Does Your Steak Cause Global Warming?

NO, YOUR STEAK DOES NOT CAUSE GLOBAL WARMING?

In the past year, claims that livestock produces significant greenhouses gasses have been discredited by new scientific evidence.

In fact, raising livestock for food accounts for about 3 percent of all greenhouse gas emissions in the U.S.

In comparison, transportation creates 26 percent.

ANTI-MEAT EXTREMISTS

Those who promote the meat=heat misinformation are anti-meat extremists who use irrational, emotional arguments.

Many are hard-core vegetarians and vegans, whose goal is to eliminate all meat from everyone's diet.  Celebrities like Paul McCartney, an outspoken vegetarian, may be "well-intentioned", but they are ignorant about science and the complex relationships among human activity, animal digestion, food production and atmospheric chemistry.

Time and again their arguments are proven wrong.  What is their response?  Do they apologize for their errors and acknowledge the science?  No, of course not.  Like true-believers throughout history, when proven wrong, they deny any error, they attack the messenger, and they change their words but not their message.

For example, recent scientific evidence shows that average temperatures have declined.  So extremists deny that they erred, attack the science, and change their wording.  Thus, they no longer claim that your steak causes "global warming". Now they claim that your steak causes "climate change".

SCIENCE IS THE VICTIM

Why do anti-meat extremists ignore the science and continue to lie about the facts?  For more than two years, science proved that your steak and the cattle who produced it do not cause global warming.

Extremists are not concerned with science or truth.  They are driven by their emotions and beliefs.  Their goal is to eliminate meat from everyone's diet.  They do not care about facts.  They are true-believers who will intentionally lie to promote their goal.

They will continue to use unfounded claims to attack steak lovers and the beef cattle ranchers and farmers who produce the best steak in the world.

One of the worst results of the anti-meat extremists is the confusion they cause among those who do not know the science.  Extremists claim that science supports their claim that your steak causes global warming, even though they know that their claim is wrong and that science shows the opposite.  Science, along with the cattle industry, has become the victim of the anti-meat extremists.

For extremists:
Earth is their god.
Mankind is their devil.
Veganism is their religion.

CONCLUSION
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SteakPerfection Followers and Following

THOSE WHO FOLLOW US

Those who should follow @SteakPerfection on Twitter include those interested in learning about steak. Our tweets focus exclusively on steak-related topics, including the following:

• Breeds of beef cattle
  
• Feed for beef cattle
  
• Sex for beef cattle
  
• Age of beef cattle at harvest
  
• USDA Inspection, including health and safety issues
  
• USDA Grades for beef
  
• Marbling scores
  
• Cuts of steak
  
• Aging methods and time
  
• Trimming and pre-cooking preparation
  
• Cooking methods at home and restaurants
  
• Online steak sellers
  
• Steakhouses and restaurants
  
• Science
  
• Scientifically valid blind taste tests

Every steak cooked at home or ordered in a restaurant cannot always be the most expensive available.  However, our goal is to help our followers learn how to cook and order an inexpensive steak that is as close as possible to steak perfection.  Since we limit our tweets solely to steak-related topics, we limit the topics of our tweets as follows:

• No non-steak tweets
  
• No idle chit-chat
  
• No jokes
  
• No non-steak recipes
  
• No politics
  
• No flames

In summary, we tweet about steak, and only about steak. We learn about steak and help others to learn about steak. We do not tweet about other topics. Our philosophy at @SteakPerfection is that consumers should know as much as about their steak as the rancher who raised the cattle, so that consumers can make informed decisions. In the case of steaks at steakhouses and restaurants, we focus on the steak rather than on other entrees, side dishes, service, ambiance, prices, etc.

THOSE WHOM WE FOLLOW

@SteakPerfection on Twitter limits the number of those whom it follows, so that we can read their tweets and process their information. We will be pleased to follow you, and we invite you to notify us if you tweet regularly about any steak-related topics, including the following:

• Agriculture, farming and ranching
  
• Breeds, numbers and markets for beef cattle
  
• Grass-fed and grain-finished cattle ranchers
  
• How age, sex, feed, geography and other variables of beef cattle affect the look, taste and texture of steak
  
• USDA Inspection, including health and safety issues
  
• USDA Grade issues
  
• Marbling scores
  
• Cuts of steak
  
• Aging methods and time
  
• Trimming and pre-cooking preparation
  
• Cooking methods at home and restaurants
  
• Online steak sellers
  
• Steakhouses and restaurants
  
• Science
  
• Scientifically valid blind taste tests

Every week @SteakPerfection uses the Tweepi cleanup tool to review and edit the list of those whom we are following.  We do not strive to inflate the numbers of our followers and therefore limit those whom we are following to those who provide information about steak and steak-related topics.


CONCLUSION

SteakPerfection welcomes your comments.  Please share them below.  SteakPerfection is a complex process that involves every detail, from pasture to plate.

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101 Factors Affect Steak Quality

FACTORS THAT AFFECT STEAK QUALITY

We at SteakPerfection have been asked to list the most important factors which affect steak quality. After substantial analysis, we prepared the following list of the 101 major factors that affect the quality of a steak.

The following factors are not the only data that is necessary for the cattle database. Instead, these are the factors that should be available to every consumer. For example, the following does not include price, yield or safety data, which are necessary for suppliers. The following lists the factors that affect a steak's taste, texture and juiciness. Note that some of these factors are not applicable in every case. For example, grass-finished cattle is not transported to or fed in a feedlot.

7 FACTORS ABOUT COW-CALF RANCH OR FARM-OF-ORIGIN

1. Name - including address, website, number of ranchers, etc.
2. Cattle density - i.e. number of cattle per area, which relates to herd and cattle stress
3. Soil - type of soil will affect cattle directly and, more importantly, indirectly, since it changes the taste of the cattle feed
4. Climate - temperature, wind, snow and rain -- the terroir includes the terrain and the soil, water and weather which affects the taste of the steak because they affect the taste of the fodder that the cattle eat and the way that they grow, and it also includes how the cattle is treated by the farmer
5. Terrain - hills, trees, meadows, streams, altitude, air quality and other terrain factors that affect how much or little the cattle use and develop their muscles, quality of life, etc.
6. Care - details of stress mitigation and other care
7. Special notes - any other factors that may affect the steak quality

4 FACTORS ABOUT TRANSPORT FROM FARM-OF-ORIGIN

8. Method - how are calves moved to the stocker/backgrounder (e.g. cattle drive, truck, etc.)
9. Name of transport company - including address, website, type of equipment, etc
10. Care - details of stress mitigation and other care during transport
11. Special notes - any other factors that may affect the steak quality

7 FACTORS ABOUT SALE-BARN/STOCKER/BACKGROUNDER/OTHER RANCH

12. Name - including address, website, number of ranchers, etc.
13. Cattle density - i.e. number of cattle per area, which relates to herd and cattle stress
14. Soil - type of soil will affect cattle directly and, more importantly, indirectly, since it changes the taste of the cattle feed
15. Climate - temperature, wind, snow and rain -- the terroir includes the terrain and the soil, water and climate which affects the taste of the steak because they affect the taste of the fodder that the cattle eat and the way that they grow, and it also includes how the cattle is treated by the farmer
16. Terrain - hills, trees, meadows, streams, altitude, air quality and other terrain factors that affect how much or little the cattle use and develop their muscles, quality of life, etc.
17. Care - details of stress mitigation and other care
18. Special notes - any other factors that may affect the steak quality

4 FACTORS ABOUT TRANSPORT FROM RANCH

19. Method - how are calves moved to the feedlot (e.g. cattle drive, truck, etc.)
20. Name of transport company - including address, website, type of equipment, etc
21. Care - details of stress mitigation and other care during transport
22. Special notes - any other factors that may affect the steak quality

7 FACTORS ABOUT FEEDLOT

23. Name - including address, website, number of ranchers, etc.
24. Cattle density - i.e. number of cattle per area, which relates to herd and cattle stress
25. Soil - type of soil will affect cattle directly and, more importantly, indirectly, since it changes the taste of the cattle feed
26. Climate - temperature, wind, snow and rain -- the terroir includes the terrain and the soil, water and climate which affects the taste of the steak because they affect the taste of the fodder that the cattle eat and the way that they grow, and it also includes how the cattle is treated by the farmer
27. Terrain - hills, trees, meadows, streams, altitude, air quality and other terrain factors that affect how much or little the cattle use and develop their muscles, quality of life, etc.
28. Care - details of stress mitigation and other care
29. Special notes - any other factors that may affect the steak quality

18 FACTORS ABOUT EACH HEAD OF BEEF CATTLE

30. ID number - the RFID or other unique ID that stays with the animal from birth to slaughter and then to the retail consumer’s steak
31. Sire ID - with which the consumer can trace the sire’s sire, dam, date of birth, etc.
32. Dam ID - with which the consumer can trace the sire’s sire, dam, date of birth, etc.
33. Date of birth
34. Place of birth
35. Breed
36. Sex - male or female at birth
37. Weaning age
38. Weaning method (important as measure of stress)
39. Castration age - (note: castration at birth results in more marbling but lower yield)
40. Castration method - (important as measure of stress)
41. Diet as pre-weaned calf - including details and proportion of cow-fed milk, bottle fed milk, free choice alfalfa, water, etc.
42. Diet as weaned calf - including details and proportions of feed, including grasses, forage, mixes, water, etc.
43. Diet on pasture - including details and proportions of feed, including grasses, forage, mixes, water, etc.
44. Diet in feedlot - including details and proportions of grains, mixes, supplements, water, etc. (note: the amount and quality of water is as important as the quality of feed)
45. Medications and supplements - including dates and details of each vaccine, antibiotic, vitamin and mineral supplements, growth promotant (e.g. hormones), etc
46. Brand - i.e. details about any brand, PVP or similar program in which the animal is enrolled (e.g. CAB, grass-finished, etc.)
47. Special notes - any other factors that may affect the steak quality

11 FACTORS ABOUT ABATTOIR

48. Name - including address, website, number of cattle processed per day, etc.
49. Slaughter date - from which the exact age can be determined by reference to the date of birth
50. Slaughter method - important as measure of stress
51. Hot carcass treatment - i.e. spray with chilled water, shrouded, etc.
52. Days in cooler
53. Date of USDA Inspection
54. Marbling quality - texture, color etc
55. Marbling amount - IMF%
56. Date of USDA Grading
57. USDA Grade - includes more info than just marbling
58. Special notes - any other factors that may affect the steak quality

9 FACTORS ABOUT AGING

59. Name of facility(s) - including address, website, etc.
60. Cut - the name and IMPS/NAMP number
61. Temperature - note that this and the other aging room factors must be reported for each cut and not simply at the facility’s website, since these factors are very important for steak quality and since they can vary from day-to-day and week-to-week
62. Humidity
63. Air-flow
64. Bacterial control
65. Method - dry, wet, hybrid
66. Time - note: all beef is aged at least 2 days in the hot carcass cooler, and almost all beef is wet aged at least during shipment to retailer
67. Special notes - any other factors that may affect the steak quality

5 FACTORS ABOUT BUTCHERY OF CARCASS

68. Name - including address, website, etc.
69. Date of butchering - from carcass to primal
70. Cut - the name and IMPS/NAMP number
71. Method of packaging - e.g. cryovac
72. Special notes - any other factors that may affect the steak quality

5 FACTORS ABOUT BUTCHERY OF PRIMAL CUT

73. Name - including address, website, etc.
74. Date of butchering - from primal to subprimal
75. Cut - the name and IMPS/NAMP number
76. Method of packaging - e.g. cryovac
77. Special notes - any other factors that may affect the steak quality

6 FACTORS ABOUT BUTCHERY OF SUBPRIMAL CUT

78. Name - including address, website, etc.
79. Date of butchering - from subprimal to individual steak
80. Cut - the name and IMPS/NAMP number
81. Thickness of steak
82. Method of packaging - e.g. cryovac if portion-cut to be shipped to steakhouse or retailer
83. Special notes - any other factors that may affect the steak quality

5 FACTORS ABOUT PREPARATION BEFORE COOKING

84. Trim - i.e. removal of fat
85. Temperature - of steak before cooking
86. Drying - details about drying the steak
87. Pre-seasoning - salt, pepper, marinating, applying a rub or oil, etc.
88. Special notes - any other factors that may affect the steak quality

6 FACTORS ABOUT COOKING

89. Appliance - grill, pan, oven, etc., including utensils (e.g. tongs) for flipping
90. Fuel - (e.g. natural gas grill, propane gas grill, gas broiler (e.g. Montague), infrared broiler, hickory lump charcoal, etc.)
91. Temperature - cooking temperature at meat level
92. Environment - ambient temperature, humidity, airflow, altitude etc.
93. Time - for cooking, including number of flips
94. Special notes - any other factors that may affect the steak quality

6 FACTORS ABOUT SERVING

95. Resting - time and details (e.g. covered and rested 5 minutes on a rack in a 200F oven)
96. Seasoning - details of seasonings, butter, etc.
97. Slicing - details about the direction and thickness of slices, type of knife (e.g. ceramic), etc.
98. Plating - e.g. served on a pre-warmed but not hot plate to retain the steak heat
99. Serving - i.e. garnishes, side dishes, etc. (e.g. serve with separate bowls of coarse sea salts)
100. Special notes - any other factors that may affect the steak quality

(and perhaps the single most important factor) TASTING

101. The steak lover should learn how to taste a great steak (e.g. small bites, chew slowly, detect and appreciate the complex layers of taste, texture and juiciness, etc.).

CONCLUSION

SteakPerfection welcomes your comments.  Please share them below.  SteakPerfection is a complex process that involves every detail, from pasture to plate.

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Grilled Fruit

Grilled fruit adds a surprising and tasty twist to backyard grilling. Here are some examples, starting first with our own SteakPerfection Grilled Fruit Kabob Recipe.

SteakPerfection GRILLED FRUIT KABOB RECIPE

This is our SteakPerfection Grilled Fruit Recipe. We credit the recipes shown below and have taken many of their ideas to develop our own unique recipe, which makes 6 servings.

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup bourbon
• 2 sticks butter, softened
• 1/2 cup light brown sugar, packed firmly
• 2 lemons, juiced
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 lb of beef tenderloin, cut into 1-inch chunks
• 3 firm nectarines, pitted and cut into 4 slices each
• 3 firm pears, pitted and cut into 4 slices each
• 3 firm peaches, pitted and cut into 4 slices each
• 3 firm plums, pitted and cut into 4 slices each
• 6 apricots, halved
• 12 bamboo skewers (12" each)
• 3 tablespoons honey or light corn syrup, warmed

Directions

• Soak bamboo skewers in water until ready to use.
• Start a mesquite lump charcoal grill for 750 at grill level.
• Put the bourbon into a saucepan over medium-high heat and bring it to a boil.
• Boil for 1 minute to burn off the alcohol.
• Add the butter, brown sugar, lemon juice, and water.
• Bring to a boil whisking until all the sugar is dissolved.
• Simmer for 5 minutes.
• Let cool to thicken for 10 minutes.
• Trim pork tenderloins and cut into 1" pieces.
• Remove pits from fruit and cut each piece of fruit as noted.
• Into a large bowl, place the fruit and glaze, and toss to coat.
• Beginning and ending with fruit, thread the bamboo skewers with the fruit and tenderloin pieces, alternating with the meat and a different fruit.
• Place the skewers on the grill, and grill uncovered for 8-10 minutes, until the tenderloin is rare or medium rare.
• Turn the skewers every two minutes.
• Remove from grill, place on a rack and let rest 5 minutes.
• Move to a platter and serve.

GRILLED FRUIT KABOB RECIPE

Here's a Grilled Fruit Kabobs Recipe, which yields 6 servings.

Ingredients

• 1/2 fresh pineapple, trimmed and cut into 1-inch chunks
• 3 medium nectarines, cut into 1-inch chunks
• 3 medium pears, cut into 1-inch chunks
• 3 medium peaches, cut into 1-inch chunks
• 3 to 4 medium plums, cut into 1-inch chunks
• 10 apricots, halved
• 3 tablespoons honey or light corn syrup, warmed

Directions

• Thread fruit alternately onto metal or soaked wooden skewers.
• Grill, uncovered, over medium-hot heat until fruit is heated through, about 6 minutes, turning often.
• Brush with honey or corn syrup during the last minute of grilling time.

ANOTHER GRILLED FRUIT KABOB RECIPE

Here's Another Grilled Fruit Kabobs Recipe, which yields 12 skewers.

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup margarine
• 1/4 cup honey
• 3 fresh peaches, pitted and quartered
• 3 fresh plums, pitted and quartered
• 3 bananas, cut into 4 pieces each
• 12 strawberries, hulled
• 12 skewers

Directions

• Preheat an outdoor grill for medium heat and place a large sheet of foil onto the grate.
• Melt the margarine and honey together in a small saucepan over medium heat.
• Reduce heat to low and cook gently, stirring occasionally, until slightly thickened, about 5 minutes. Do not let the sauce boil.
• Thread a peach quarter, a plum quarter, a banana piece, and a strawberry onto each skewer.
• Place the skewers onto the foil on the preheated grill; spoon margarine-honey mixture over each skewer.
• Grill until the fruit is softened and the sauce has thickened and cooked onto the fruit, about 5 minutes.
• Flip the skewers, spoon more margarine-honey sauce over each, and grill for about 5 more minutes on the other side.

OTHER GRILLED FRUIT KABOB RECIPES

Here is Sandra Lee's recipe for Grilled Fruit Kabobs.

Another recipe features Grilled Fruit Kabobs on Sugar-Cane Skewers.

Paula Deen has a recipe for Grilled Fruit with a Bourbon Glaze.

Pauls Deen also has a recipe that combines chunks of Grilled Pork Tenderloin and Fruit Kabobs.

GRILLED FRUIT SALAD

Here's a recipe for Grilled Fruit Salad with Honey-Yogurt Dressing, which yields 4 servings.


Ingredients

• 1 pineapple, cored and sliced into 8 rings
• 2 plums, cored and each cut into 8 wedges
• Vegetable oil, for brushing fruit
• 3/4 cup plain Greek yogurt
• 1/4 cup honey
• 1 tablespoon finely chopped mint leaves
• 1/4 cup pine nuts, toasted

Directions

• Preheat grill to medium.
• Lightly brush fruit with oil and place on the grill.
• Cook until pineapple and plums are nicely caramelized, turning once, about 8 to 10 minutes.
• Remove to a plate.
• Meanwhile, in a medium bowl whisk together yogurt, honey and mint.
• Place 2 rings and 4 wedges on each plate and drizzle with dressing.
• Garnish with pine nuts

ANOTHER GRILLED FRUIT SALAD RECIPE

Here's another Grilled Fruit Salad Recipe, which yields 4 servings.


CONCLUSION
SteakPerfection welcomes your comments.  Please share them below.  SteakPerfection is a complex process that involves every detail, from pasture to plate.

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Terminology: "Age Verified"

AGE VERIFIED

The term "age verified" has a precise and important meaning in the beef cattle industry. The term means that the age of the cattle has been tracked and verified.

This permits cattle purchasers to know the exact age of the cattle and beef purchasers to know the exact age when the cattle was processed.

IMPORTANCE OF AGE VERIFICATION

The term "age verified" became important in recent years, primarily because of the 1990's outbreak of "mad cow disease" (Bovine spongiform encephalopathy, or BSE). BSE is a cattle disease that affects only older cattle and is a major health risk for humans who eat infected meat.

To eliminate the human risk of BSE, several countries adopted regulations to prohibit trade in cattle older than 20 months and to require that all cattle be age verified.

SIMILAR TERMS

There are several similar terms that are used in the industry that have similar but very different meanings. These include the following:

• Source Verified
• Traceable
• Trackback
• Brand
• Vintage
• Provenance Verified or Proven

Some of these terms, like Source Verified, Traceable and Trackback, mean only that the beef can be traced back to each farm and processor where the cattle was raised and the beef processed.

Other terms, like Vintance and Provenance Verified, mean that the beef is sold with information about the ranch/farm(s) where the cattle was born and raised (including the ranch's terrain and weather), the cattle breed, sex (e.g. steer or heifer), diet, health and care (including medications, vaccines and antibiotics), the processing plant, the beef's USDA Grade, its marbling score, etc.

It is important to remember that age verification concerns only one factor: the age of the animal. Similarly, source verification concerns only one factor: where the animal and meat were raised and processed.

CONCLUSION

SteakPerfection welcomes your comments.  Please share them below.  SteakPerfection is a complex process that involves every detail, from pasture to plate.

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Two Buck Chuck and Your $50 Steak

You know more about a bottle of Two Buck Chuck than you know about your $50 Steak.

TWO BUCK CHUCK

"Two Buck Chuck" means the bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon wine, which is sold at Trader Joe's for $1.99 ("Two Bucks") and which is produced by the Charles Shaw vineyard ("Chuck") .

The wine label tells the story of the wine:

• The vineyard is Charles Shaw, and the grapes are grown, fermented, aged and bottled in California;
• The wine in produced from the Cabernet Sauvignon grape; and
• The wine was produced from grapes grown in a specified year and aged for a specified amount of time.

In summary, when you purchase a bottle of "Two Buck Chuck", you not only know all the details of the wine but you can be certain that, if you purchase a second bottle, it will taste exactly like the first, because it too was grown at the same vineyard from the same grape and in the same year.

YOUR $50 STEAK

You might buy a $50 steak at Morton's, Flemings, Ruth's Cris or other steakhouse or restaurant, and you might purchase an expensive steak from your local buther or supermarket.

When you do:

• You won't know the name of the ranch, the terrain, the weather or the feed where the cattle was raised;
• You won't know the breed of the cattle; and
• You won't know the age of the cattle or steak.

In short, when you purchase a steak, you know none of the details about where your steak came from.

COMPARISON

You know much more about a bottle of Two Buck Chuck than your $50 steak.

• ORIGIN: Even a cheap bottle of wine gives the name, location, terrain and weather where the grapes are grown, but steak from cattle raised on many different ranches, locations, terrain, weather and feed are mixed and packaged together;
• BREED: Even the cheapest bottle of wine names the variety of grape that was used to make it, but steak from many different breeds are mixed and packaged together; and
• AGE: Wine labels disclose the year of production, which is very important for a consumer to find the same wine taste, but steak from different years are mixed and packaged together.

DUPLICATE THE TASTE

When you purchase even a cheap wine like Two Buck Chuck, you know all the details about the wine. As a result, if you like that particular wine, you can purchase an identical bottle (the same vineyard, grape, location and year), and you will experience the identical taste. Different bottles of the same wine will taste exactly the same.

However, when you purchase a steak at a steakhouse or butcher, you know none of the details about the steak. As a result, if you like that particular steak, you can never duplicate the taste of that steak, since you don't know any of the details about the steak (the ranch, breed, year etc.). Different steaks at the same steakhouse or butcher do not taste the same, because they come from a single box in which steaks from different ranches, breeds and years are mixed together.

CONCLUSION

Consumers should demand to know as much about their steak as they know about their wine. Consumers have a right to know as much about their steak as the rancher who raised the cattle, including the geography, terrain, weather, cattle breed, sex, feed, age, health and care of the cattle.

SteakPerfection welcomes your comments.  Please share them below.  SteakPerfection is a complex process that involves every detail, from pasture to plate.

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Steak Myth #1: Searing Seals in Juices

Steak Myth #1: Searing Seals in Juices

A prevalent myth in grilling steaks is that "searing a steak seals in its juices."

Fact: Searing Does Not Seal in Juices

Searing a steak creates no “seal” or barrier that prevents juices from escaping from the inside.

Steaks do not have pores. Pores exist only in the skin (epidermis) of an animal. Searing the outside of a steak does not close any pores or create any other seal or barrier. In fact, rather than sealing in the juices, searing the meat does almost the opposite: it dries out and removes juices (moisture) near the steak's surface, so searing causes a loss of moisture rather than protecting against it.

Searing Is Important!

There is an important reason to sear a steak, but it is not to "seal in" the juices. Instead, the reason to sear a steak is to caramelize (i.e., in scientific terms, to use the Maillard and browning reactions) to create a flavorful exterior crust.

When a steak is grilled in the heat and smoke of a wood fire, the result produces several desirable contrasts:

• Taste: the caramelized exterior versus the beefy interior;
• Texture: the crunchy exterior versus the soft interior;
• Juiciness: the dry exterior versus the juicy interior;
• Appearance: the dark-brown exterior versus the pinkish-red interior.

In short, searing a steak creates a contrasting exterior taste, texture, juiciness and appearance.

Harold McGee

Harold McGee, the esteemed author and food scientist, explains, in "On Food and Cooking: The Science and Lore of the Kitchen", p. 112:

SEARING IN JUICENESS AND FLAVOR

There is one misconception about meat cookery that still enjoys great popularity, even though it has long since been discredited. Does the gist of this description of cooking sound familiar?

"Thus as the exterior pores contract, the moisture contained in the object cannot escape any more, but is imprisoned there when the pores close."

This quotation comes not from a blurb for convection ovens, but from Aristotle's treatise on meteorology (Book 4). The theory has changed little except for the terminology -- today we would say that the food's juices are "sealed in" by high temperatures, keeping it moist and tender.

McGee then traces the history of this theory through the 17th, 18th, 19th and 20th Centuries, including the mid-19th Century explanation of the "science" for the "sealed in" theory by the German chemist, Justus von Liebig in his "Researches on the Chemistry of Food. McGee continues:

We know today that most of [Liebig's science] is simply not true. . . . Any crust formed around the surface of the meat is not waterproof. . . . But in its day, Liebig's account answered the unspoken need for some rational, systematic approach to cookery. . . . But even after Liebig's rationale for the early-searing method had been disproven, the method itself lived on under various guises, often rather eccentric. . . . [T]he grounds of the argument have shifted since Liebig's time. The issue is no longer nutritional value or juiciness, but taste. And here we are on firmer ground. We do know for a fact that whether done early or late, searing does not seal, but it does brown: it won't prevent flavor from escaping, but it creates flavor via the complex browning reactions. . . . So there is a good reason to sear meat, but it has nothing to do with nutrition or juiciness. The many recipes and ads that perpetuate Liebig's theory probably do so because the image it evokes is vivid and appealing.

CONCLUSION

Perhaps it is understandable that laymen and amateurs wax poetic about how high heat "sears in" their steaks' flavor and juiciness. However, expert steakmasters should dispel this prevalent myth and explain to others the science of SteakPerfection.

For more information about this Steak Myth #1 and other myths, click here for our Steak Perfection website.

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This updates an earlier blog at http://bit.ly/apACTJ

A short link to this blog is http://bit.ly/lhk3Qm