| A | B |
|---|
| Bacon | Smoked pork belly meat. Bought in slabs or precut slices. |
| Beef | Meat obtained from mature cattle over 12 months of age. |
| Chitterlings | Cleaned intestines. |
| Coagulation | Act of thickening or forming a congealed mass. (Proteins are coagulated by heat and can cause a mixture to thicken.) |
| Collagen | Protein constituent of connective tissue in meat. Collagen is tough and elastic but can be softened by cooking. |
| Cooking losses | Fat, water, and other volatile substances that are retained in pan drippings or cooking liquid when meats are cooked. |
| Elastin | Protein constituent of connective tissue in meat that is tough and elastic and cannot be softened by cooking. |
| Ham | From the pork leg. Cured and usually smoked. |
| Heifers | Young females who have never had a calf. |
| Lamb | The meat of sheep less than one year of age. |
| Marbling | Flecks of fat found throughout the lean muscles of meat. |
| Marinate | To soak meat in a solution containing an acid, such as vinegar or tomato juice, that helps tenderize the connective tissue. |
| Meat | The edible portion of mammals. |
| Mutton | Sheep over 2 years of age. |
| Pork | The meat of swine. |
| Quality Grades | Assure consumers that meat has met set standards that predict taste appeal. Overseen by the USDA. |
| Retail Cut | A smaller cut of meat taken from a larger wholesale cut and sold to consumers in retail stores. |
| Steers | Young, castrated males. |
| Sweetbreads | The thymus glands of beef, lamb, and veal. |
| Tripe | Stomach lining of beef. |
| Variety meats | Edible parts of animals other than muscle, such as liver, heart, and tongue. |
| Veal | The meat of cattle less than three months of age. |
| Wholesale cut | Large cut of meat shipped to a retail grocery store or meat market. |
| Yearling lamb | Sheep which are 1 to 2 years of age. |
| Yield grades | Help wholesalers identify which carcasses will produce the most edible meat per pound. |
