2009_Book_FoodChemistry

12.6 Kinds of Meat, Storage, Processing 593
12.6.1.3 Mutton and Lamb
Depending on the age of the animals, the meat
has a light, brick, or dark red color and is generally
interpersed with fat tissue. The most important
types are:
• Lamb from animals not older than 6 months
(milk lamb) or 12 months (fattened lamb).
• Mutton from male, castrated and female animals
not older than 2 years. The meat of older
animals is called sheep meat.
• Sheep meat
The odor and taste of mutton and sheep meat are
specific.
12.6.1.4 Goat Meat
Goat meat is generally from young animals (2–4
months).
12.6.1.5 Pork
The meat is from very young animals (sucking
pig) or from 5–7 month old animals. It exhibits
a fairly soft consistency and is fine fibered with
a pale pink, pink or whitish grey color. The
meat should be hung for 3–4 days before use.
The meat becomes greyish-white when cooked,
making it different from all other meats. Pork is
interspersed and entwined with fat.
12.6.1.6 Horse Meat
The meat of a young horse is bright red, whereas
that of older horses is dark or reddish-brown or,
when exposed to air, darkens to a reddish-black
color. The consistency of the meat is firm and
compact and the muscle tissue is not marbled
with fat. During cooking, the white fat (melting
point 30 ◦ C) appears as yellow droplets on the
surface of the broth. The characteristic sweet flavor
and taste of the meat are derived from the high
glycogen content. In addition to the determination
of glycogen, an immunoassay (cf. 2.6.3) and fatty
acid analysis can be used to detect horse meat.
Horse fat is characterized by a higher content of
linolenic acid than beef or pork lard.
12.6.1.7 Poultry
The color of poultry meat differs according to
age, breed and body part (breast meat is light,
thighs and drumsticks are dark). Species of poultry
which have dark meat (geese, ducks, pigeons)
can be distinguished from those with light meat
(chickens, turkeys, peacocks). The age, breed and
feeding of the bird influence meat quality. Poultry
fat tends to become rancid because of its high
content of unsaturated fatty acids.
12.6.1.8 Game
Wild game can be divided into fur-bearing animals:
deer (antelope, caribou, elk, white-tailed
deer), wild boars (wild pigs) and other wild game
(hare, rabbit, badger, beaver, bear); and birds or
fowl (heathcock, partridge, pheasant, snipe, etc.).
The meat of wild game consists of fragile fibers
with a firm consistency. The meat remains red to
red-brown in color. It has low amounts of connective
and adipose tissues. The taste and flavor
of each type of wild meat is characteristic. Aging
of the meat requires a longer time than meat
from domestic animals because of the thick and
compact muscle tissue structure. The meat then
becomes dark-brown to black-red.
12.6.1.9 Variety Meats
Meats of various animal organs are called variety
meats. They include tongue, heart, liver, kidney,
spleen, brains, retina, intestines, tripe (the
first and second stomachs of ruminants), bladder,
pork crackling (skin), cow udders, etc. Many of
these variety meats, such as liver, kidney or heart,
are highly-valued foods because they contain vitamins
and trace elements as well as high quality
protein. Liver contributes the specific aroma
of liver sausage and pastes (goose liver). Liver is
also consumed as such. Heart, kidney, lungs, pork
or beef stomach, calf giblets and cow’s udders are
incorporated into sausages: spleen is also made
into sausage. Tongues are cooked, pickled and
smoked, used for the production of better-quality
sausages, and canned or sold as fresh meat. Calf
brain and sweetbreads (thymus glands) are especially
valued as food for patients. The compo-