Pineapple addendum to Kiwi juice post

A while ago I posted about using kiwi juice to tenderize meat. I also noted that pineapple also has a protease enzyme, bromelain, that will tenderize meat. It does this by breaking down the proteins in the meat and therefore breaking the cellular structure.

One thing I did not mention is that the bromelain also does its wonders on your tongue if you eat the pinapple, especially more green.  I cut up a beautiful pineapple the other day and was happily munching away when  my tongue started to tingle and felt burnt!  Turns out the bromelain was also breaking down the proteins on my tongue...fortunately, the surface of our tongues is replenished almost daily so the effects are not long lasting but in future I think I will eat my pineapple with something a but more creamy such as yogurt to help coat  my tongue from the effects.  I have read that truly ripe from the tree pineapples do not have the same effect as the amount of bromelain is reduced as the pineapple ripens.

One downside of the protein attack is that you cannot put raw pineapple in gelatin since it will break down the gelatin (which is a protein).  The canned pineapple would work since it is usually  cooked and will have inactivated  the bromelain (need to try this experiment). To make pineapple jelly, you would need to use pectin not gelatin.

Links:
http://science.howstuffworks.com/innovation/edible-innovations/pineapple-enzyme-tenderize-steak1.htm

Pineapple strawberry jelly
http://www.cooks.com/rec/view/0,1623,146161-225195,00.html

Dickson, S R and Bickerstaff, G F Pineapple bromelain and protein hydrolysis. Journal of Biological Education 25, 164–166 (1991)

Pineapple bushes

http://www.mnn.com/your-home/organic-farming-gardening/questions/do-pineapples-grow-on-trees

Pulled Moose

I was visiting my parent's place and found a moose roast in the freezer given to them by a friend a couple of years ago.  So we made a moose pot roast that melted in your mouth!  I sauteed the roast first to create the unami taste with the Maillard reaction and then just added some veggies, onions and water to let it simmer all day.  With only about an hour left, I added more salt and then turnip and carrots.

The meat was very tender and could be pulled apart with a fork - Delicious!  The simple broth was also incredibly flavourful.

The trick here was the 6 hour cooking time - it allowed the collagen in the meat to dissolve so that the meat could be so tender.  The broth could also be used for a great soup base afterwards. This shows you that you do not need fancy herbs and spices to make a very flavourful meal.

Sorry, no photos - we were too busy eating...

Addendum: Modernist Cuisine did a blog post on the Mailliard reaction:
http://modernistcuisine.com/2013/03/the-maillard-reaction/

Worth reading!