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Steak Recipe - How To Make Steak Tender

Steak Recipe - How To Make Steak Tender   You invest a lot of time and money into the steaks for a special occasion and when dinner time comes, they are tough. What happened? How can you cook steaks as tender as your favorite restaurant? The first step to cooking a good steak is to choose the right grade of steak. The top quality beef is graded USDA Prime and commands top prices. USDA Prime grade meats are sold to the restaurant industry and specialty markets and are not as likely to be found at your local grocery chain. The next grade of beef is USDA Choice. USDA Choice is tender, flavorful and only slightly lower in quality than USDA Prime. The meat is well marbled with fat and will be tender and juicy when properly prepared. USDA Choice makes up about 70% of all graded beef and is readily available in your supermarket. USDA Good graded beef is an acceptable grade of beef that has only minimal marbling of fat. It is leaner, but may not be as tender as USDA Prime or Choice. Next, ...

Make Sure Your Ice Is Safe And Clean

Make Sure Your Ice Is Safe And Clean 


Make Sure Your Ice Is Safe And Clean

You may think that all ice is the same, but if you have contaminated ice, you and your family could be risking your health.

As the weather begins to heat up, so does ice consumption to keep beverages and food cold and fresh. Whether it’s a backyard BBQ, a picnic at the park or a daily glass of iced tea, people need safe, clean ice.

Recent news reports have shown that some ice in fast-food restaurants is dirtier than toilet water. Whether processed and packaged from a moldy ice machine, mishandled through the use of dirty buckets or even hand-scooped by dirty hands, it is difficult to know exactly what you’re buying and consuming.

Here are a few tips for purchasing clean, safe ice:

• Ice should be clear in color as well as odorless and tasteless.

• The bag should be properly closed and secure.

• The bag should have the manufacturer’s name, address and phone number.

• The bag should be free of any foreign objects.

• The bag should have a product code.

According to a recent study conducted by Michigan State University, there is a heightened concern with safety of foods among consumers. In fact, 63 percent of the consumers interviewed are very or fairly concerned about the safety of the foods they eat and almost half of the respondents said they do not buy foods that are likely to be unsafe.

This summer, the International Packaged Ice Association (IPIA) wants you to know that all ice is not created equal and that ice shoppers need to be selective. When buying packaged ice, look for a product that has been packaged by a certified IPIA member and carries the IPIA seal.

The seal means that the packaged ice consumers are buying meets the association’s strict quality and safety policy. The stringent Packaged Ice Quality Control Standards (PIQCS) are mandated for all IPIA members to ensure safe and quality ice. The standards regulate employees’ personal hygiene, sanitary operations of the facilities, equipment and utensils used in making ice, quality of the water source and continuous microbiological testing of the finished product.

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