Meat and meat products
There are different kinds of meat. It’s prepared in many ways, as steaks, in stews, fondue, or as dried meat. It may be ground then formed into patties, loaves, or sausages. But the main distinction is made according to the animal it was made of.
The meat of a lamb is taken from the animal between one month and one year old, with a carcass weight of between 5,5 and 30 kilograms. This meat generally is more tender than that from older sheep.
Poultry is the category of domesticated birds which some humans keep for the purpose of collecting their eggs, or kill for their meat and/or feathers.
The meatiest parts of a bird are the flight muscles on its chest, called breast meat, and the walking muscles on the first and second segments of its legs, called the thigh and drumstick respectively.
Chicken is the meat derived from the chicken. It is the most common type of poultry in the world. Typically, the muscle tissue (breast, legs, thigh, etc), livers, hearts, and gizzard are processed for food. Chicken feet are commonly eaten, especially in French and Chinese cuisine.
The flesh from the cattle over 6 months of age is beef and from younger cattle is veal. Beef is a nutritious food having approximately 25% protein and rich in essential acids, B vitamins, and minerals.
The primary products of swine are pork, lard, hides, and innumerable by-products. Pork is more successfully cured and stored than any other meats.
Fresh red meats are refrigerated. Cured meats such as ham, bacon, and sausage contain chemical preservatives (salt, nitrate, nitrite) but are, in addition, heat processed and stored under refrigeration. Fresh and cured meats are also canned. With severe heat processing a shelf-stable product is produced. In certain products stability is achieved in part through other processes: fermentation, drying, smoking and impregnation with vinegar.
The manufacture of meat products includes those processes which prepare the product for consumption and increase the stability, improve the texture, colour and appearance of various meat items. Various processes are employed depending upon the desired result. Various enzymatic agents and other additives are often used.
Practice 1. Re-read the text and answer the questions:
1. What are the primary products made from meat?
2. How can beef be defined?
3. What is the difference between beef and veal?
4. What shelf-stable meat products have you learnt?
Practice 2. Give the Russian equivalents to the word-combinations from the text:
-carcass weight
-domesticated birds
-flight muscles
-breast meat
-the most common type
-muscle tissue
-chicken feet
-primary products
-innumerable by-products
-fresh red meats
-stored under refrigeration
-severe heat processing
-shelf-stable product
-impregnation with vinegar
-manufacture of meat products
-depending upon the desired result
Practice 3. Match up the words on the left with the definitions on the right:
| 1. muscle 2. red meat 3. sausage 4. pork 5. to prepare 6. carcass 7. common 8. poultry | a. dead body of an animal especially one slaughtered and dressed for food b. widely known c. domesticated birds d. food usually made from ground meat with a skin around it. e. to make ready or suitable for a particular purpose a soft tissue of animals. f. the meat of most adult mammals and some fowl g. meat from the domestic pig |
Practice 4. Complete the sentences using the words from the table:
| ham sausage veal stored preservatives shelf-stable bacon canned |
1. The flesh of young cattle is called_______.
2. Due to the heat processing a _______ product is produced.
3. _____, _____ and _____ belong to the group of cured meats.
4. To prolong the shelf life of the products manufacturers add _______.
5. ______ meat can be ______ for several years.
Practice 5. Complete the table:
| noun | verb | adjective |
| prepare | ||
| rich | ||
| refrigeration | ||
| collection | ||
| typical |