Screenshot of Weibo
A well-known chain hot pot brand replaced the original beef grains on the small table with vegetarian meat, which seemed to be a small action that seemed casual, making netizens shout "My happiness is gone"! A stone stirs up thousands of waves, consumers do not buy it, the merchant said for a while that it is to eliminate waste, and then emphasizes that the cost of vegetarian meat substitutes can be much higher than beef, and later said that it is with the promotion of plant protein.
The hustle and bustle brought by hot search will eventually cool down, but do the "meat lovers" who often go to hot pot restaurants and barbecue restaurants know? There are a lot of doorways in this meat!
01
Real meat and vegetarian meat
Is it a misstep or a thousand miles of fallacy?
In fact, this vegetarian meat is made of soy protein, which is the same as the "artificial meat" that has been very popular in recent years. So how is its taste and nutrition?
First of all, let's talk about the taste. In fact, the vegetarian meat made of soy protein as the main raw material, in terms of taste, is actually not much different from real animal meat, and it is very close to real meat products, at least we most people feel the same when they eat it. Moreover, the beef grains used in hot pot restaurants are also seasoned with many other seasonings, and under the influence of this kind, it is more difficult for people to eat the difference.
Let's talk about nutrition. These vegetarian meat products made of soy protein, in general, the amount of plant protein will not be too bad, the calories will be relatively low, there is a certain dietary fiber, and does not contain cholesterol, for people who often have big fish and meat, plant protein meat or artificial plant meat still has certain benefits for health.
Figureworm creative
However, plant protein meat products also have their own nutritional disadvantages. For example, in addition to providing people with high-quality protein, animal meat is also rich in iron, vitamin B12 and other nutrients, which are either almost non-existent or low absorption rates in plant-based meat products. This is also the reason why some people who have been vegetarian for a long time may develop anemia. Therefore, if you usually eat very little meat, there is no need to choose phyto-based meat products.
02
Meat that "melts in the mouth"
Maybe it's "specially processed."
Friends who often go to hot pot restaurants may have this impression, some of the store's meat is particularly tender, there is a feeling of "melting in the mouth", and the taste of the meat eaten when cooking at home is obviously different, and it does not need to be chewed a few times to swallow. This may be due to the addition of tender meat powder.
The main component of tender meat powder is protease, which is usually made of papain, bromelain, etc. We know that muscle tissue contains collagen, collagen is a kind of fibrin, the molecule of this protein due to the presence of cross-linked bonds and muscles have a strong mechanical strength, when eating the taste is relatively chai, relatively old. Meat treated with tender meat powder can make the collagen in this type of muscle hydrolyzed under the action of enzymes, the taste is more tender, and it is more popular with consumers, so merchants will add tender meat powder to the meat.
If the tender meat powder used is a regular product, it will not affect the nutrition and safety of meat, it is actually the hydrolysis of protein in the human body in advance, improve protein conversion and utilization, to some extent, it can also be said to increase nutritional value.
However, many tender meat powder products that are now on the market may contain nitrites, usually sodium nitrite and potassium nitrite, because they have the effect of color, antiseptic and flavor improvement, and adding to the meat can make the color of the meat look better and prolong the shelf life.
It should be noted that nitrites have certain health risks. Nitrite itself is a toxic substance, such as a large number of consumption can lead to acute poisoning; nitrite is also a carcinogenic substance, it reacts with protein breakdown products under acidic conditions, often produce nitrosamine carcinogens.
In the past reported nitrite poisoning incidents in China, the catering system accounted for a considerable share, most of which were caused by "misuse". In 2005, a study of 47 tender meat powder samples showed that 7 of them contained nitrites, with a maximum content of more than 10,000 mg/kg. When using tender meat powder in the catering process, it is usually based on the chef's personal experience and will not be used quantitatively, which can easily lead to misuse and increase the risk of poisoning. Because of this, China has explicitly banned the use of nitrites in the catering industry.
03
Shoddy, replace the expensive with the cheap
Beware of the various tricks of hanging sheep's head to sell dog meat
The distinction between the types of meat we ordinary people eat is mainly based on the naked eye, which inevitably encounters the pit of "hanging sheep's head and selling dog meat". By the way, the phrase "hanging up sheep's head to sell dog meat" was used to describe shoddy in the past when dog meat was cheaper than mutton, and now, dog meat can be much more expensive than mutton, and the specific situation is likely to be reversed. Back to the point, if you want not to be deceived, whether you go to a restaurant or buy meat in a vegetable market, you must pay attention to the following aspects:
(1) Eat out as much as possible to go to regular large restaurants, large restaurants, buy meat is recommended to go to regular supermarkets, markets. You know, the reason why there will be pork, duck meat instead of cattle, mutton and other "hanging sheep's head to sell dog meat" situation, mainly in order to save costs, this situation is generally more likely to appear in small shops, small restaurants, roadside stalls.
(2) Do not blindly pursue "good quality and low price", and beware of meats that are too cheap, especially beef, mutton, donkey meat, etc. With the advancement of technology, the use of cheap meat instead of more expensive meat, it is usually difficult to distinguish with the naked eye or taste, but from the price can still be slightly divided into one or two, if the price is significantly lower than the market price, indicating that there is a great possibility of problems. It is recommended that you have a rough estimate of the approximate price of various local meats, for example, lamb has been sold to nearly 40, and lamb slices are only sold for 30, so you should be more careful.
(3) Priority is given to buying fresh meat. Fresh meat is usually not easy to counterfeit, meat slices, meat rolls, meat fillings, meatballs, sausages, bacon, dried meat and other products after processing, it is difficult to distinguish the texture, color, taste of the meat itself, but also the most likely place for fake meat to pass the pass, especially be careful.
(4) Eat less pigs, beef and mutton. Pigs, cattle, sheep and other livestock meat is expensive, easy to counterfeit, it is recommended that we can give priority to chicken, duck and other poultry meat in the case of uncertainty and insecurity, because their prices are relatively cheap, adulteration will be less, and these are also nutritionally often said white meat, health-friendly.
Author | Ruan Guangfeng, Director of Science and Technology Department, Coxin Food and Nutrition Information Exchange Center
Audit | Song Shuang, Associate Researcher, Institute of Nutrition and Health, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention
This article is produced by the "Scientific Rumor Dispelling Platform" (ID: Science_Facts), please indicate the source when reprinting.