Not everything always stays fresh in the refrigerator. Moreover, if for some reason the owner does not look at it for several days or more. Two problems arise: food spoils, and a persistent unpleasant odor appears in the refrigerator compartment. If a small piece of cheese is missing, you can simply throw it away. But if meat suffocates in a plastic bag, then, firstly, you feel sorry for the most expensive product, and secondly, you will have to tinker to get rid of the smell in the refrigerator.
The problem is storage in cellophane
Polyethylene bags contain recycled cellulose, which gives products a strong “chemical” smell.
It is not recommended to store lamb, beef and pork in cellophane because the product begins to become damp and moldy. Before you put the meat in a plastic bag, you need to wrap it in thin paper.
Beef in cellophane is saturated with the odors of other food products in the refrigerator.
To eliminate extraneous aromas, you should use these tips for soaking meat:
- Soak any meat in a mixture made from salt and birch charcoal for 3-4 hours. After this procedure, the unpleasant “smell” will disappear.
- Rub the beef with spicy spices (basil, oregano, cardamom) and leave for 60 minutes.
- Soak chicken in lemon juice or chamomile decoction (add 1 tbsp dried flowers to 1 liter of water).
Recommendations
Advice from experts will help in resolving the issue:
- It is easier to determine freshness by chilled meat than by frozen meat.
- When purchasing, you can determine the freshness of meat by pressing on the flesh. If the fibers straighten quickly, the product is fresh.
- The color of the meat should match its type. Too dark or unevenly colored may indicate that the product is stale.
- You can only store a meat product in the refrigerator in cellophane for a short time, since without access to oxygen it will dry out.
- Before freezing meat, remove as much air as possible from the bag.
- If all conditions are met, the product cannot be stored in the refrigerator for more than 2 days.
- Soaking and marinating should not last less than 1-2 hours.
- After soaking, the meat must be rinsed before cooking.
It is not advisable to purchase meat of which you are not sure of its quality.
Why does meat have a “smell”?
The loss of the natural aroma of meat products occurs in several cases. “Smell” appears due to spoiled products lying next to the meat, as well as due to improper feeding and slaughter of the animal.
Storing in plastic bags leads to a lack of oxygen, causing the meat to “suffocate.”
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Pieces of flesh from an uncastrated boar or ram initially have a distinctive odor, but this does not mean that they are unsuitable for consumption.
You just need to soak the product in a marinade or roll it in herbs.
If chicken has an unpleasant sour aroma, and mucus is noticed on its surface, it is necessary to cut off the skin emitting the smell with a knife. If the stench cannot be eliminated, then eating meat is strictly prohibited.
Not very fresh, long-sitting, suffocated meat: what to cook?
Not quite fresh meat that can still be used for food must be pre-prepared. To do this, it is soaked or pickled.
From recipes, it is preferable to choose those that are prepared with a large number of spices . It can be Caucasian, Indian, Chinese or other cuisine.
A prerequisite for preparing a not very fresh product is high-quality heat treatment.
Options for removing odor from meat
Improper storage of the product leads to the fact that even freshly purchased meat begins to emit a repulsive stench. At the initial stage, it is still possible to eat such products, but only after the stench has been eliminated.
It is not advisable to store any meat for a very long time. Lying in a refrigeration unit for a long time leads to the appearance of a rotten smell. To eliminate it, use potassium permanganate, dried chamomile flowers, salt and wine.
Wine
You can eliminate unwanted aroma with basil, tarragon and red wine.
Sequencing:
- Pour wine into an aluminum container, add tarragon and basil, then put pieces of meat into the container.
- Keep the product in wine for 60 minutes, then start preparing meat dishes.
Note! After soaking the meat pieces in wine, they are fried for piquancy and better taste.
Potassium permangantsovka
With the help of manganese they fight any stench.
Potassium permanganate is popular among unscrupulous traders who sell spoiled beef or pork. This product helps improve the appearance, aroma and color of the product.
To eliminate the unpleasant “smell” you need to do the following:
- Dissolve 5 g of potassium permanganate in 2 liters of water. The solution should be pale pink.
- Soak spoiled pieces of pulp in liquid for 2 hours.
- Remove beef from solution and rinse thoroughly in cold water.
The unpleasant stench will disappear after this procedure. The product can be safely consumed.
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Chamomile decoction
To get rid of meat odor using chamomile, you need to:
- Brew a decoction of the dried inflorescences of the plant and cool it.
- Strain the chamomile infusion through a fine sieve or cheesecloth and place the pieces of meat into it.
- Add 2 tsp. sugar and leave it like that for half an hour.
- Rinse the product in salted water.
It is advisable to fry the pieces with the addition of herbs to enhance the taste and aroma.
Saline solution
The most effective remedy for eliminating stench is saline solution. Every housewife has salt on hand, so this method is also quite simple.
Soaking steps:
- Take a pan of water and dissolve 100 g of salt in it.
- Soak the meat pulp in the prepared solution for 2 hours.
- Wash the product thoroughly in running water.
To quickly add a pleasant aroma, as well as to immediately start cooking, the product must be grated with sugar and then sprinkled with salt. After 30 minutes, rinse everything off with water.
Fragrant rabbit
If a rabbit is not slaughtered correctly or has not been fed according to standards, its meat will have a specific odor and taste. There are several methods specifically for this type of meat.
- Soak in cold water for 10-12 hours. If you have time, it is best to do just that, gaining freedom in further use. The meat will be absolutely neutral and ready for any processing method.
- Marinate. For this purpose, you can use kefir, olives with tomatoes, a mixture of wine, sour cream and juniper. The meat will be ready within an hour and will acquire the flavor of the spices and bases used in the marinade.
Advice
If the rabbit is old enough, its meat may be tough. Using a kefir marinade will help soften it.
Uncastrated boar meat: how to get rid of the smell?
The stench of boar meat that has not been castrated can be eliminated by soaking and freezing.
For soaking you need:
- Take a pan with warm salted boiled water and add 5 tbsp. l. vinegar essence (per 1 liter of water).
- Soak the pork in milk for 6 hours, changing it every 2 hours.
The method of freezing unwanted “flavor” is effective due to the effect of low temperature. The boar pulp should be frozen for 3 days at a temperature not lower than -25 degrees Celsius.
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Before freezing, the product is soaked in milk or vinegar solution.
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Burn fat specifically in problem areas
During storage, various processes can occur in meat, which lead to significant changes leading to loss of freshness, nutritional and culinary properties. Typically, such changes occur due to the activity of microorganisms entering the meat. Contamination of meat with microorganisms can be carried out intravitally in the case of slaughter of infected and overworked animals, as well as in violation of the conditions of pre-slaughter holding. Post-mortem contamination of meat during cutting, storage and transportation of carcasses is considered the most typical.
Meat licking
It occurs quite often and is considered a harbinger of putrefactive processes. The reason for the occurrence of this process is a violation of storage conditions when temperature and air humidity change in the places where meat is stored. Slitting of meat is caused by mucus-forming bacteria that are resistant to low temperatures and develop well even at a temperature of 0°C.
They are not dangerous to humans. More often, mucus processes can be observed throughout the carcass or in the place where it is contaminated with blood, in the folds of the surface of the meat (neck, flank, shoulder blade, inner sides of the chest and abdominal cavities). The surface of the meat becomes sticky, gray-white in color, often with a nasty sourish-musty odor.
Mucus-forming microorganisms do not penetrate into the deep layers of meat, and therefore the defect affects only its upper layer. But such meat cannot be stored; it must be washed with water or a 15-20% salt solution, followed by drying and ventilation. Places where mucus or odor is particularly pronounced are thoroughly cleaned. The meat should be used quickly, preferably for preparing first courses, or processed when exposed to high temperatures.
The process of sliming should be distinguished from sliming, which accompanies the initial stage of decay. This mucus formation is caused by other microflora, which causes the breakdown of the tissues that make up the meat. In such cases, a musty, putrid or rancid odor appears.
Meat molding
Occurs due to the development of mold fungi on its surface. Molds can thrive in the acidic environment that appears during the ripening process of meat, low humidity (75%) and sub-zero temperatures. The development of mold is largely promoted by high humidity of meat and insufficient air ventilation in storage areas. Molds develop rather slowly, which is why the defect appears when meat is stored for a long time.
Colonies of various shapes and colors appear on the surface: white, gray-green, dark green, black, round, velvety, etc. Mold is also accompanied by the breakdown of proteins with the appearance of alkaline products, and thus conditions are created for the development of putrefactive microflora. The breakdown of fats leads to a change in the appearance of the meat and the formation of a musty smell.
If the meat is infected with mold only on the surface, then it is washed with a 20-25% solution of table salt or 3-5% acetic acid, followed by ventilation and drying.
If mold penetrates shallowly into the meat (0.5-1 cm), the infected parts should be carefully cleaned and washed with strong brine. Meat that is severely affected or has a musty smell that does not disappear when it is aired should not be used for food.
Souring of meat
Causes acid-forming bacteria if meat is poorly bled, wet, or stored at high enough temperatures. The meat becomes soft, gray in color and has an unpleasant sour smell. Such meat usually develops mold and mucus-forming bacteria. Such meat must be washed with water.
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tanning meat
This type of spoilage that occurs in the first hours after the slaughter of an animal due to improper storage of meat in a stuffy room at temperatures above 18-20°C, as well as when cooling or freezing conditions are violated. Tanning is a common occurrence when fresh meat, particularly from well-nourished animals, is placed in a tight, airtight container. A tan appears as a result of the activity of enzymes without any participation of microflora.
Distinctive signs of tanning: fading of the muscles, its color is brown-red or grayish-greenish, a strong sour odor reminiscent of the contents of the gastrointestinal tract of cattle, flabby consistency of the infected area.
Meat with signs of tanning is cut into small pieces and aired. Green areas are thoroughly cleaned. If signs of tanning do not disappear within 24 hours, the meat should not be used for food.
Rotting
A very complex process of protein breakdown, caused by the vital activity of various putrefactive microorganisms, the development of which occurs under certain conditions: high temperature, high humidity and access to oxygen. Rotting is accompanied by the appearance and accumulation of various intermediate and final decomposition products, among which there are poisonous, bad-smelling, volatile and many other substances.
The less sanitary and hygienic conditions are observed, the more microbiological contamination of meat. Bacteria penetrate deep into the meat through connective tissue layers. Too high a content of connective tissue and blood in meat leads to rapid spoilage. Such meat is usually obtained from poorly nourished, infected or tired animals before slaughter.
Meat in the early stages of spoilage is more dangerous than in the late stages. This is largely due to the accumulation of putrefactive substances such as amines and bacterial toxins, which, as the decay process deepens, turn into much less toxic. At the same time, fermentation of carbohydrates and oxidation of fats occurs. Rotting, in turn, is accompanied by a change in the structure of tissues and physical and chemical parameters of meat.
When determining the degree of freshness of meat, its appearance, consistency, color and smell are determined, as well as the quality of the broth during cooking (cooking test). The cooking test helps to clearly recognize the smell of meat. Fresh meat has a clear broth (without flakes) and a pleasant, aromatic smell. Meat in the initial stages of spoilage produces a cloudy, inodorous broth with a putrid odor.
Fresh meat, as a rule, has a dry, rustling dry crust, a distinctive color for this type of animal. The consistency is quite elastic, the hole formed when pressed with a finger is leveled out quickly, the smell is specific, slightly sour.
In the initial stage of spoilage, the drying crust immediately disappears, the surface of the meat is covered in places with mucus, and over time it becomes wet and sticky, the color is darker or dirty gray. The consistency is soft, the hole is leveled out with some delay, the smell is sour, stale, musty or slightly putrid in the surface layers and normal in the deep ones.
The fat becomes dull in color, sticks to the fingers, the tendons are softened, gray in color. In spoiled meat, these indicators are enhanced. Meat in the initial stage of deterioration can be used to prepare soups after cleaning areas infected with rotting and washing the meat with a 1-2% solution of acetic acid or a 0.2-0.5% solution of potassium permanganate.
It is worth remembering that the effect of acetic acid causes meat to acquire a gray tint, and potassium permanganate causes a metallic taste. Spoiled meat is immediately destroyed.
It’s a shame when meat purchased in a store or market begins to emit an unpleasant aroma when warm. Most likely, you bought a stale piece, and perhaps the smell is a feature of the meat, for example, if the slaughtered individual was sexually mature or was kept on biological fattening. You can get rid of the smell, but first check the freshness of the product.
The meat should smell! The complete absence of odor is a reason to refuse the purchase: most likely, the product has been washed and treated with chemical compounds due to the appearance of signs of rotting.
How to remove bad odor from chicken
Before you get rid of the foul odor, you need to make sure the chicken is fresh and ready to eat. High-quality chicken pulp has a pink structure and a white tint to the fat layer.
To get rid of an unpleasant aroma, they resort to using simple and accessible techniques:
- You can “mask” the stench with chopped onions and garlic cloves. Peeled garlic is crushed in a garlic press, and the onion is grated. Rub the chicken with the prepared mixture and leave for 30 minutes in a cool room.
- If there is no time to soak the chicken, it is prepared using available means - salt and wheat flour. The two components are mixed and the mixture is rubbed onto the meat pieces. Flour absorbs unpleasant aroma, and salt cleanses the skin of the chicken carcass.
The “odor” is combated by marinating chicken. You need to take vegetable oil, wine or vinegar, add basil and place the product in this solution for 30 minutes. Wash with cold water and start cooking.
Helpful information
Tips for removing unpleasant odors from your refrigerator:
- To better get rid of the smell, after washing with any product, the refrigerator needs to be ventilated. It is left open at least overnight.
- Do not use powder for cleaning. Even undiluted soda can cause scratches on the surface of the plastic. Bacteria and aromatic molecules will be absorbed into them much faster.
- For washing use soft rags or sponges. Brushes are not suitable for cleaning your refrigerator.
- Before you begin cleaning, all products must be removed. Using household chemicals when the refrigerator is full is unacceptable.
- To care for the device, do not use aggressive compounds, such as bleach or bleach. When ingested, they have a toxic effect on the body.
You will find methods and means for eliminating odors in the refrigerator in this section.
How to get rid of lamb smell?
In order not to spoil the dish with stench, the meat is properly processed. Excess fat, which gives off flavor, is removed from the lamb. Using available seasonings, grate the pulp and place in the refrigerator for 3 hours.
Marinating can be replaced by boiling lamb in broth, adding spices, carrots and onions. For 2 hours you need to soak the meat in water with the addition of garlic, salt, mustard and pepper.
Meat pieces are poured with water, boiled, then all the broth is drained. The procedure is repeated 3 times. Along with hot water, the aroma will disappear.
