Papaya Paste – Natural Meat tenderizer

Papaya paste is easily made. see the storing tips further below to store
the paste for further single uses.
Use papaya (ripe or unripe) on tough cuts of red meat and the enzymes
in the fruit will help break down the collagen, leaving you with a tender
steak. To use it, peel off the skin, slice in half, scoop out the seeds, and
puree. Spread it over the meat, chill for three hours, then scrape off the
puree and cook.
Papaya can be green or ripen. First wash papaya and then cut it into
equal halves. Remove all of the seeds from the center. Chop and place it
in a blender or small spice grinder and blend until smooth. You will
probably need to add a drop of water or oil to assist with the blending.
Now smooth paste is ready. Then take meat, apply papaya paste
according to the quantity of meat.
Use ice cube trays to freeze small papaya paste batches and store in zip
lock bags to use for another day.
Total Time: 5 minutes
4.84 from 18 votes
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Papaya Paste - Natural Meat tenderizer - How to make & store papaya
paste [+Video] - tenderizes red meat such as beef, lamb, mutton, wild
game, etc naturally. Tips + video how to to tenderize with papaya paste
www.MasalaHerb.com

Did you know that Papaya Paste can make your meat super tender?
Papaya paste tenderizes meat deliciously well and very effectively so
that the meat melts in your mouth with each bite and the angels start to
sing.
Papaya Paste

The first time I heard papaya was used as a meat tenderizer, I didn't
believe it.
How could such a plainly tasting tropical fruit, which has never been
much regarded as a super fruit anyway, turn tough meat cuts into a
tender soft melt in the mouth meat?

I thought it was a joke.

Even if the papaya paste could make meat soft, it would surely have
some kind of a side effect such as making the meat taste weird or that
the meat would get tough again while cooking.

My life philosophy is simple: If it's too good to be true, there must be

something wrong!
Ironically, I ended up beating my own believes towards the papaya
paste.
I was invited one fine night to a friends house.
Delicious looking beef was served up and it had been prepared with
papaya paste.
If such an inexpensive fruit, which can be bought easily in most parts of
the world, could do such a thing in small dosage.
Obviously I had to try it out for myself.
After having prepared the meat with papaya and cooked it the way I
always do, I was completely amazed.
I ate a beef steak, which had turned delicately tasteful, a melt in the
mouth moment indeed!
The papaya paste on the meat was, effective, quickly working and very
easy to use.
The only problem with that was that I would have to get a fruit every
time and use always only a few tablespoons and that would just be kind
of a waste to such a great fruit!
Also, not just any papaya fruit is suitable as a meat tenderizer.
So, that is why I came up with a brilliant solution!
What kind of papaya to use to make papaya paste meat tenderizer?
To make a papaya meat tenderizer you need to pick a green/raw papaya.
This is important!
Green papayas are raw and have hard white fruit flesh in the inside.
It's almost tasteless!

Certain food cultures and regional Asian cuisine use green papaya flesh
like a squash or pumpkin.

Think Thai green papaya salad for example.

The green Papaya is rich in an enzyme known as Papain and this is the
compound which has the ability to break down meat fibers.
So, Papain basically breaks down collagen, which is the main protein
that connects tissues.
The greener and raw the papaya, the more papain it contains and the
stronger the paste will affect your tough meat cuts.
The highest amount of papain can be found in the papaya skin.
That is why we use a green/raw papaya for tenderizing meat.
Raw papaya is almost tasteless and not sweet at all, which makes it a
suitable choice for marinating meat successfully.
By the way, also the leaves of a papaya tree are high in papain and can
be used in the same way as the paste.
If you use a papaya tree leaves, then just wash it well and wrap the meat
into it, leave it to "marinate", cook and enjoy a perfectly cooked piece of
meat.

Papaya Paste
How to make Papaya Paste from scratch?

Making Papaya Paste is actually child's play.

You just need to turn the papaya into a smooth puree.

You don't need to flavor the papaya paste, you don't need to add any
other ingredients.

Just fresh green papaya with the skin and some water, that's the magic!
Just make sure to discard seeds if there are any.

I decided early on to keep it tasteless, as I would use the paste on

different kind of red meats, and in that case, I like to season them
differently at times.
How to store the Papaya paste?

Because green/raw papayas are not always easy to be found in the

market and because you mostly need only small amounts of the paste to
your meat, it makes sense to store the papaya paste for the long run.

While you could keep some in a jar in the fridge, I wouldn't suggest you
do do that with a bigger batch of freshly made papaya paste.

Papaya has a high tendency to get moldy, especially the ripe pulp, but
unfortunately also the unripe version of the fruit.

So while some people suggest that they kept theirs for a week or two in
the fridge without a problem, I wouldn't necessarily suggest you do that
because we do add some water to the paste and water makes things to
spoil.

Then, how to store big amounts of papaya paste so that non gets wasted
and so that it can be removed out in batches whenever needed?

Even if you freeze a whole jar full of papaya paste, you would have to
wait for the whole jar to defrost before you could take out just the
amount that you need for your meat and that's a bit counter productive, I
believe.

So I decided to just freeze the papaya paste by adding small batches of

1-2 tablespoons to ice cube trays.
Then you just need to take them out once frozen and place the papaya
paste cubes into zip lock bags.

Whenever, you need to use the paste, take out a cube or two, or whatever
quantity needed, let it defrost and treat your meat with the paste.

It's that simple!

Papaya Paste

How to use the Papaya paste to tenderize meat?

The papaya paste is like a paste in addition to your usual marination.

There are two ways how you can prepare and marinate your meat with
the papaya paste:

Papaya paste first, marination after that

You keep your meat cuts ready and add the papaya paste to it.

I like to massage the paste into the meat with my fingers.

Then I keep it for a certain period, depending on the meat and amount,
and either remove excess papaya paste or leave it on and add my
marination to the meat so that the meat sucks in the flavors.

OR

Papaya paste and marination on the meat together

How to marinate the meat and for how long depends on the following:

meat type - beef, lamb, mutton, pork, rabbit, deer

meat quantity
how the meat is cut - in cubes, slices etc
meat quality and fat amounts
 papaya variation, papaya rawness and if you added the papaya skin to
the paste

TIP: Know this, that the leaner the meat, the better the quality, the less
the amount and the smaller cut, the less papaya paste you will need and
the faster it will take you to tenderize successfully.

That means for example if you use 1 kilogram, not so high quality,
undercut beef, cut into big chunks and you want it to be tender after 30
minutes, you would add about 2 defrosted papaya paste cubes to the
meat.

It will turn out super tender!

For 2 smaller undercut steaks, I add about 2 tablespoons = ~1 cube of

papaya paste to my beef.

Then i let it on for 20 minutes and add my usual steak marination so that
it infuses the flavors.

I keep it on for another 40 minutes max before cooking the

meat.

So if you are intending to marinate the meat for a longer period to infuse
the flavors, you might want to treat the meat first separately with the
papaya paste and then take off excess papaya paste.

Or you reduce the papaya paste amount to small quantities so that you
can marinate the meat over a longer period of time.

How much papaya paste you use on your meat to tenderize is up to you,
there is no fixed amount that I can tell you here.
If you get hold of a smaller very green papaya and you would use only
the skin but not the pulp, you would have to cut the time again by half at
least because the skin alone is a very strong tenderizer!

So you get my point.

Try to work with small quantities first so that you get the feel for it.

Each meat works differently too.

Try to use my examples to get an idea for how long and how much to
use.

Of course, you can also combine other tenderizing solutions with a small
amount of papaya paste.

I like to smash my meat first and that is known to break down tough
fibers as well.

Then I rub salt into the uncooked steak and ginger paste (if it's an Asian
dish), as ginger and salt both help in cutting down the tenderizing
waiting period.

After that the add some papaya paste, wait for 20-30 minutes and
you are good to cook your steak soft!
Papaya Paste
Why is it important to not leave the papaya paste too long on the meat?

Well, the papaya paste is that powerful, that meat fibers can de-integrate
completely and you would be left with meat pieces or even an
unappetizing meat mash.

Also, keeping higher amounts of papaya paste on the meat for far too
long can turn the meat dry while cooking.
That is why you should use the papaya paste in small quantities only and
whenever you do that, you would check on the meat after a certain time
to see if it has marinated enough.

The moment the papaya paste is heated up, it stops affecting the collagen
proteins in the meat but don't worry the meat will guaranteed turn out
tender.
Where can I buy papaya Paste?

Green Papaya Paste can't be purchased so far.

Food companies haven't developed such a product yet.

However, you can buy a green papaya powder instead which can be used
instead of the green papaya paste.

I haven't tried it myself, so I can' t advocate it but at the same time I took
a while to search a decent option but ended up finding this green papaya
powder.

The manufacturers claim all kinds of weight-loss wonders, which you

can safely ignore.

You want a clean product that can be used as a tenderizing agent on your
meat.

That's it!
Papaya Paste uses

Beef Steak with Herb Butter

Rabbit in Red Wine Sauce
French Veal Stew Ragout
Beef Goulash
Remember you can use the papaya natural meat tenderizer paste with
any red meat such as beef, veal, pork, lamb, mutton, goat, rabbit, boar
and deer.

There is no point in using papaya paste for chicken, turkey or duck meat
as these get easily soft while cooking, depending on the cooking
technique and heat.

How to make Meat Tenderizers

Prep time
20 mins Cook time
20 mins Total time
40 mins
Meat Tenderizers
Author : Vahchef
Main Ingredient : Lamb
Servings : 2 persons
Published date : February 06, 2019

Ingredients used in Meat Tenderizers

• Raw pineapple - 1 number.
• Raw papaya - 1 number.
• Meat - 2 cups.
Method:

Meat tenderizers are proteolytic Enzymesor proteases, enzymes

specialized in breaking the peptide bonds between amino acids found in
complex proteins.
Meat is held together by a complex protein called collagen and aside
from mechanical tenderization and cooking, enzymes are the only other
available meat tenderizers.
 Meat is often tenderized before cooking, to make it less tough and
more suitable for consumption.
Cut the pineapple and raw papaya and transfer into a blender and
make it into a fiine paste.
apply to the meat and mariante it for 3 to 4 hours.
Dear Reader, how are you intending to use the papaya paste?

Please feel free to share your thoughts and ideas with us in the comment
section further below!

Meat tenderizer(natural)
Rafeena Majid Rafeena Majid
This is very easy to prepare and handy when we want to speedy cook
meats ..Better to use natural one ...
Ingredients

1 raw papaya.

Steps

Take a raw papaya...nice green one...wash thoroughly...deseed thm if

any(white ones also)
Meat tenderizer(natural) recipe step 1 photo

Chop into small pieces and grind in mixie with green skin without
water..(green skin of raw papaya contains more pappain which
tenderizes meat)
Meat tenderizer(natural) recipe step 2 photo

Now have to store it in freezer for long term use..but if u store it in a

bottle thn it will be difficult to take it out every time when needed and
have to thaw the whole bottle thn again keeping in freezer may spoil it...

So here is the trick..put the papaya paste in the ice tray..

 Meat tenderizer(natural) recipe step 4 photo

Keep it in the freezer till sets..

Meat tenderizer(natural) recipe step 5 photo

Take all the papaya ice cubes and store in a plastic bag....leave some
space and thn tie it or put rubberband(note:up of the ice cubes leave
space like 3 inches)
Meat tenderizer(natural) recipe step 6 photo

Papaya as a Meat Tenderizer

Papaya is an excellent natural meat tenderizer. Use papaya (ripe or
unripe) on tough cuts of red meat and the enzymes in the fruit will help
break down the collagen, leaving you with a tender steak.
To use it, peel off the skin, slice in half, scoop out the seeds, and
puree. Spread it over the meat, chill for three hours, then scrape
off the puree and cook.

Meat tenderizer(natural)
Rafeena Majid Rafeena Majid
This is very easy to prepare and handy when we want to speedy cook
meats ..Better to use natural one ...
Ingredients
1 raw papaya.
Steps
Take a raw papaya...nice green one...wash thoroughly...deseed thm if
any(white ones also)
Chop into small pieces and grind in mixie with green skin without
water..(green skin of raw papaya contains more pappain which
tenderizes meat)
 Now have to store it in freezer for long term use..but if u store it in a
bottle thn it will be difficult to take it out every time when needed and
have to thaw the whole bottle thn again keeping in freezer may spoil it...

So here is the trick..put the papaya paste in the ice tray..

Meat tenderizer(natural) recipe step 4 photo

Keep it in the freezer till sets..

Meat tenderizer(natural) recipe step 5 photo

Take all the papaya ice cubes and store in a plastic bag....leave some
space and thn tie it or put rubberband(note:up of the ice cubes leave
space like 3 inches)
Meat tenderizer(natural) recipe step 6 photo

Papaya Meat Tenderizer - How to Store Papaya Paste for 6

Month

Papaya Meat Tenderizer - How to Store Papaya Paste for 6 Month:

Today sharing a simple, easy and quick way to prepare natural meat
tenderizer using raw papaya that you can store in your freezer for 6
months (under best freezing condition).

Green Papaya also famous as raw papaya (kacha papita) contains Papain
that can easily break meat fiber naturally. Raw papaya basically has no
odor and taste. Almost tasteless. So it will not make any difference in
your dish taste if you are using it as a tenderizer. It will just make your
food soft and tender.

How Long Does it Take to Tenderize Meat?

It depends upon the meat structure. If you are using ground meat then it
will take 30 to 40 minutes to tenderize meat.
 If you are dealing with tough meat in curry then use a spoon of papaya
paste or just add a fresh cube of papaya to tenderize meat in a few
minutes. In the same way, you can add a spoon of papaya paste in your
meat marination to make it soft, tender and juicy. If you leave your meat
in marination for a long time then it will be more tender and break
without effort.
To tenderize meat with papaya use a green papaya and it will take 20–30
minutes to tenderize. The active enzyme in papaya is papain.
More than one hour in raw papaya juice will ruin the exposed meat.

No more than 40 mins max should one expose ones meat to the papaya.
Use papaya (ripe or unripe) on tough cuts of red meat and the enzymes
in the fruit will help break down the collagen, leaving you with a tender
steak. To use it, peel off the skin, slice in half, scoop out the seeds, and
puree. Spread it over the meat, chill for three hours, then scrape off the
puree and cook.

How to use papaya to tenderize meats?

The most common meat tenderizer used in India is raw (un-ripened)
papaya
The leaves, and green skin of raw papaya contain an enzyme called
Papain. The connective tissue in the meat breaks down when it comes in
contact with Papain. Papaya is preferred tenderizer for red meat (Lamb,
Mutton, Goat, Beef). It can be used for fowl. The preferred tenderizer
for fowl is Yogurt How to use yogurt to tenderize meats?

You should NOT discard the tenderizing paste. When the connective
tissue gets gelatinized, the gelatin gets mixed with the tenderizing paste.
If you discard the tenderizing paste, you will throw out a lot of flavor.

In United States, Papain is available in Grocery stores as Adolph’s Meat

Tenderizer. You can also buy Papain in tablet for at health food stores.
If you score the skin of a raw Papaya with knife, the fruit will exude a
milky white substance known as the latex that contains Papain.

Preparing Papaya Tenderizer Paste

Raw Papaya
1. Peel green skin up about 1/8th to ¼” deep off the raw papaya.
2. Add ¼ teaspoon of salt per two Tablespoons of Papaya.
3. Grind to a paste. You need 2 Tablespoon of Papaya paste for one
pound of meat.
Adolph’s Meat tenderizer
You do not need to add salt. Adolph’s meat tenderizer already has the
salt. Add one teaspoon to 1 Tablespoon of water to make Papaya paste.
You need 2 Tablespoon of Papaya paste for one pound of meat, it only
hast 2 teaspoons of the Adolph’s meat tenderizer.

Papain Characteristics
The Papain enzyme activity depends on two factors: pH factor, and the
temperature.
Effect of the pH factor
pH for optimal Papain activity: 6.0-7.0
The enzyme is active when the pH factor is neutral (pH = 7) to slightly
acid (pH = 6). The pH of most of the meats is neutral to slightly acid.
Effect of temperature
Temperature for optimal Papain activity: 149 °F
Inactive Papain: 170°F to 185 °F
Active Papain Range: 140 °F to 160 °F
If you just store the meat with the papaya paste in the refrigerator, it will
do nothing to tenderize meat. It starts to become active at 140 °F, slows
down at 170 °F, and dies at 185 °F.

How long to tenderize meat?

It depends on pH factor, temperature, type of meat (mutton takes longer
than spring lamb), fat in the meat and cut of meat. It also depends on the
level of tenderness sought. I use the following guide
Beef Steaks: 30 minutes
Cubed / Minced Lamb: 1 hour
Cubed / Minced Mutton: 90 minutes
Cubed / Minced Goat: 90 minutes

Methods
There are three alternate methods Stove-top, Oven baking and Electric
heat pad.
Stove top
This is suitable for muscle meat.
1. Pierce every piece of meat with a fork.
2. Put the meat in a heavy bottom stainless steel pot.
3. Add just enough water so that the meat is submerged in water.
4. Add Papaya Tenderizer Paste.
5. Turn on heat at low. Warm the mixture to 149 °F
Make sure the heat does not rise above 165 °F
6. Simmer for one hour at 140 °F to 160 °F.
7. Turn off heat.

Bake Oven
This is suitable for minced, chopped or ground meats.
1. Add Papaya Tenderizer Paste to the meat. Knead the meat thoroughly
like dough for 5 minutes.
2. Put meat in a glass container. Cover with lid.
3. Turn on oven at 350º F. After 20 minutes turn down temperature to
200º F.
4. Check the temperature of meat every 30 minutes.
Make sure the heat does not rise above 165 °F.
Bake for one hour at 140 °F to 160 °F.
It may take up to 2 hour total to get get active one hour at 140 °F to 160
°F.

Electric Heating pad

This is suitable for minced, chopped or ground meats.
1. Add Papaya Tenderizer Paste to the meat. Knead the meat thoroughly
like dough for 5 minutes.
2. Put meat in a glass container. Cover with lid.
3. Wrap the glass container with a heating pad. Cover the heating pad
with another throw blanket.
4. Turn on heating pad to medium. Check the temperature of meat every
30 minutes.
5. Let it rest for 90 minutes. Turn off the heating pad.
Green Papaya as a Meat Tenderizer?
Unripe papaya, also known as green papaya, is a common fruit in
southeast Asia. Both the ripe and unripe form of papaya has a variety of
culinary uses. Unripe papaya is probably most well known in Filipino
cuisine for being the key ingredient in the condiment called atchara,
which uses pickled green papaya as the primary ingredient. But a lesser
known use for green papaya is as an alternative meat tenderizer.

Green papaya contains an enzyme called papain. The whole peeled

green papaya and even the leaves of the papaya tree contain this (papain)
enzyme. Now there is a lot science and math involved in what exactly
goes on with this papain compound and the meat. The short explanation
is that it has the ability to break down the collagen in muscle tissues,
which is the main protein that holds many different kinds of meat
together. This makes green papaya (or the papain in it) an excellent, all-
natural meat tenderizer.
There are two common ways of utilizing green papaya in this manner.
One, is to thinly slice it and lay it on the meat directly. This is definitely
the simpler of the two options. The second option is to puree the green
papaya into a fine paste that can then be spread on the meat of your
choice. The paste is the more flexible of the two preparations. This
would make the paste especially useful for irregularly shaped meats.
That said, this works as a meat tenderizer on a wider variety meats such
as chicken, beef, lamb, and pork.

Before you run out and grab a green papaya to give this a try, there are
some important factors you need to consider. The most important of
those factors is knowing and understanding the type of meat you are
using. This is because the amount of green papaya you should use, how
you use it, and how long it should be used will depend on the particular
cut of meat you are going to be using it on.
For example, if you have a relatively thin cut of beef or pork (like a
steak), thinly sliced green papaya would work perfectly. But if you have
piece of meat like a pork shoulder or pot roast, the paste would be much
more effective at evenly covering the surface of the meat. But if you
don’t happen to have a food processor or some other way of
mechanically pureeing the green papaya, the paste not be a good option
unless you can find it for sale at the store. Keep things like this in mind
when you do go to the store. A little planning ahead never hurt anybody.

A general rule of thumb to keep in mind is to use 2 tablespoons of the

green papaya meat tenderizer paste for every pound of meat. Maybe a
little more for particularly tough cuts of meat. Apply the paste to the
surface of the meat and briefly massage the paste into the meat. The
green papaya will need to marinate on the meat for between 20-30
minutes. The lower end of that time frame would be for leaner cuts of
meat that are naturally more tender with the higher end of the scale
being for the more firm cuts of meat, like a roast or a flank. Be aware
that the meat tenderization process will continue until heat is applied to
the meat. Once the marinating time is complete, cook the meat
immediately.
Instructions

Start by peeling a whole green papaya until the white flesh is exposed.
Cut the papaya in half and then take a spoon and scoop out the
premature seeds, if there are any.
If you only need the thin slices of papaya, cut it thinly and stop here,
otherwise skip this step and continue.
Chop the papaya into small cubes then puree the cubes in a food
processor with a little water until you have a fine paste.
Use whatever you need now and freeze the rest in ice cube trays for
later use.
This trick can come in handy in a pinch if you have a green papaya
available, a tough cut of meat to cook and not a lot of time to cook it.
Just bear in mind that there is no precise formula for this given the
inconsistencies in composition and texture from one meat to another.
But it can still be a useful tool if you try it a few times and know how to
use it. So give it a try!

Papaya Meat Tenderizer Recipe Card

Ingredients:
Raw Papaya - 2 Medium Size
Salt - ½ Tsp
Cooking Oil - 1 Tbsp

Method:
Wash and cut papaya into pieces.
Remove seeds
Remove inner skin of papaya
Cut into small pieces
Wash again and keep it dry before blending
In a blender, add salt and cooking oil to ease the blending process.
Add papaya pieces and give it a good blend.
Pour the raw papaya mixture in the mold.
Cover with plastic wrap.
Freeze
Take out cube as per usage.
Note:
Don't remove the skin (Green part)
Never use water if you are storing it in the long run.
Usage:
1 Cube = 1 Kg Meat
Try it!! And Join Us

Raw papaya is wrapped with potential health benefits. It helps to

increase metabolism, improve digestion issues and also worked to
improve skin and burn stubborn fats from your body. Here you can
check the benefits in detail.
I recommend my viewers to use natural meat tenderizer as it's best in all
and doesn't harm your body and give you quality food with full of taste.
As I mentioned most of the time that I learned cooking from my mother.
She always uses papaya paste when making kabab and barbeque related
dishes. She normally stores in the freezer and uses in a cube form when
needed.

Papaya Paste - Natural Meat tenderizer - How to make & store papaya
paste [+Video] - tenderizes red meat such as beef, lamb, mutton, wild
game, etc naturally. Tips + video how to to tenderize with papaya paste
www.MasalaHerb.com
Papaya Paste - Natural Meat tenderizer Recipe
Papaya paste is easily made. see the storing tips further below to store
the paste for further single uses.
Use ice cube trays to freeze small papaya paste batches and store in zip
lock bags to use for another day.
4.84 from 18 votes
Print Pin
Course: Condiment
Cuisine: Asian, Caribbean, Goan, Thai
Keyword: Meat tenderizer paste, papaya paste to tender meat
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Total Time: 5 minutes
Servings: 30 cubes
Calories: 2kcal
Recipe by: Helene Dsouza
Ingredients

▢ 1 small Green Papaya aka raw papaya, the greener the better
▢ Water

Instructions
 Make sure to pick green papaya (not orange) and wash it well before
cutting it up.
Cut the fresh raw papaya into chunks with the skin on the papaya.
Then place the chunks into a blender jar with some water and blend
into a smooth paste. don't add too much water, just enough so that the
blender blades turn.
Keep ice trays ready and fill up each with 1-2 tablespoons. freeze and
once frozen places carefuly into a ziplock bag.
Use each papaya paste cube whenever needed. See post for how to use
and how much to use.

Why pineapple and papaya make a great marinade

Pineapple and papaya are often included in marinades. It’s clear that
these fruits add delicious flavor and sweetness to your meat, but there’s
far more going on here. These fruits hold secret powers that help make
meats more scrumptious, and there’s more science in these sauces than
you might expect.

There are many marinade recipes to choose from. However, some

ingredients do more than just impart a delicious flavor. Pineapple and
papaya contain flesh-dissolving enzymes! These specialized proteins
help break down tough meat, creating a delicious and tender meal.
How Fruit Tenderizes Meat

The power of these fruits to create succulent meats comes from

specialized proteins. Proteins are the molecular machines of life. They
are responsible for everything from vision to digestion. One group of
proteins, called enzymes, are responsible for assembling and
disassembling other molecules.
Enzymes called proteases even disassemble other proteins. Papaya and
pineapple contain large amounts of these enzymes. When added to meat,
they break down the structural protein that makes the meat tough.
Tough meat gets its texture from the muscle and connective tissue that
makes it up. These are made of long chains of amino acids (the building
blocks of protein.) Proteases work by breaking these chains.

Acidic marinades containing vinegar or lemon juice work in a similar

way. They unwind proteins by changing the pH. However, enzymes
generally work faster than acids.

These two fruits contain different types of this enzyme with very similar
effects. When the meat is marinated in either juice, it quickly becomes
tender. It is important to marinate the meat for no more than 30 minutes
to keep it from getting too soft.

Pineapple (Ananas comosus)

Pineapples contain bromelain, a group of meat-eating proteins. They are
concentrated in the stems of the plant but can be found throughout.
Therefore, pineapple extracts are often made from the stems of the plant.
These extracts can be used to tenderize meat or as a folk-medicine.

This protein is named for the plant family, Bromeliaceae. This family
includes pineapples as well as Spanish moss (which is not a true moss.)

This protein is also found in the fruit. This means pineapple juice makes
a great ingredient for marinades. This sweet fruit also gives marinades a
delicious flavor. It can be added to a Hawaiian style meal or a classic
BBQ sauce to make the meal tender and sweet.
Other Uses

The enzymes in pineapple have been used medicinally for a number of

purposes. Pineapple has long been used as a folk medicine. It is sold as
an anti-inflammatory as well as a digestive supplement. It has also been
approved in Europe to treat severe burns.

Bromelain is also being investigated to treat a number of other medical

conditions. It is important to consult a medical professional before trying
to use bromelain as a medicine. Its effectiveness and safety have not
been well established.

Some potential uses for bromelain include:

Chest pain due to heart disease

Bronchitis
Sinus infections
Surgical trauma
Thrombosis
Osteoarthritis
Diarrhea
Heart disease

Papaya (Carica papaya)

Papayas contain an enzyme with similar effects to pineapple. This
compound is called papain. It is mostly found in young, green papayas.
Commercial meat tenderizers are usually made of papaya enzymes.
Some people are allergic to papain. It is important to consult a doctor if
you have concerns, or before using it to treat a medical condition.
Closely related species like mountain papaya also contain similar
enzymes.
Other Uses

Papain can also be used for a number of other purposes. It has been used
in a number of industrial and food processes. These include:

Clarifying beer
Treating silk and wool for dying
Removing hair from leather
Manufacturing rubber

Papain also shows promise for a number of medical uses including:

Aiding digestion
 Treating ulcers
Reducing swelling
Treating parasites
As an antibiotic

The meat dissolving enzymes of papaya and pineapple make a great

marinade! It is important to remember not to marinate your meat too
long. These enzymes can easily go too far, making the meat into mush.
Do not marinate in these fruit for longer than 30 minutes. Keeping the
marinade cold may slow its effects. Therefore, if you need extra time
before cooking your meat, make sure to put it in the back of the fridge!

Hyderabadi Biryani Secrets: Papaya Skin

The authentic Hyderabadi Biryani is the Kacchi gosh ki Biryani. Unlike

the Pakki gosh ki Biryani where the meat will be well cooked before
mixing with rice, for Kacchi Biryani the raw meat is first marinated and
then layered together with the rice in the utensil and cooked together in
steam. In order to cope up with the cooking of the rice, the meat should
be tender or tenderized.

Though there are many chemical tenderizers in the market, the meat for
Hyderabadi biryani is tenderized naturally using mash made of the
grated skin of raw, unripe papaya. You can call it the secret ingredient,
without which you will never be able to cook the authentic Hyderabadi
Kacchi gosh ki Biryani‘s.
The papaya used for this will be chosen unripe, firm and deep green in
color. The green skin is then peeled of up to about 1/8th to ¼” deep off
the raw papaya and made into pieces. For every 2 tablespoons of papaya
peel, ¼ teaspoon of salt is added.

This mixture is then made into a into a thick paste by grinding it. There
is another dry version of this tenderizer for which you will have to Sun-
dry the mixture instead of grinding it. You will be then left with a dry
mash of papaya peel which is ready-to-use.
Though you have made enough paste out of a papaya, you will require
only 4 tablespoons of papaya paste or dry mash for 1 kilo meat. The
excess of papaya paste can be refrigerated for later use. The dry papaya
mash is stored in a container and can be used for up to a year.

Marinating the meat is most crucial part of preparing the Kacchi gosh ki
Biryani. It is here where the raw papaya mash is used along with yogurt,
ginger garlic paste, lemon juice, cardamom and other aromatic spices for
around 3 to 4 hours. The ingredients added here not only tenderize the
meat but also infuses a special flavor deep into the layers of meat.

Papaya contains an enzyme called Papain. Though you have marinated

the meat with the tenderizing paste, the enzymes get activated only when
you start cooking on heat.

When the Papain in contact with meat gets activated, the enzyme
gelatins or breaks down the connective tissues in it. The gelatinized
connective tissues mix with the tenderizing paste. As the meat is cooked
along with the rice, the tenderizing paste also gets mixed with it and
adds the special flavor to the rice too. Thus, the marinated meat is
layered as it is in the biryani deg, along with the tenderizing paste. If you
are just putting the meat without the paste, you are discarding lots of
flavor.

The enzyme papain is more concentrated in the fruit when it is unripe.

This is one of the reasons why we choose a raw papaya. Apart from
adding flavor and tenderizing the meat, papain also helps to break down
heavy proteins we consume along with the biryani, making it easily
digested and absorbed into the body. Papain is also used in digestive
enzyme dietary supplements and for treating gastrointestinal problems
such as stomach ulcers and indigestion.