Modern jerky is essentially beef (or another type of meat) that has been cut into strips with the fat trimmed off, then marinated in a spiced, salty or sweet liquid for a desired flavor, then dried with low heat (usually under 160°F or 70°C). The result is a strip of a salty, semi-sweet beef snack that can be stored for long periods of time without refrigeration, similarly to pemmican and biltong. Beef Beef is meat obtained from a bovine. ... Marination, also known as marinading, is the process of soaking foods in a seasoned, often acidic, liquid before cooking. ... It has been suggested that Refrigerator be merged into this article or section. ... Pemmican is a concentrated food consisting of dried pulverized meat, dried berries, and rendered fat. ... Biltong is South African dried meat (mainly beef or game) marinated with rock salt, coarse black pepper, coarse ground coriander, and vinegar and then dried. ...

Characteristics and variations

Although beef is by far the most common meat used in jerky, other meats such as wild game, venison, elk, etc. are also used. Recently, more unorthodox selections such as turkey, ostrich, salmon, ahi tuna, and even tofu are also being made into jerky. With any cut of meat, most of the fat must be trimmed off in the process because it does not dry, potentially making the fat rancid (modern vacuum packing and chemical preservatives have served to help prevent these risks). As a result, jerky typically has less than 3% fat content. Venison is the term for the meat of deer. ... Elk may refer to two distinct species of large deer: In Europe it refers to Alces alces, which is called a Moose in North America In North America it refers to Cervus elaphus, which is called a Red Deer in Europe. ... Binomial name Struthio camelus Linnaeus, 1758 The ostrich (Struthio camelus) is a flightless bird native to Africa. ... The Chinook or King Salmon is the largest salmon in North America and can grow to 1. ... Tofu, sometimes also called doufu (often in Chinese recipes) or bean curd (literal translation), is a food of Chinese origin, made by coagulating soy milk, and then pressing the resulting curds into blocks. ... This article or section is in need of attention from an expert on the subject. ... A preservative is a natural or synthetic chemical that is added to products such as foods, pharmaceuticals, paints, biological samples, etc. ...

Jerky is low in fat and moisture content. It is very high in protein. In some low moisture varieties, a 30 gram serving will contain 21 grams of protein, and only one gram of fat. Since traditional jerky is salt-cured, sodium can be a concern. A 30 gram serving may contain 515 milligrams of sodium, 21% of the USRDA. Less expensive varieties utilizing chemical preservatives have a higher fat and water content and generally have around 15 grams of protein per 30 gram serving. ^{[citation needed]} Dietary Reference Intake is a set of guidelines set up in 1997 to give more detailed guidance than the RDA system which preceded it. ...

Availability

Traditional beef jerky, made from sliced meat, is readily available in the United States and Canada in specialty stores and websites. Similar, less expensive products made from processed and formed meat are widely available in most general interest supermarkets. Beef jerky made in the traditional style is also a ubiquitous staple of farmers' markets in Amish-influenced Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. Exterior appearance of typical American supermarket (a Safeway) A supermarket or grocery store is a store that sells a wide variety of food. ... A farmers market near the Potala Palace in Lhasa, Tibet. ... Amish couple in a buggy in rural Holmes County, Ohio, which has the worlds largest Amish population The Amish are WEIRD an Anabaptist Christian denomination and Swiss-German ethnic group found primarily in the United States and Ontario, Canada known for restrictions on the use of modern devices such... Lancaster County is a county located in the south-central portion of the state of Pennsylvania in the Susquehanna Valley. ...

In addition to being easily available in the United States and Canada, jerky is also gaining popularity in supermarkets, convenience stores and pubs of several European countries. One popular brand of European beef jerky comes from a factory based in Estonia.

History and origins

The word "jerky" itself comes from the Quechua term ch'arki, which means "dried meat". Quechua (Standard Quechua, Runasimi Language of People) is an Native American language of South America. ... Charqui is a form of jerky common in South America made from dried and salted meat, usually from horse, but also beef. ...

Throughout human history and cultures, drying meat has been a common method employed to preserve it. By drying thinly sliced meat in the sun and wind next to a smoky fire, the meat is protected from insects that lay their eggs in the raw meat. Such methods to preserve meat have been used by the Inca people, who often prepared llama jerky. The history of the world, in popular parlance, is human history, from the first appearance of Homo sapiens to the present. ... Classes & Orders See taxonomy Insects are invertebrate animals of the Class Insecta, the largest and (on land) most widely-distributed taxon within the phylum Arthropoda. ... Capital Cusco Official language Quechua Government Head of State Federal Empire Sapa Inca Establishment Dissolution 1250 (¿?) 1548 Area ~2. ... Binomial name Lama glama (Linnaeus, 1758) The llama (Lama glama) is a large camelid that originated in North America and then later on moved on to South America. ...

In recent history, (circa 1996) beef jerky has been selected by astronauts several times for space flight, because it is lightweight and very nutritious.

See also

• Pastrami

Pastrami Pastrami is a popular deli meat made from (chiefly red) meat. ...

External links

• What is Beef Jerky?
• Beef jerky Message Board
• Beefjerky.com online store with information about beef jerky provisioning for spaceflight
• Bulk Beef Jerky, website with a collection of recipes and articles on jerky