What's a Marinade?

Question

What's a Marinade?

Answer 1

The cooking process itself turns connective tissues into gelatin to varying degrees. Depending on the cut and type of meat, it may need a little assistance to bring it to a palatable range of tenderness. Certain plant and fungi enzymes and acids can break down muscle and connective proteins in meats. As far back as pre-Columbian Mexico, cooks found that wrapping meats in papaya leaves before cooking made for more tender results.

The active enzyme in the papaya leaves is papain, now refined from papayas and commercially available. Connective tissue that comes in direct contact with the protein-digesting enzymes gets broken down.

These tenderizing enzymes also reduce the capability of the meat to hold its juices, resulting in greater fluid loss and thus drier meat. Enzymes are heat activated at levels between 140 and 175 degrees F. and deactivated at the boiling point, so it really serves no purpose other than flavoring to let meat sit in a marinade at room temperature. In fact, refrigeration is recommended to avoid the growth of harmful bacteria. Let meat come to room temperature before cooking.

Answer 2

Its something that you put meat in for a few hours,   It gives it flavor.   Its a liquid usually.

Answer 3

a marinade is anything that can be put on meat fish veg etc to add flavour or spice to a dish . exaple olive oil crushed garlic and rosemary coulld be poured over a piece of raw lamb 1 hour before cooking to enhance the flavour of the meat

Answer 4

marinade? OK the marinade I'm thinking is when you marinade something. like food into sauces.

Answer 5

A marinade is for several reasons...to add flavor to something or to make it more tender. Marinades can be a simple as soaking meat in a wine with or without spices or even for vegetables in a type of vinegar such as carrots in balasmic vinegar or cucumber and onions in vinegar overnight and then adding tomatoes for a quick salad.  Its just to make things a bit more special.

Answer 6

Its a mixture of herbs, spices or flavourings and oil or some sort of liquid, used to add flavour to food, and also to tenderise meats.  You should leave the marinaded ingredients for a couple of hours in the fridge at least, or overnight.  The longer you leave anything in a marinade, the more intense the flavour will be.

Answer 7

A broth of herbs and spices for soaking meat to flavor and/or tenderize........

Answer 8

A savoury, usually acidic sauce in which meat, fish, or vegetable is soaked to enrich it's flavour or to tenderize it - Thesaurus.

Answer 9

It's a mixture you "soak" meat before cooking. It can be made up of pretty much anything you want your meat to taste of.

Answer 10

The other day I looked at a lump of steak and thought this can be improved so I had a troll around my shelves and added to the deep dish my steak was lying in...

2 spring onions, 1 pickled gherkin, 6 red grapes all chopped very small, a good shake of season-all, a splash of white wine vinegar (No red in stock), a dribble of soy sauce and another of oyster sauce, a good shake of white pepper, stirred it all up and then I went out shopping......  2 hours later I tipped the lot into a frying pan but there was so much liquid it poached rather than fried.  I plated it together with a whole baked potato and half a tin of warmed mushy peas.  It was beautiful but be careful if you copy this... the marinade bites back........... Good luck.  (I'll bet it cures the common cold).

Answer 11

A mixture of liquids and/or spices in which you put meat, fish or vegetables so they acquire a particular flavour.

Answer 12

a sauce where you put meat in . the sauce goes intop the meat. after 10 minutes in the marinade , you get the meat out and prepare the meat by baking / roasting / grilling

Answer 13

Marinade is the liquid in which you soak the meat or paneer(cottage cheese) pieces for sometime before cooking them.

The marinade may contain salt, spices, herbs etc. The pieces you put in  absorb all the flavors of the marinade.

Answer 14

1.a seasoned liquid, usually of vinegar or wine with oil, herbs, spices, etc., in which any meat, fish, vegetables, etc., are steeped in before cooking.

(marinading times very per recipe or depending on preference.  Anywhere from a few minutes to over night)

Soy sauce is a popular marinade as well as Worcestershire sauce. Italian dressing.

You can make a marinade or buy it in bottles already made up at any grocery store.  They come in a variety of flavors, from mild to spicy, citrus, zesty, you name it!

To try quick and easy marinade recipes go to www.kraft.com

FYI****You may or may have not heard people use the expression "Let it marinade" It means to let something soak in.

This summer try giving your back yard BBQ a kick, by marinading your poultry, steak, and even burgers before throwing them on the grill.

Be adventurous

Have fun!

Answer 15

summary of wiki answer:

liquid that you submerge your meat into to tenderize, add moisture, and/or add flavor.