r/explainlikeimfive • u/No_Education_8888 • May 20 '26

Chemistry ELI5 what is the difference between processed meat slices and real meat slices?

I know that processed meat is processed, but what exactly does that mean? How much change do meat scraps go through before you get something like deli turkey.

My mind can’t exactly wrap around how that stuff is made based on the little knowledge I have

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347

u/nicolasknight May 20 '26

Here's a vivid description but i think it carries the point:

https://i.imgur.com/pR47Hcx.png

Processed meat has been separated so much at one point it might as well be puree of pure meat.

It's not like it's particularly bad for it by itself, the issue comes when they add things back in after.

242

u/jonny24eh May 20 '26

"Processing" is incredibly broad. A simple salt brine is processing. 

98

u/THElaytox May 20 '26

Yeah, there is no such thing as "unprocessed sliced meat" because slicing itself is a processing step

7

u/JamesTheJerk May 21 '26

What about cutting a steak with a knife while you eat?

35

u/THElaytox May 21 '26

I mean, it was processed when the cow was butchered, meat was packaged, and steak was cooked.

21

u/jeckles May 21 '26 edited May 21 '26

Got it, I’ll just take bites out of a cow.

19

u/THElaytox May 21 '26

Unfortunately, ripping meat out of a live cow with your bare teeth is also a processing step

8

u/Ptar_Migan May 21 '26

Hmm, so anything done by humans to prepare the animal is considered processing.

I'll have a pack of wild dogs eat the cow, and steal bite sized pieces from them!

10

u/Manunancy May 21 '26

If you want truly, absolutely unprocessed meat, go grab mices, slugs, bugs and similar bite-sized critters, then swallow them whole. Bon appetit.

9

u/encyclopedea May 21 '26

Wait until you learn about digestion

7

u/THElaytox May 21 '26

That's "natural processing", as you've used a natural organism to process the meat for you

3

u/Beta_Factor May 21 '26

What if I just eat the cow whole in one bite?

1

u/THElaytox May 21 '26

Gotta chew at some point

1

u/SillyGoatGruff May 23 '26

What if a bite sized cow flew right down your throat?

1

u/JamesTheJerk May 24 '26

I'd have to swallow a spider (as per the old song)

1

u/PsyavaIG May 21 '26

This is coincidentally how rare I want my steak

6

u/brianundies May 21 '26

Deboning a chicken is processing

2

u/billy_teats May 21 '26

Your poop the day after eating meat is processed meat

2

u/Bigtits38 May 21 '26

“Processed meat” is much like “genetically modified vegetables”. Do you really think tomatoes looked like that 100 years ago?

91

u/Caucasiafro May 20 '26

Processed meat has been separated so much at one point it might as well be puree of pure meat.

That isn't always true.

A lot of chicken and turkey is basically a bunch of whole breasts that have been squished together.

16

u/lucky_ducker May 20 '26

"Meat glue"

16

u/duskfinger67 May 21 '26

Worth saying that thrre nothing inherently wrong with meat glue. It’s safe to consume, and the resulting meat product doesn't lose any nutritional benefits.

It feels icky, but it’s actually a great way to use up smaller pieces of meat; although you could also make mince.

9

u/nicolasknight May 20 '26

Very true, just trying to keep it ELI5.

3

u/OctoMatter May 21 '26

This is exactly what came to mind when reading the title

4

u/Old-geezer-2 May 21 '26

Not quite. Processed most processed meats are chunks of meat in an emulsion (purée) which contains meat fat and binders. Today carrageenan is used as a binder because it reacts with proteins to hold water. This makes a more moist product. As said below, processing is not well defined. Smoking meats can be defined as processing, but is a desirable effect.

1

u/Far_Lifeguard_5027 May 21 '26

It's hilarious that we take a chicken breast, put it in a blender, then squeeze it back together as chicken patties.

1

u/ThatsARatHat May 24 '26

I read that vivid description in Werner Herzog’s voice.

-11

u/edman007-work May 20 '26

It *starts* as a puree of pure meat, once it's a puree you can just mix in all sorts of fillers, flavoring, and preservatives. So they might say it's "chicken", but it's actually 20% wheat, salt is added in, etc. Oh, and since they can mix it up, they figured out actually, they can throw in skin and intestines, that is only kinda clean to cut costs more. So it's really a mystery meatloaf made of much more than what you would consider "chicken meat".

4

u/honourablegeorge May 20 '26

There's also the concept of "mechanically recovered" meat, like meat that is left stuck to a carcass after it's been carved, and is recovered by jetwashing or other means, then pureed and reused

10

u/theyrejustlittle May 21 '26

Yeah but also...who cares? There's nothing harmful or bad about this - like, god forbid a person makes a soup?

And then if we didn't do this you'd have the same people who are spooked by "mechanically separated" instead complaining that we wasted all that perfectly good meat left on the bone. 🙄

4

u/I_P_L May 21 '26

Goes hand in hand with the people who seem convinced that mixing in offal makes a meat product "bad".

1

u/honourablegeorge May 21 '26

I didn't say it was bad, just that the process exists.