Marination is key to making your non-vegetarian food soft and tender. Here is an ultimate guide if you have never tried marinating your meat. To cook succulent and flavourful meat, it is imperative to leave them wrapped in essential spices for some time. This leads to a tender mat. Some even prefer marinating the veggies to make them zestier.

Origin

Marination is not a new concept. The word marinade comes from the Latin word 'marinara'. This means 'of the sea'. People dunk their meats in marinades, such as seasoned liquid, spice mix, etc. Earlier, the marinades were more like liquids which also led to preserving the food and tenderising and flavouring them.

Reason to marinate foods

Here are the main benefits of marinated meat:

• It is a productive way to enhance its flavour. The meat can absorb the ingredients' goodness and aroma when it meets the spices, curd, and other masalas. So, the final dish is a burst of flavours.
• If you want to retain the moisture in the meat and allow the same to get tenderised before cooking, then consider marinating the meat. A good marinade always makes leaner cuts less dry, while you can expect the more complex pieces to become more succulent.

When you expose your meat to a marinade like vinegar, wine, and tomatoes, the protein breaks and becomes a loose mesh, and the water trapped in the protein becomes loose, making the meat moist and juicy. After a while, the protein tightens again, and the water comes out. When you marinate your meat in enzymatic marinades such as raw papaya, pineapple, honeydew, etc., the protein enzymes break the muscle fibre.

Dairy-based marinades like buttermilk are the most used as they tenderise brilliantly. Since they are mildly acidic, they do not toughen the meat. Dairy products activate essential enzymes and allow them to break down the proteins, leading to softer meat.

Tips for marinating the meat

• Add flavours such as fresh herbs, spices, onions or shallots, garlic, ginger, etc., to the marinade.
• You can also consider adding sweet ingredients such as brown sugar and honey in your marinade to add a caramelised and crispy coating.
• Do not add salt to the marinades as it dries up the food.
• Use only a non-reactive container during marination. Containers made of stainless steel, glass, and plastic are the best. Aluminium containers are not the ideal choice.
• Keep the marinated meat in the refrigerator in a closed container.
• If you have a leftover marinade, boil it and use it as a sauce.
• Allow the meat to remain immersed in the marinade.
• Based on the marinade, you need to determine the ideal marination time. Ideally, 30 minutes to overnight marination is good.

There is a range of marinated food products under the Super Saver sections on reputed websites. Explore and order meat delivery online.