OCR Home Economics: Food & Nutrition

Meat comes from animals Poultry comes from birds

They contain a certain amount of nutrients which depends on:

• The age of the animal/bird
• Part of it which is eaten (e.g. leg)
• How it is reared (e.g. can it move around?)

Cooking meat and poultry helps make the nutrients more digestible

The nutrients meat and poultry provide are:

• Protein ----> HBV protein (i.e. all the essential amino acids)
• Fat ----> mostly saturated fat, meat tends to contain more fat than poultry
• Fat Soluble Vitamins A & D ----> varies according to the fat content
• Group B Vitamins
• Iron ----> red meat is an important source of iron, also contained in poultry
• Water ----> both naturally contain water, more is sometimes added

BUYING

When you buy fresh meat, poultry or offal it needs to (be):

• moist - but not slimy or wet
• firm, with a slightly springy flesh or texture
• a good colour
• smell fresh
• within its use-by-date

STORING

These are perishable foods -----> they become unfit to eat very quickly

To use them within a couple of days -----> chill them between 0 and 5°C

To use them much later -----> freeze them to at least 18°C