Composition of Muscle and Meat

Question 1

Be familiar with the components of meat, know the trend for which make up the largest and smallest component (think water, protein, fat, ash)

Answer 1

• water 70%,
• protein varies in percentage but 18-20%,
• fat varies in percentage of about 7%
• ash 1%

Question 2

Understand what myoglobin does and why it is important.

Answer 2

• it gives the meat’s color and and longer shelf-life

Question 3

Know what a sarcomere is and why it is important to a consumer.

Answer 3

• smallest contractile of the muscle
• important to consumers because of tenderness

Question 4

Be able to explain why water is important in meat products.

Answer 4

• juiciness, yield

Question 5

Understand how connective tissue influences eating satisfaction.

Answer 5

• the more connective tissue, the less we are going to like it (more chewy and tough)

Question 6

List the different kinds of muscle tissues

Answer 6

• myofibrillar = salt-soluble proteins
• sarcoplasmic = water-soluble proteins
• stromal = connective tissue proteins

Question 7

List different locations of fat deposition *

Answer 7

• Subcutaneous = beneath the skin - external
• Intermuscular = between muscles - seam
• Intramuscular = between muscle bundles - in the muscle - marbling

Question 8

Describe what occurs during rigor mortis

Answer 8

• Rigor Mortis = keeps the quality and acceptability of the subsequent food product.
• draw the chart and label different parts of it (rigor onset, rigor completion, and resolution of rigor.)

Question 9

Describe the differences in rate of rigor establishment between species

Answer 9

-poultry and pork are fast, while red meat is slow because it has low-energy.