Ground beef smells slightly sweet?
I opened up a package of ground beef today that I had bought the day before from a reputable grocery store. I left it out about an hour to warm up a little. It was grass-fed, which I don't normally buy but do sometimes. This time I immediately noticed a slightly sweetish smell--possibly like Worcestershire sauce, but hard to place. Not really bad, but slightly stronger than ground beef normally smells. Could it be something in the cow's diet, or have I bought meat that's too old to eat?
Best Answer
Grass-fed beef does certainly smell different from corn-fed beef. I haven't noticed it smelling "sweeter", but it could smell gamey, earthy, or even sulfuric if the cow got in to some wild onions or garlic. And there's plenty of variation between different types of grass and even the same grass variety from season to season.
Corn-fed beef is not going to have that because, well, there isn't much variation in animal feed corn.
Rotten meat has a distinctive smell and it's going to be the same smell in grass-fed beef.
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Quick Answer about "Ground beef smells slightly sweet?"
“Different meat has different smells," said Peisker but, generally, rotten meat actually smells slightly sweet. Like other products that have spoiled, ground meat will be especially pungent. Like fresh fish, fresh meat shouldn't really be smelly at all.Why does my ground beef smell sweet?
Fresh ground beef may have a mild iron smell, but if it starts to smell rotten (beef tends to get a funky sweet odor), you should err on the side of caution and throw it out.What does bad ground beef smell like?
Perform a smell test Though the scent of fresh ground beef is barely perceptible, rancid meat has a tangy, putrid odor. Once it goes bad, it's no longer safe to eat. The scent changes due to the increased growth of spoilage bacteria, such as Lactobacillus spp.Should red meat smell sweet?
If the steak has a sweet, cloying odor, that could signify the presence of dangerous bacteria. The scent is reminiscent of ammonia, which you might not be able to pinpoint at first, but you should still find it off-putting. Any steak that smells foul should be discarded immediately.Is it normal for beef to have a slight smell?
It smells badFresh red meat has a light bloody, or metallic smell. This scent isn't overpowering and you will usually have to place your nose very close to smell it. On the other hand, if your steak has gone bad, it will have a definitive odor that smells sour, or a little like eggs or ammonia.Here's How To Tell If Ground Beef Has Gone Bad
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