Pork
First, look at the color. Good pork is light red or bright red, while unsafe pork is often dark red or purplish red. The fat layer should be of appropriate thickness (generally about 33% of the total) and be pure white, without any yellowish tinge. Pork with an inspection stamp on the carcass is healthy pork. Additionally, you can鉴别 it by cooking. Poor-quality pork releases a lot of water when cooked, lacks the fresh aroma of pork, and the broth will not have a thin layer of fat. The meat will be tough to bite with coarse muscle fibers.
Fresh pork skin is milky white, and the fat is pure white and glossy. The muscle is a uniform red, the surface is slightly dry or moist but not sticky, it has good elasticity, and a depression from pressing recovers immediately. It has the inherent fresh aroma of pork. Normal frozen meat feels firm; after thawing, the color, aroma, and moisture content of the muscle are normal without any off-odors. Inferior meat from feed may have a wastewater or medicinal smell; meat from pathological causes may have odors like rancid fat, fecal odor, decay, or a strange sweetness. Meat from breeding boars and sows is redder, has more connective tissue, is tough, and difficult to cook or fry, resulting in poor texture.
Water-injected meat is grayish-white, light gray, or light green. Water seeps from the surface, and it feels non-sticky to the touch. Pressing a piece of paper on it will leave it wet and difficult to burn. After thawing, frozen pork will release a large amount of light red bloody water. The carcass of dead pork has bruised, purplish-red skin, grayish-red fat, and blood vessels with black clots. The odor varies depending on how long the animal has been dead.
Consumption Notes
When eating pork, it is best to pair it with bean foods because bean products contain a large amount of lecithin, which can emulsify plasma, making cholesterol and fat particles smaller, suspending them in the plasma without depositing on the vessel walls, thus preventing the formation of hard plaques. Pork contains vitamin B1; if you eat it with a little garlic, you can prolong the time vitamin B1 stays in the human body, which plays an important role in promoting blood circulation, quickly eliminating physical fatigue, and enhancing physical fitness.
Pork should not be cooked immediately after slaughter. It should not be soaked in hot water before cooking. Cold water should not be added during the cooking process. Fried and salted pork should not be eaten in large quantities. Pork cured with nitrates should not be eaten in large quantities. Pork oil渣 (cracklings) should be avoided. Obese and hyperlipidemic individuals should not eat it in large quantities. It should also not be eaten in large quantities when taking blood pressure and lipid-lowering medications. It is not advisable to drink large amounts of tea, as it can easily cause constipation and increase the absorption of toxic and carcinogenic substances, affecting health. Do not eat thinly sliced pork that is not fully cooked, as humans can become infected with trichinosis from eating undercooked pork containing trichinae, leading to symptoms such as fever and a runny nose. Also, do not eat burnt pork. Children should not eat pork in large quantities, and the elderly should not eat lean pork in large quantities.
Beef
How to Tell Good from Bad
First, smell it. Fresh meat has a normal odor, while inferior meat has an ammonia-like or sour smell.
Second, touch it. First, check the elasticity: fresh meat is elastic, and a depression from pressing recovers immediately. Inferior meat has poor elasticity, and the depression recovers slowly or not at all. Spoiled meat has no elasticity. Second, check the stickiness: fresh meat is slightly dry or slightly moist on the surface and not sticky. Less fresh meat is dry or sticky on the surface, with a new cut that is moist and sticky. Spoiled meat is very sticky, with an extremely dry surface, but some heavily water-injected meat may also be completely non-sticky, but its surface will appear wet and not firm.
Third, look at it. Look for red spots on the skin; no red spots means good meat, while red spots indicate bad meat. Look at the muscle: fresh meat is glossy with a uniform red color. Inferior meat is slightly darker in color. Look at the fat: fresh meat fat is pure white or pale yellow. Inferior meat fat is dull, and spoiled meat fat is green.
Beef Tips:
1. Fresh beef is glossy with a uniform, slightly dark red color. The fat is pure white or pale yellow. The surface is slightly dry or has a dried membrane, is not sticky, has good elasticity, and has a fresh meat aroma. Old beef is dark red and coarse in texture. Tender beef is light red, firm and fine, and very elastic.
2. Some people believe that beef is most delicious when it starts to rot. This is an extremely absurd notion. Although its ripening period after slaughter is longer than other meats, it is already fully ripened by the time it arrives at the shop, and can only be kept at home for three to four days, or a week for a whole piece. To prevent spoilage from oxidation, it should be stored in the refrigerator.
3. Eat beef once a week; do not eat too much. Also, it is best to eat less beef fat, otherwise it will increase the accumulation of cholesterol and fat in the body.
Fish
Fish is delicious. Whether eaten as meat or in a soup, it is fresh, tasty, and whets the appetite, making it a popular food in people's daily diet. There are many types of fish, broadly divided into two categories: saltwater fish and freshwater fish. However, whether saltwater or freshwater, their nutritional components are largely the same, differing only in the quantity of each nutrient. Fish is extremely nutritious. Research has found that children who regularly eat fish develop more quickly, their intellectual development is better, and people who regularly eat fish are stronger and live longer.
Nutritional Value:
1. Fish contains folic acid, vitamin B2, vitamin B12, and other vitamins, which are effective for various edemas, swellings, bloating, oliguria, jaundice, and insufficient lactation.
2. Eating fish has a good therapeutic effect on fetal restlessness and gestational edema in pregnant women.
3. Fish is rich in magnesium, which has a good protective effect on the cardiovascular system and helps prevent cardiovascular diseases such as hypertension and myocardial infarction.
4. Fish is rich in vitamin A, iron, calcium, phosphorus, etc. Regularly eating fish can also nourish the liver and replenish blood, and benefit the skin and hair.
5. It is rich in complete protein. Fish contains a large amount of protein, all of which is complete protein. The amount and ratio of essential amino acids in the protein are most suitable for human needs and are easily digested and absorbed by the body.
6. It has a low fat content, mostly unsaturated fatty acids, which have the effect of lowering cholesterol.
7. It has a high content of inorganic salts and vitamins.
In addition, fish meat is relatively fresh and tender. Compared to poultry and livestock meat, it is softer and easier to digest and absorb.
Fish Tips:
1. Generally suitable for all populations. Those with various edemas, swellings, bloating, oliguria, jaundice, or insufficient lactation can eat it regularly, but those with chronic diseases should not eat it in large quantities.
2. Young parents should be wary of 7 types of fish: shark, swordfish, sailfish, marlin, tilapia, tilefish, and catfish. Besides being relatively large, these are also long-lived carnivorous fish with higher mercury content than other fish. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) also warns against giving children large predatory fish, including sharks, swordfish, and king mackerel, to prevent a large amount of mercury from remaining in the child's body. Additionally, it is best for children to start eating fish after they are one year old, when their immune and digestive systems are more developed and can better tolerate fish. If your family has a history of allergies, such as hay fever, asthma, or food allergies, experts recommend waiting until the child is at least 3 years old before introducing fish.
3. Avoid drinking tea before and after eating fish. Avoid eating it with pork liver as it affects digestion. It is not advisable to eat it with tomatoes.