Marinades are have to purposes. They add flavor to typically boring cuts of meat and they help tenderize meat by breaking down the fibers and connective tissue. I recently discovered however, that baking soda helps tenderize meat even further. It’s a really incredible way of naturally achieving a tenderizing effect without having to resort to acid which sometimes changes the flavor of a dish.
Business Insider covers this topic a little further. Here at Business Insider, we love to learn more about the science behind everyday things.
That’s why we asked Dan Souza, the executive editor of “Cook’s Science” at America’s Test Kitchen and one of the authors of “The Science of Good Cooking,” for some science hacks he uses to take his cooking to the next level.
One of his favorites? Changing up the acidity of foods using baking soda.
A lot of the foods we eat every day have a pretty high acidity — citrus fruits, for example, are seriously acidic, as is vinegar. But there’s not a whole lot you can do to make a food more basic or alkaline.
“Most things we deal with in the kitchen are pretty acidic, so it’s easy to go that way, there’s not a lot that takes it in the other direction,” Souza said. That’s why he turns to baking soda, which is very basic. (Its pH level is 9, while lemons have a pH level of 2.) “We actually use baking soda in some really unique ways, not just in cakes and cookies, but we apply it to meat when we’re marinating as well.” You can read the rest of the article on Insider Food.
Article source: Business Insider
Photo source: Ron Dollete
