Timeline for Does freezing meat lead to differences detectable by blind testing?
Current License: CC BY-SA 4.0
14 events
| when toggle format | what | by | license | comment | |
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| Jul 18, 2018 at 19:08 | comment | added | Behacad | Yes and once I felt the warm embrace of Xenu! :D | |
| Jul 18, 2018 at 19:06 | comment | added | Fabby | @Behacad Like I said: I can see and feel the difference, so your question is answered: Yes, freezing meat leads to differences detectable by blind testing! Letting the answer stand even though it has -1... | |
| Jul 18, 2018 at 12:52 | comment | added | dlb | @DebbieM I agree with Wayfaring, but do not have evidence in front of me to back it up, only anecdotal from experience. Cell busting is a key thing, and I picked on salmon because of the softer cells than a piece of beef to me shows more damage. More fibrous parts are unfortunately more resilient and not effected as much, so freezing may actually make them seem tougher. Think of fruit that turns to mush: soft cell walls and watery nature. Freezing is better than allowing decay and is a boon to modern food preservation but does some damage to most things and only slows decay, does not stop it. | |
| Jul 18, 2018 at 0:57 | comment | added | Wayfaring Stranger | @DebbieM. Collagen, the protein most responsible for toughness, is not affected much by freezing. Long cooking or boiling is the way to soften the connective tissues. | |
| Jul 18, 2018 at 0:21 | comment | added | Behacad | I agree guys. On paper and scientifically it makes sense that they would differ and presumably freezing causes problems, but some people can't seem to tell the difference and some argue freezing even has advantages. I'm wondering if anyone is aware of blind testing. | |
| Jul 18, 2018 at 0:10 | comment | added | Debbie M. | @WayfaringStranger Could freezing a tough cut of meat that needs to be cooked for a long time (i.e. chuck roast) be beneficial in breaking down the connective tissue? | |
| Jul 17, 2018 at 23:28 | comment | added | Wayfaring Stranger | You freeze a chunk of muscle, you poke ice crystals through cell membranes. You thaw that muscle, and the juices ooze through the holes even at room temperature. You cook an unfrozen chunk of meat, and the cell membranes remain mostly intact until things get good and hot, and proteins denature. It's a whole different process. | |
| Jul 17, 2018 at 22:46 | comment | added | Behacad | I hear you Fabby, but you seeing things does not constitute very good evidence for this kind of a website. Also, the thawed meat and fresh meat might look different because they're actually different in other ways. Also, they might look different raw but turn out surprisingly similar when cooked. There's plenty of evidence online to suggest that freezing meat well can lead to a surprisingly good (or maybe even superior) product. | |
| Jul 17, 2018 at 22:03 | history | edited | Fabby | CC BY-SA 4.0 |
Updated Answer
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| Jul 17, 2018 at 22:00 | comment | added | Fabby | Behacad I can even see the difference between thawed meat and fresh meat in the shops, no need to taste. But I do agree with @dlb and will be adapting my answer... The difference between badly cooked fresh fish and perfectly cooked flash-frozen fish is hard to detect, but the difference between both perfectly cooked is again a big difference! If you want evidence, I'm willing to come over and show you I can. | |
| Jul 17, 2018 at 21:55 | history | edited | Fabby | CC BY-SA 4.0 |
Incorporated comments into answer.
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| Jul 17, 2018 at 21:49 | comment | added | dlb | It also will depend greatly of how the item is frozen. That Salmon for instance. Toss it in you home freeze, and the degrading to most people would be much higher than if that fish was flash frozen to very low temperature straight off the boat. Slow freezing is a big enemy to quality IMO, especially to soft celled proteins. | |
| Jul 17, 2018 at 21:48 | comment | added | Behacad | Some sort of evidence would be most appreciated. And also the huge figure is pretty irrelevant to the actual question! I've seen some comparisons on Youtube which certainly do not support the possibility of a big difference between frozen vs. not. | |
| Jul 17, 2018 at 21:36 | history | answered | Fabby | CC BY-SA 4.0 |