Steakology

This was a short (10-15 min.) talk that I gave to my fellow Bocoup folk during a company get together. Tech people giving non-tech talks is super fun.

Mine was about steak, and what happens at a molecular level when you cook it (along with some tidbits about flavor).

Transcript

1. steakology. Thursday, August 2, 12
2. steakology. (things about steak that won’t make you hungry) Thursday, August 2, 12
3. Thursday, August 2, 12
4. Thursday, August 2, 12
5. Thursday, August 2, 12
6. blood + water Thursday, August 2, 12
7. bacteria blood + water Thursday, August 2, 12
8. animal tissue bacteria blood + water Thursday, August 2, 12
9. science Thursday, August 2, 12
10. GENE \ˈjēn\ a molecular unit of heredity Thursday, August 2, 12
11. DNA dē-äk-siˌrī-bō- n(y)u-ˌklē-ik-ˌā-sid Thursday, August 2, 12
12. Thursday, August 2, 12
13. Actin Myosin muscle tissue Thursday, August 2, 12
14. temperature Thursday, August 2, 12
15. Thursday, August 2, 12
16. RAW BLUE 115°F RARE 126°F MEDIUM-RARE 131°F MEDIUM 145°F MEDIUM-WELL 154°F WELL DONE 163°F OVERCOOK Thursday, August 2, 12
17. muscle tissue adipocytes RAW 145°F Thursday, August 2, 12
18. tenderness Thursday, August 2, 12
19. Thursday, August 2, 12
20. Thursday, August 2, 12
21. Thursday, August 2, 12
22. flavor country Thursday, August 2, 12
23. flavor country Thursday, August 2, 12
24. fat Thursday, August 2, 12
25. Thursday, August 2, 12
26. thanks Thursday, August 2, 12
27. load-bearing muscles of the cow contain more collagen as a buffer or for padding - plurivacuolar cells a.k.a. brown fat, also known as "baby fat" is used to generate heat - cow muscle proteins & human muscle proteins are the same molecule, just a different percentage - a black & blue steak is served blue rare on the inside, and charred 'sooty' or black on the outside - meat containing the volatile compound butanoic acid will smell rancid - monosodium glutamate (msg), is a volatile compound that gives off a savory, brothy aroma - freezing a carcass too soon after death keeps the proteins all bunched together, resulting in very tough meat - upon death, and as glycogen supplies are depleted, adenosine triphosphate regeneration stops, and the actin & myosin remain locked in a permanent contraction called rigor mortis Thursday, August 2, 12