The New Complete Book of Food

 The New Complete Book of Food

The Most Nutritious Way to Serve This Food

With a food rich in vitamin C. Vitamin C increases the absorption of iron.

Diets That May Restrict or Exclude This Food

Low-protein diet (for kidney disease)

Buying This Food

In American markets, game meats are usually sold frozen. Choose a package with no leaks

or stains to suggest previous defrosting.

Storing This Food

Keep frozen game meat well wrapped in the freezer until you are ready to use it. The

packaging protects the meat from oxygen that can change its pigments from reddish to

brown. Freezing prolongs the freshness of the meat by slowing the natural multiplication

of bacteria that digest proteins and other substances on the surface, converting them to a

slimy film. The bacteria also change the meat’s sulfur-containing amino acids methionine

and cystine into smelly chemicals called mercaptans. When the mercaptans combine with

myoglobin, they produce the greenish pigment that gives spoiled meat its characteristic

unpleasant appearance. Large cuts of game meat can be safely frozen, at 0°F, for six months

to a year.

Preparing This Food

Defrost the meat in the refrigerator to protect it from spoilage. Trim the meat to dispose of

all visible fat, thus reducing the amount of fat and cholesterol in each serving.

When you are done, clean all utensils thoroughly with hot soap and hot water. Wash

your cutting board, wood or plastic, with hot water, soap, and a bleach-and-water solution.

For ultimate safety in preventing the transfer of microorganisms from the raw meat to other

foods, keep one cutting board exclusively for raw meats, fish, and poultry, and a second one

for everything else. Finally, don’t forget to wash your hands.

What Happens When You Cook This Food

Cooking changes the way meat looks and tastes, alters its nutritional value, makes it safer,

and extends its shelf life.

Browning meat before you cook it does not “seal in the juices,” but it does change the

flavor by caramelizing proteins and sugars on the surface. Because meat’s only sugars are the