NationMaster - Encyclopedia: Jerky (food)

Jerky is meat that has been cut into strips trimmed of fat, marinated in a spicy, salty or sweet liquid, and then dried with low heat (usually under 70°C/160°F) or occasionally salted and sun-dried. The result is a salty, stripped, semi-sweet snack that can be stored without refrigeration. Jerky is an early application of food preservation techniques. Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... This article is about the food. ... Marination, also known as marinading, is the process of soaking foods in a seasoned, often acidic, liquid before cooking. ... Refrigeration is the process of removing heat from an enclosed space, or from a substance, and rejecting it elsewhere for the primary purpose of lowering the temperature of the enclosed space or substance and then maintaining that lower temperature. ... Various preserved foods Food preservation is the process of treating and handling food in such a way as to stop or greatly slow down spoilage to prevent foodborne illness while maintaining nutritional value, density, texture and flavor. ...

History and origins

The word "jerky" itself comes from the Quechua term Charqui, which means "dried meat".^[1]^[2] It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Quechuan languages. ... Charqui is a form of jerky common in South America made from dried and salted meat, usually from horse, but also beef. ...

Drying has always been a common way to preserve meat. By drying thinly sliced meat in the sun and wind next to a smoky fire, the meat is protected from insects which would otherwise lay eggs in the raw meat. Ancient peoples—for example, the Inca—prepared jerky from the animals they hunted or husbanded.^[2] Orders Subclass Apterygota Archaeognatha (bristletails) Thysanura (silverfish) Subclass Pterygota Infraclass Paleoptera (Probably paraphyletic) Ephemeroptera (mayflies) Odonata (dragonflies and damselflies) Infraclass Neoptera Superorder Exopterygota Grylloblattodea (ice-crawlers) Mantophasmatodea (gladiators) Plecoptera (stoneflies) Embioptera (webspinners) Zoraptera (angel insects) Dermaptera (earwigs) Orthoptera (grasshoppers, etc) Phasmatodea (stick insects) Blattodea (cockroaches) Isoptera (termites) Mantodea (mantids) Psocoptera... Capital Cusco 1197-1533 Vilcabamba 1533-1572 Language(s) Quechua, Aymara, Jaqi family, Mochic and scores of smaller languages. ...

Preparation

Jerky preparations typically utilize one of many different types of meat, with Beef the most common meat used. Meat from other animals—such as wild game, venison, and elk—is also used.^[3] Recently, other meats have come to market, such as turkey, ostrich, salmon, alligator, and tuna. The meat must be dried quickly, to limit bacterial growth during the critical period where the meat is not yet dry. To do this, the meat is thinly sliced, or pressed thinly, in the case of ground meat. Drying is performed at low temperatures, to avoid cooking or overdrying the meat and making it brittle, with good jerky being flexible and somewhat tough. For other uses, see Beef (disambiguation). ... Leg of venison on apple sauce with dumplings and vegetables Venison is meat of the family Cervidae. ... For other uses, see Elk (disambiguation). ... // Binomial name Carolus Linnaeus, 1758 The present-day distribution of Ostriches. ... For other uses, see Salmon (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Alligator (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Tuna (disambiguation). ... Phyla/Divisions Actinobacteria Aquificae Bacteroidetes/Chlorobi Chlamydiae/Verrucomicrobia Chloroflexi Chrysiogenetes Cyanobacteria Deferribacteres Deinococcus-Thermus Dictyoglomi Fibrobacteres/Acidobacteria Firmicutes Fusobacteria Gemmatimonadetes Nitrospirae Omnibacteria Planctomycetes Proteobacteria Spirochaetes Thermodesulfobacteria Thermomicrobia Thermotogae Bacteria is also the fictional name of a warring nation under Benzino Napaloni as dictator, in the 1940 film The Great Dictator...

In present-day factories jerky ovens are made of insulated panels. Inside these large ovens are many heater elements and fans with exhaust ports to remove moisture-laden air. The combination of fast moving air and low heat quickly dries the meat to the desired moisture content usually within a few hours. The raw marinated jerky strips are placed on racks of nylon screens which have been sprayed with a light vegetable oil for separation. The screen trays are placed closely in layers on rolling carts which are then put in the drying oven.

In addition to dehydration, usually some other form of preservative is used in the preparation of jerky. Smoking was the traditional method, as it preserved, flavored, and dried the meat simultaneously. Salting is the most common method used today, as it both provides seasoning to improve the flavor as well as preserve the meat. While some methods involve applying the seasonings with a marinade, this can increase the drying time by adding moisture to the meat, so methods that use a dry rub are generally faster. Dehydration (hypohydration) is the removal of water (hydro in ancient Greek) from an object. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Wikibooks Cookbook has an article on Smoking Smoking is the process of flavoring, cooking, or preserving food by exposing it to the smoke from burning or smoldering plant materials, most often wood. ... Salting is the preparation of food with salt. ... Marination, also known as marinading, is the process of soaking foods in a seasoned, often acidic, liquid before cooking. ...

Some jerky products are made naturally or organically. Natural and organic jerky makers use meat from animals which are raised on organic feed and minimally processed. These animals are not treated with hormone enhancement and are not fed animal by-products. Additionally, these jerky products do not contain MSG, preservatives, artificial flavors, or erythorbate and are gluten free. Because these jerky products are preservative free, and contain less salt than traditional jerky, they must be refrigerated after opening the package, or be eaten within three days to avoid spoilage. Organic vegetables at a farmers market in Argentina. ... This article is about monosodium glutamate as a food additive. ... Wheat - a prime source of gluten Gluten is an amorphous mixture of ergastic (i. ...

Packaged

After the jerky is dried to the proper moisture content to prevent spoilage, it is cooled, then packaged in re-sealable plastic bags, under vacuum. In order to retard spoilage, the sealed packages often contain small pouches of oxygen absorber. These small packets are filled with iron particles which work to retain oxygen and excess moisture that may be present, or from air introduced after the seal is broken (due to partial consumption). Image File history File links Download high resolution version (849x561, 94 KB) Summary Photo of the label of a package of beef jerky, from Ralphs Packing Co. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (849x561, 94 KB) Summary Photo of the label of a package of beef jerky, from Ralphs Packing Co. ... An oxygen absorber Oxygen supports the growth of microorganisms and causes changes in color and rancid odors in packaged foods. ...

With any cut of meat, most of the fat must be trimmed off in the process because it does not dry, potentially causing rancidification of the fat (modern vacuum packing and chemical preservatives have served to help prevent these risks). For other uses, see FAT. Fats consist of a wide group of compounds that are generally soluble in organic solvents and largely insoluble in water. ... Rancidification is the decomposition of fats and other lipids by hydrolysis and/or oxidation. ... Various preserved foods Food preservation is the process of treating and handling food in such a way as to stop or greatly slow down spoilage to prevent foodborne illness while maintaining nutritional value, density, texture and flavor. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ...

Because of the necessary low fat and moisture content, jerky is high in protein. A 30 g (about 1 oz) portion of lean meat, for example, contains about 7 g of protein. By removing 15 g of water from the meat, the protein ratio is doubled to nearly 15 g of protein per 30 g portion. In some low moisture varieties, a 30 g serving will contain 21 grams of protein, and only one gram of fat. This leads to the high price of such brands of jerky, as it takes 90 g of 99% lean meat to generate that 30 gram serving.

There are many products in the marketplace which are sold as jerky which consist of highly processed, chopped and formed meat, rather than traditional sliced, whole-muscle meat. These artificial products, with their far higher fat and water content, often include chemical preservatives to prevent spoilage.

The Internet Nutrition Database shows a 30 g portion of "chopped and formed jerky" contains 10 g of protein, 8 g of fat, and 3 g of carbohydrates.^[4]

Since traditional jerky recipes utilize a basic salt cure, sodium can be a concern for some people. A 30 g serving of jerky could contain more than 600 mg of sodium, which would be about 30% of the recommended USRDA. For sodium in the diet, see Edible salt. ... The Dietary Reference Intake is a system of nutrition recommendations from the Institute of Medicine of the USA National Academy (IOM). ...

Unpackaged

Unpackaged fresh jerky made from sliced, whole-muscle meat has been available in specialty stores in Hong Kong at least since the 1970s. The products are purchasable by kilograms, and customers choose from 10 to 20 types of meat used to make the product. Some are sold in strands instead of slices. Macau has opened up numerous specialty shops also, many of which are franchise extensions of stores from Hong Kong. Compared to the sealed packaged versions, unpackaged jerky has a relatively short expiration date. Image File history File links Size of this preview: 600 Ã— 600 pixelsFull resolution (1760 Ã— 1760 pixel, file size: 2. ... Image File history File links Size of this preview: 600 Ã— 600 pixelsFull resolution (1760 Ã— 1760 pixel, file size: 2. ... Chongqing (Simplified Chinese: ; Traditional Chinese: ; pinyin: ; Postal map spelling: Chungching, also Chungking) is the largest and most populous of the Peoples Republic of Chinas four provincial-level municipalities, and the only one in the less densely populated western half of China. ... The cuisine in Hong Kong can best be described as a fusion of eastern and western style cuisine. ... The 1970s decade refers to the years from 1970 to 1979, also called The Seventies. ... The international prototype, made of platinum-iridium, which is kept at the BIPM under conditions specified by the 1st CGPM in 1889. ...

Availability

Traditional jerky, made from sliced, whole-muscle meat, is readily available in the United States and Canada in varying meats, brands and qualities, both as packaged and unpackaged. These products are available in nearly every convenience store, gas station, supermarket, and variety shop in those countries.

A similar product is made from highly processed and formed meat paste, and is often labeled as jerky. This artificial product is also widely available, and generally much cheaper, in general interest stores such as supermarkets and convenience stores. Supermarket produce section A supermarket is a store that sells a wide variety of goods including food and alcohol, medicine, clothes, and other household products that are consumed regularly. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ...

Also popular is shredded jerky sold in containers resembling snuff or dip. Jerky made in the traditional style is also a ubiquitous staple of farmers' markets in rural areas all over North America. Snuff can refer to any of the following: Fine-ground smokeless tobacco, intended for use by being sniffed or snorted into the nose Swedish snus tobacco, used between the cheek and upper gums American moist snuff, or dipping tobacco, placed between in the teeth and lower gums. ... Four tins of dipping tobacco: Skoal Straight, Skoal Long Cut Mint, Copenhagen Straight, and Copenhagen Long Cut. ... For the free-jazz group, see Farmers Market (band). ...

In addition to being quite common 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 jerky is made in Uruguay, in bulk, and is imported into the United Kingdom, then re-packaged for consumers, and distributed throughout Europe. Another popular brand is made and packed in Estonia.^{[citation needed]}

In Australia and New Zealand, jerky products are available and becoming more common. They are carried by some major supermarkets, and now also smaller stores.

A similar product, biltong, is common in South African cuisine; however, it differs very much in production process and taste. Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 724 Ã— 599 pixelsFull resolution (2493 Ã— 2064 pixels, file size: 2. ... Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 724 Ã— 599 pixelsFull resolution (2493 Ã— 2064 pixels, file size: 2. ... This does not cite any references or sources. ... South African cuisine varies widely, representing the food of indigenous people and of all those who have immigrated since. ...

Since 1996, jerky has been selected by astronauts several times for space flight due to its light weight and high level of nutrition.^[5]^[6]

Encyclopedia > Jerky (food)

Contents

History and origins

Preparation

Packaged

Unpackaged

Availability

See also

References

External links