5-6 day old Turkey...two types actually. One of them is now covered in a glaze of slime. It smells and tastes fine though. Only thing I brought to work, so I will still be eating it. But what the hell is it?
When sliced deli turkey ages, it gets a slime coating. My guess? Bacteria. Will it kill you? Not likely. The turkey doesn't have sodium nitrate, usually, so it doesn't last as long as other deli meats.
I don't know what it is, but I don't think it is fat or bacteria. Why fat? Deli meat is lean and how/why could the fat get out of the meat to form a slime? Also slime isn't fat. The fat in meat is mosty saturated at room temp and is a solid. Bacteria? I don't know about this one either. Why? highly viscous bacteria? Why in a liquid? I dunno if this post helps or not haha.
Usually it is fat. Fat gels, even the slightest bit from meat. The cold, and the opening and closing of the refrigerator allowing for hotter air to move into colder air constantly also lends to the gelling process of fat. If you want to see the gelling process for yourself, take some EFA capsules and stick them in the fridge. They'll congeal and form a kind of lump of slimy looking crap inside the capsule. I had a guy try to return some CLA's once because of this. He said they "went bad" and showed them to me. They looked like little capsules full of grease. I asked him if he put them in the fridge. He said he did and then said he has always done this and they never did that before. I hate liars. It could also be bacteria, because of the hot-air/cold-air thing. Like if you ever leave steak in the fridge you'll see after a while it starts to get white blotches and fuzz on it just like fruit. There's some cultures of bacteria that will grow just about anywhere with the right temperature fluctuations. And one thing I noticed is the leaner the meat the faster it goes bad. I buy Boar's Head Turkey, which is the best turkey I've ever had, but the shit spoils faster than a set of rims gets stolen at a Puff Daddy concert.
Its not a thick layer of slime. I know exactly what the OP is talking about because my wife will throw out deli turkey at the slightest onset of this slime factor, which usually begins to set in about 4-6 days after buying the turkey. Once that slime develops (the original slices are slightly moist), which is a watery sort of sheen on between the slices, it is about to go bad in a day or two. Going bad = too much bacteria and/or wild yeasts and crap living on it and producing waste (like slime).
5-6 days is pushing it on deli turkey sliced actually at the deli...I think theres less preservatives in it so it can't last quite as long as the packaged stuff. And at like 500 cals a pound I shovel that stuff down like its nothing. My problem is having to goto the grocery store for more every few days.
500 calories a pound for turkey? There are around 450 grams in a lb, with 4 calories per gram of protein. That is assuming you have zero fat in it. Can you explain please?
Good point, and the slime appears immediately before the turkey does spoil. So it is part of the spoilage process. Bleh.
Yeah, this whole question is all about the temperature fluctuations. It causes wierd shit to happen to dead tissue, which meat is. Fat separates, bacteria grow and feed on it, all kinds of delicious events.
With zero fat it still isn't 100% protein. I was using a program called CalorieKing to figure it out. At 450 grams it comes back with: 482 calories 16.1 g fat 80.4 g protien 8 g carbs 0 g fiber Damned if I know what the remaining 353.5 g is made up off. Salt?
I read somewhere that deli meats after 4 days old get too much bacteria buildup so keep it 4 days or under... dunno just what I read. edit: I know where I saw it was on that show where they check your fridge and test stuff for bacteria buildup the chic had week old deli meats and thats when the guy said the 4 day thing... dunno how accurate that is but I don't keep mine over that anymore.. try to just get 4 days worth at a time.
ive never personally had any slime on my turkey, a lil mostness maybe, but if there was any slime on my shit i would throw that crap away, is it worth it just to save 5 bucks on turkey, hell no..maybe ur deli guy thinks ur cute and gives u special sauce with ur turkey
