1 minute that they want to sell you old stale meat

When we need to buy meat for cutlets, soup, or we need to choose excellent meat for barbecue, we go to a butcher's shop or to the market.

If you are a meat connoisseur, then it should be easy for you to choose a good fresh piece of meat. But what if you don't understand meat at all, and you can hardly tell the back from the shoulder blade?

We always turn to the seller for help, who will undoubtedly prompt and humanly advise you to make your choice.

But should you trust the seller?

By and large, he doesn't care what you do with a piece of meat. The main thing for him is to sell his goods and even those that are time to throw away. This is where you have to be on the alert and not get into trouble with the choice of meat.

How to quickly determine in 1 minute that there is an old stale piece of meat on the counter, which already has a place in the trash heap, and not in your cutlets, kebabs or soup?

Here are 5 best ways:

Method number 1

Ask the seller to cut off a small piece of meat for testing. Take a lighter or matches and light it.

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The meat smelled like barbecue when burning

If the meat smells like a shish kebab while burning, then it is fresh. If not, then such meat is stale, and has been on the counter for a very long time.

Method number 2

We know approximately what color this or that meat should be. Fresh light pink pork, pinkish red veal, good beef and bright red or brown lamb.

But today, unscrupulous sellers easily fake the color of any meat using dyes. Therefore, the appearance of the meat cannot be assessed by eye.

Better to take a paper towel and place it on the surface of the meat. If the red color of the dye appears on the napkin, then the deception is on the face.

The dye is not visible on the napkin, which means that the meat has not been processed.

Many people know that now such special lamps are put in showcases so that the meat always looks attractive. I myself was often led to the beautiful meat in the display case, and when it was taken out, it looked not at all attractive.

Method number 3

As a child, I often went with my mother to the market. When we entered the meat department with her, I saw a long fork in the hands of each seller. For some reason they poked her into a piece of meat. Now I understand why.

So, using an ordinary long fork, they used to determine not only the amount of bones in it, but also the freshness of the meat, namely, its elastic properties.

The meat felt elastic when pressed with a fork

Experienced meat-eaters know that fresh meat is firm and recovers very quickly when pressed. A dent will remain on the stale meat from the fork, which will not disappear for a long time.

For some reason today I do not see such a long fork anywhere ?!

Method number 4

Even with the help of such a fork, the meat hardness was determined.

Old meat is always tough and, when pricked, will pierce with some effort. Young meat is tender, and easily lends itself to physical influence.

Of course, a beginner does not immediately understand this, and in order to determine the quality of meat in this way, you will need the help of a knowledgeable person.

Method number 5

Of course, to quickly determine the freshness of the meat, you need to smell it.

We know that stale meat will have an unpleasant odor (smell, so to speak). But we don't always want to sniff a large piece of meat in front of everyone or touch it with our hands.

Also, now it is not difficult to mask the unpleasant smell of meat with chemistry, treat the surface and hide the evidence.

In this case, the same fork, which was made of metal and adhered well to slimy meat, again helped.

Anyone would guess that fresh meat should be slightly damp but not sticky, and mucus on the surface is an obvious sign of meat spoilage.

These were the 5 best ways to determine the freshness and quality of any meat in 1 minute. If you know other ways, then write in the comments.