Alexander Khan, Evelyn Kopec, Natalia Gawrychowska, Piotr Kotowski

Mrs. Safira
Cheistry !onors Period "
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Meat and Cheistry
!%ans have )een eatin* eat for two and a half illion years. Meat consists ainly of the
%scle tiss%e of an anial. Most of this tiss%e is seventy five percent water, twenty percent
protein, and the rest is fat, car)ohydrates, and proteins. Meat is an iportant so%rce of aino
acids, vitains, and inerals. Cheistry is heavily involved in the eat ind%stry.
M%scle %nder*oes )iocheical chan*es when the anial dies. +hen the circ%lation to the
%scles stops, oxy*en is lon*er sent to the cells. ,his ca%ses the p! of the eat to decrease, and
the *l%cose to )e converted to lactic acid instead of car)on dioxide and water, d%e to the lack of
oxy*en. ,his process akes the eat tender, and as a res%lt, researchers are tryin* to find
ethods to ake this effect lar*er. Knowled*e of cheistry is vital for researchers to find new
ways to iprove eat.
,he a-or pi*ent in eat is yo*lo)in. .ependin* on the environent in which the eat
is contained, it ay have different colors. /or exaple, c%red eat is pink, fresh eat is
p%rple0red, and eat exposed to fresh air is )ri*ht red. 1y chan*in* the environent in which the
eat is stored, people can control the color of the eat. People are researchin* the packa*in*
and transportation of eats so that they can have a ore attractive look to cost%ers.
Another iportant property in eat is lipids, or fat. 2ipids are a very iportant so%rce of
ener*y for h%ans and anials. 2ipids are %sed for anial feedin*, tallow for ar*arine, and
*lycerol for soaps. Anti3oxidants s%ch as vitain E are %sed to prevent the lipids fro )ecoin*
rancid. Knowled*e of cheistry is vital to akin* lipids in eat %sa)le.
Colla*en is another thin* that can )e fo%nd in eats. Colla*en is a fi)ro%s protein fo%nd in
)ones, teeth, skin, and connective tiss%e of anials. 4t is the portion of skins %sed in leather and
sa%sa*e casin*s. 4t is also %sed to ake *elatin. ,his is done )y reactin* the eat with alkali and
hot acid, to )reak down its str%ct%re.
Cheistry is also involved in the cookin* of eat. Prior to cookin*, individ%al protein
olec%les in raw eat are wo%nd %p in coils. +hen heat is applied to these olec%les, the
proteins %nwind and stretch o%t. ,his application of heat also shrinks the si5e of the %scles6
fi)ers in )oth diaeter and len*th, )eca%se of the water )ein* reoved fro it. ,his process is
known as denat%rin*, )eca%se the nat%ral str%ct%re of the protein is )roken down.