Characteristics of Good Meat
Dr.Kedar Karki
The colour of the meat should neither be of pale pink or it should have a deep purple tinge. Pale pink colour indicates that the animal was suffering from a wasting disease. On the other hand deep purple tinge would mean that the animal had died with the blood in it and had suffered from acute fever because of which the flesh become febrile.It should emit little or no odour and the odour should not be offensive. Diseased meat gives a sickly candaverous (like a corpse) smell. It should be hard and elastic to touch and should moisten the fingers. Bad meat is wet, sodden (soaked with liquid or moisture) soaking and flabby. The bone marrow should be firm, solid and light rosy red. Soft or brownish marrow or marrow with black spots indicates that animal was sick or else putrefaction has set in. Putrefaction makes the meat pale, moist soft and emits sickly and offensive odour. Due to all these, the meat gradually becomes greenish.
The meat characteristics of different species like pig, goat, sheep, poultry, cow, etc., are as follows.
1. Beef
Beef meat has a firm consistency and its cut surface gives a shiny appearance. It has got a characteristic odour. Generally it is of Saturated red colour with a slight tinge of brown. There is intermixing of fat in the muscles. After chilling the fat is of quite firm consistency and is white with slight yellow colour. The bone marrow is pure white to repdish yellow and is of a moderately firm consistency.
2. Pork
The colour of pork is influenced considerably by the age, nutritive condition, etc., of the pigs. In general, it is whitish grey, pale red or grey red to dark red. Meat fibres are fine and the consistency is soft to moderately firm. The fat is grey white to pure white, finely granular and soft. It envelops the larger groups of muscles and is considerably intermixed with the fibre. The bone marrow is soft and pink red.
Sheep meat (mutton) has firm, dense, and fine fibres. It is dark red when compared with goat meat which is in general pale. The fat resembles that of the living goat. The muscle fibres in mutton are not intermixed with fat. In fattened sheep there are large deposits of fat between the groups of muscles and especially in the subcutaneous layer. The fat is of firm consistency, is pure white and has practically no odour. The bone marrow is firm and slightly red.
4. Poultry
The meat of poultry is firm, fine fibred, and there is little intermixing of fat with fibre. In general, the colour of poultry meat is pale but some are of red colour. The fat varies in its consistency, colour and odour, but in general it is soft and oily.
5.Ostrich Meat:
Ostrich meat is red but yet very healthy similar to beef/ buff. The meat with a texture and color. It is low in fat, calorie, sodium and cholesterol. It is rich in iron and Omega 3 Omega 6 and Omega9 fatty acid which are being considered essential for heart and brain. Ostrich meat requires lesser preparation/cooking time than other red meat .Besides it is also very rich in dietary fiber . Ostrich meat can be consumed by diabetic and heart patients because 0f its nutritional properties.
