Meat is a rich source of nutrients, and more so when you cook it fresh. Plus, dishes are tastier when you use fresh meat. Whether you buy meat online or from your nearby outlet, you need to check for freshness. Here are some tips to help you check if the meat you’re buying is fresh.
Colour
The first thing you should check when you buy meat is its colour. Chicken meat should have a pinkish hue. Fresh mutton, on the other hand, looks reddish, exactly deep red. Fresh fish will have a metallic colour. Check for spots or dark marks on the meat. If they are present, the meat is not likely to be fresh. Fresh prawns will look translucent. It should not have any coloured spots on it. The spots could be toxins or contaminants. So, it’s best not to consume such prawns. Avoid meat that looks brownish as it may be stale.
Smell
The smell is the next best indicator to check the freshness of meat. Fresh chicken doesn’t have any smell. If you notice any kind of smell in chicken, rinse it in water. If the odour still remains, then the chicken is probably not fresh. The same goes for mutton. Fresh mutton doesn’t have any smell. Even fresh prawn doesn’t have a smell. Do the water check if you get a slightly fishy smell.
Firmness and Texture
The next thing that you need to check is the firmness and texture. When you lightly press a fresh piece of chicken or mutton, you can feel that it’s slightly firm and springy. You should be able to see the muscle fibres. Also, when you touch the meat, it should feel dry and not wet. If the meat feels too soft to touch and doesn’t spring back, then it’s probably old meat. Fresh fish meat is also tender, firm, and slightly springy. If it looks gooey or flaccid, then the meat is not fresh. Fresh prawn meat is slightly firm. However, if it feels too hard or too soft, then it could be old.
These are some of the basic things that will help you check if the meat you’re buying is fresh. However, you don’t need to worry about all these things when you buy meat online at Kadalunavu. We get meat right from the source, clean it using hygienic processes, and use safe packaging methods to pack the meat. You can be assured of 100% fresh meat when you buy from us. Order fresh meat online at Kadalunavu right away.
