What is Meatloaf?
Meatloaf is a popular dish made from ground meat that is mixed with various ingredients, such as breadcrumbs, eggs, vegetables, and seasonings, then formed into a loaf shape and baked or cooked. It's a versatile and hearty dish that's often associated with comfort food.
What does Meatloaf Taste Like?
Salty is one of the five main tastes. It has a satisfying and addictive quality with hints of sourness. Salty foods include cheeses, cured meats, chips, and olives. It is used in almost every dish and prepared food. Salt is added to enhance flavor and offer a distinctly salty taste.
Umami is one of five main tastes. It is savory with a depth of flavor. Umami is a taste in many foods, including meat, seafood, beans, and nuts. It is both naturally occurring and created through the specific use of ingredients to create a satisfying taste. Umami is characteristic of proteins and savory dishes.
Ingredients
Ground beef can be made from any cut of beef, though commonly the chuck steak and round steak are used. Chuck steak has a good meat to fat ratio, creating a savory and succulent burger or meatball. Ground beef is a reddish color and formed into thick "strands" from the meat grinder, with a soft and very pliable texture. Ground beef should be cooked before consuming.
Whole milk is a full fat cow's milk. Milk comes from a cow and is pasteurized and sold as a liquid dairy product. Whole milk is white and has a very thin viscosity. Whole milk has 3.25% milk fat in it and a rich and creamy flavor with a hint of sweetness. It is served as a beverage and is used extensively in cooking and baking as a liquid.
The onion is a bulb vegetable, meaning its bulb and not its leaves are eaten. Onions come in many varieties, including white, yellow and red. Shallots are small and mild onions. Vidalias are sweet, while red onions are strong and sharp. The onion is usually round and has a thin dry skin around its juicy layers. This skin depends in the color of the onion, as does the flesh. The flesh, or body of the onion is made of multiple round layers, that get smaller towards the center. The flavor of onions are sharp and sweet when raw, with an astringent taste. When cooked, these flavors mellow and the sweetness emerges. Onion are a very common flavoring and ingredient for many savory dishes.
Breadcrumbs are made from dry bread. The bread is crumbled, dehydrated and ground into a coarse meal. Breadcrumbs are extremely dry, crunchy and have a mild wheat flavor. The are often a light brown or off white in color. Breadcrumbs are used in much of the Western world as a crunchy coating to meats, fish and deep fried croquettes.
Ketchup has had a slow evolution towards the tomato based condiment we know today, and was originally a Chinese fish sauce. Tomato ketchup has a thick but squeezable consistency, that spreads and mixes effortlessly. The color of this tomato, vinegar, and sugar based sauce is red. The flavor is sweet, tart and umami. Ketchup is a popular American condiment used on french fries, hamburgers, hotdogs and much more.
Eggs are an incredibly versatile protein and binder. Most eggs used in cooking come from hens and are usually unfertilized. Eggs are oval shaped and roughly 53 mm in length and 40 mm in width. Eggs have a hard, but thin and delicate shell that is brown or white and occasionally green. Inside is the clear and glossy white, with a slimy texture and in the center is the yellow opaque, round shaped yolk. Once cooked, the whites become opaque. Eggs can be scrambled, fried, boiled, and more. They are used in desserts and baked goods as a binder. Egg is also used as a wash to glaze items or dip meat into before breading it. The flavor is mild and sulfurous. It has many uses.
Mustard is a yellow condiment and spread used for sandwiches, and as an ingredient for sauces and more. Mustard is made from the seeds of the mustard plant and either ground into powder or used whole. Mustard varies from bright yellow to a muted golden brown. The texture of yellow mustard, such as Dijon or American is smooth. Grainy mustard, made from the whole pinhead sized seed is brown. In general, mustard has a spicy, mildly hot and vinegary flavor. Some types are more tart and one dimensional, while other varieties have a range of tastes. Mustard is a refrigerated item and usually only a small amount is needed of this strongly flavored condiment.
Brown sugar comes from the sugar cane or sugar beet. It is less refined than white sugar, but a refined sugar nonetheless. Brown sugar varies in color from light brown to dark brown. Light brown sugar has a milder flavor and lower moisture content, than stronger tasting brown sugar. The taste is mildly like molasses and very sweet. The sugar comes in fine granules that clump together. Brown sugar is used in baked goods for its sweet flavor and ability to make cookies soft. It is also used in many savory dishes to balance flavors.
Salt and pepper is a seasoning mix composed of these two ingredients. Black pepper has a cool and mildly spicy flavor. Salt brings out the flavor in food. This combination is a mix of grey/black and white granules. It is used on many savory dishes to boost the flavor.
