When preparing some dishes, there are many steps that many people often do not understand why they do them, including not adding salt with the meat during cooking so that it cooks quickly, or avoiding adding tomatoes with vegetables until after cooking to speed up ripening.
It is true that the chemical process that occurs to the food remains unknown and incomprehensible to the housewives, yet they repeat the instructions to ensure the success of the cooking.
In this report, we talk about one of the basic steps when preparing boiled meat and poultry, which is to remove the white foam from the soup during preparation, and why does that foam occur? What are their causes and risks? We also review the signs of meat spoilage that should be monitored when preparing food to avoid any serious health consequences.
White foam
When boiling chicken and meat of all kinds, to obtain a soup or as part of the steps of preparing a casserole of broth and meat, a layer of thick foam always forms on top of the broth.
This foam often gathers around the edges of the pot, ranging in color from white to yellowish gray, and when discarded and not removed during cooking, this foam tends to melt, until the soup becomes cloudy and dark.
This foam may not bother some, while others may get rid of it more seriously. What many don't know, however, is that this dense layer is safe to consume, and should not cause any concern.
What many do not know is that this dense layer of safe to consume (Shutterstock)
Causes of thick foam formation
This foam on top of the soup when boiling meat and poultry consists of clotted meat tissue proteins, and is an impurity of any meat left on the bone that contains the marrow and a percentage of frozen blood.
In general, animal meat (such as chicken, beef, lamb, camel, etc.) contains between 70 and 75% fluid, which is concentrated in muscle fibers, forming a group of proteins called sarcoplasmosis.
These proteins go from liquid to solid when exposed to high heat while submerged in water, and according to Mark Trainor, professor and director of culinary science at Auburn University's Horst Schulz School of Hospitality Management, "this process is inevitable while cooking animal meat."
As cooking continues, the proteins intertwine and bond together to form a web that traps air, producing that foam that begins to rise to the top of the pot.
This blending can also occur while cooking protein-rich vegetables or legumes such as lentils or chickpeas, or even when boiling eggs, as proteins from egg whites that creep through the cracks of the damaged shell undergo the same transformation.
This foam on top of soup when boiling meat and poultry consists of meat tissue proteins (Shutterstock)
Should they be discarded?
When it comes to boiling meat and poultry, it definitely depends on the taste of the person cooking the food, as foam not only makes the soup cloudy, but it can affect the texture and taste in the end.
While this foam is completely harmless because it is a dietary protein, it can sometimes be undesirable due to its appearance and texture in the broth.
The discomfort with the shape of this foam is mainly because when the soup is reheated again after preparation, this butter may disperse and rise to the top of the broth again, making the dish look cloudy and unappetizing for some.
It can also stick to other impurities in soups, such as spices or particles of meat scattered in soups, or even some flavoring vegetables for soup during cooking, such as tomatoes, onions, carrots, etc.
So in general, the decision to defoam the surface of the soup depends entirely on the taste and appetite of the people who are going to eat the meal, nothing more.
Practical tips for defoaming the broth
First, it is advisable to reduce the heat and commit to boiling the meat very slowly, such as the temperature you use to boil an egg. Cooking the broth over low heat helps reduce the amount of froth that forms on the surface.
Second, a little acid can be added to the soup, such as vinegar or lemon juice, to speed up the coagulation of protein from the meat. This helps the foam form faster and in larger quantities, reducing the time required for scraping and final removal.
Signs of meat spoilage
Although meat that is not fit for consumption may also cause foam when boiled, obvious signs of meat spoilage should be taken into account in the first place. According to the American "Insider" website, they are as follows:
Difference in meat color and texture: If the meat is sticky or foul-smelling, discard it immediately. These two conditions can be verified by touching the tattoo of each piece individually.
Color doesn't look fresh: Gray doesn't necessarily mean that beef, for example, has become spoiled, but it does require further safety checking; beef can sometimes turn brown due to metoglobin, a chemical reaction that occurs when the metoglobin in meat is exposed to oxygen.
Freezing meat can also change its appearance. As long as the change in color is not accompanied by other signs of damage, this is fine.