George and Andrew violently disagree on whether brining meat matters. George thinks brining is totally unnecessary; Andrew thinks George is a heathen. They resolve their dispute with the help of some chemistry, a blind tasting, and DC’s very own Roaming Rooster.
Serving Up Science on PBS Food
For a guide on how to brine turkey (*not* 5 days) see J. Kenji’s comprehensive blog post:
You might also like other Reactions videos:
Why the Maillard Reaction Makes Everything Delicious:
Frying Your Way to Better Chicken:
The Science of J. Kenji López-Alt’s Roasted Potato Recipe:
How to Fry a Thanksgiving Turkey Without Burning Your House Down:
Better Grilling Through Chemistry:
What is the Future of Fake Meat?
Credits:
Executive Producer:
Matthew Radcliff
Producers:
Laurence Vuckovic
Elaine Seward
Andrew Sobey
Darren Weaver
Writer/Host:
George Zaidan
Scientific Consultants:
Dr. Mark Jones, Ph.D.
Brianne Raccor, Ph.D.
Michelle Boucher, Ph.D.
Executive in Charge for PBS: Maribel Lopez
Director of Programming for PBS: Gabrielle Ewing
Assistant Director of Programming for PBS: John Campbell
Reactions is a production of the American Chemical Society.
© 2022 American Chemical Society. All rights reserved.
Sources:
Polarized but illusory beliefs about tap and bottled water: A product- and consumer-oriented survey and blind tasting experiment – ScienceDirect
Consumer preference for chicken breast may be more affected by information on organic production than by product sensory properties – ScienceDirect
CONSUMER PERCEPTION AND PREFERENCE OF BOTTLED AND TAP WATER – TEILLET – 2010 – Journal of Sensory Studies – Wiley Online Library
Different actions of salt and pyrophosphate on protein extraction from myofibrils reveal the mechanism controlling myosin dissociation – Shen – 2016 – Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture
Histological Study of Ultrastructural Changes in Muscle Exposed to Various Concentrations of NaCl Brine – Astruc – 2018 – Journal of Food Science – Wiley Online Library
Techniques for postmortem tenderisation in meat processing: effectiveness, application and possible mechanisms | Food Production, Processing and Nutrition | Full Text
Structure of Muscle Fibers (IB Biology) – YouTube
Myology – Skeletal Muscle (Sarcomere, Myosin and Actin) – YouTube
Science of Brining
On the mechanism of water holding in meat: The swelling and shrinking of myofibrils – PubMed
The Food Lab’s Definitive Guide to Buying, Prepping, Cooking, and Carving Your Holiday Turkey
The Right Way to Brine Turkey | The Food Lab
How to Brine a Turkey for Thanksgiving
Physical Characteristics and Sensory Evaluation of Cooked Pectoralis superficialis from Broiler Carcasses Chilled in Water or Brine Solutions Under Commercial Time and Temperature Conditions – ScienceDirect
The Effect of Water Soaking, Brining and Cooking Procedure on Tenderness of Broilers1
A Comparison of Brined and Unbrined Paired Broiler Carcass-Halves for Tenderness1
Physical Characteristics of Pectoralis superficialis from Brine-Chilled Broiler Carcasses1