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Written by McClatchy-Tribune News Service
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Tuesday, 03 March 2009 00:03 |
If you're frying a steak and mindful of your health, then marinate it in either beer or red wine. So say food scientists who measured amounts of a family of carcinogens found in fried steaks after steeping them in booze.
Cooking food increases levels of cancer-causing compounds called heterocyclic amines (HAs). Fried and grilled meat are particularly high in these compounds, because fiery temperatures convert the sugars and amino acids in muscle tissue into HAs. Various substances can reduce HA content: olive oil, lemon juice and garlic marinade cut HAs in grilled chicken by 90 percent, while red wine reduced HAs in fried chicken.
Now, Isabel Ferreira and colleagues at the University of Porto in Portugal have looked at the effects of beer and red wine marinades on fried steak. Six hours of marinating in beer or red wine slashed levels of two types of HA by up to 90 percent compared with unmarinated steak (Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry).
For a third type of HA, beer was more efficient than wine at reducing its content, cutting levels significantly in 4 hours, while wine took 6. Beer contains more water-retaining sugars than wine, and Ferreira says that may hinder the transport of water-soluble molecules to the steak's surface, where high heat converts them into HAs. Tasters also preferred the smell, taste and appearance of beer-marinated steak.
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