The Science behind Marinades
As I was taking my weekly stroll thorough the grocery store there were several counters filled with marinated meats and seafood. This is nothing special, but it did get me thinking. Despite my aversion to purchasing marinated proteins, many others do. Possibly because of convenience, but their could very possibly be people who do not know how to marinade or how simple it really is. That sparked my initial interest in putting this article together.
What does marinating do?
A marinade is nothing more than a mix of herbs and spices combined in a way to alter the flavour and texture of foods. These can come in the form of a dry rub or a blend of products suspended in a liquid. Marinades can add heat, an earthy tone, or even a cooling effect to foods. They can also begin to break down proteins to increase their tenderness. It all comes down to what is in the blend and how it is prepared.
So what exactly do I mean by breaking down proteins? Meats such as chicken or steak are made of many different compounds but two that are quite important to the science of marination are collagen and elastin. Collagen is the main structural protein found in connective tissues such as muscles. Elastin, as the name may suggest, is the protein that allows for the tissue to bounce back to its original shape. Think of your skin, it is quite high in elastin. Now knowing what the proteins are you most likely can understand the role that marination has in that tender steak you had the last time you were out, or any other meat.
Proteins can be broken down in several ways: by heat, by acids and through use of enzymes. Heat, especially moist heat, converts collagen into gelatin. When an acidic element is in use it disrupts the hydrogen bonds. Alcohol, dairy and even fruit juices use this effect in a marinade. Enzymes work to increase the rate at which cells and bonds are broken down. Marinades of all types have their place, but a word of caution. If protein is left to marinate too long it can have the opposite effect and actually toughen the meat as the protein structure changes and the product looses water content.
The time it takes for a marinade to do its job effectively comes down to the type of protein you are working with. Some salads can take a fast pickling, ten minutes or less, to allow for desired effects. When you are working with a tough cut of beef however fourty-eight to seventy-two hours is not unheard of. The main factors at play are how strong of a marinade are you using, and how tough is the meat or other protein you are working with.
The science behind jerk
One common marinade that I am sure a lot of people have heard about is the Jamaican marinade of jerk. Now yes, jerk is sometimes used as a sauce, but do not discredit the marinating properties of this blend.
While it seems that every jerk spice can be made with different ratios and some add other components the basic blend combines thyme, onion, parsley, garlic, allspice, cinnamon, black pepper, salt, paprika and some form of heat such as cayenne peppers or scotch bonnets.
The two major players in this marinade are the salt and cayenne. Salt acts as a preservative and naturally draws moisture from the surface of protein. Without getting too complicated, beyond this they actually unfold proteins and allow them to become relaxed. In other words, the proteins become tenderized. Cayenne, or capsaicin affects meats and other proteins in several ways. Chemically speaking capsaicin will decrease the PH level of most marinades. By lowering the PH the flavours and other active ingredients are allowed to penetrate deeper into the protein source. After digging around online I found that the ideal PH for marinades sit at 4.0 on the scale and allow for an uptake of 3.34%. All marinades act from the outer surface inwards. That is why often, if not always, the outer portions of a piece of meat will often taste spicier than those at the centre. (Think of homemade corned beef.)
Just as in life, there are major players and those that play a more minor role. While each spice affects the flavour of the dish, chemically speaking they do not act upon the meat as aggressively as the other two. When looking into essential oils of foods such as thyme and garlic, they have been documented to limit bacterial growth. While this may seem as a minor job today, the simple act of preservation was not such a minor role in the times before modern refrigeration. While marinating any meat is largely considered an art form, they are all backed with strong scientific evidence into why and how they work.
How long should you marinade?
As I touched on earlier in this article, the time it takes for any food to be properly marinated to a large extent it comes down to knowing what you are marinating. Take for example pickled onions. Yes, in my books pickling could be considered a marination. When pickling slices of onions, a light pickling for applications such as a salad can happen in as little as ten minutes whereas using the example of homemade corned beef can require several days to adequately denature a tough cut.
If you’re still reading, I feel the need to thank you. This write up is much more technical than my average post. With that said I hope that you were able to gain some insight into how and why marinades do what they do. Realistically I am not expecting you to go out and buy a PH meter or digital monitor to ensure you have hit ideal levels that I mentioned, but knowledge is power. I could go into a whole other article on the PH of foods, but a quick search online can most likely provide you with your answer currently. All the best, and happy marinating!
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