what is the best was to defrost meat...explain chemically) why that represents the best method to defrost.?

Question

Here are some options:
A) Leave it out on the counter to defrost, unwrapped.
B) Place the wrapped meat into the sink filled with water.
C) Place the unwrapped meat in a frying pan.
D) Place the unwrapped meat in a glass pan
E) Your own chemically defensible idea.

Answer 1

The best way is to defrost in the refrigerator in it's original wrapper. The main reason is food safety. The food "danger" zone is between 45F to 140 F that's where bacteria start growing.

When you're defrosting in the fridge, the temperature of a typical fridge is around 40F so the dangers of bacterial growth is reduced.

Of your choice above, I would pick a modification of B).
I would use B) with the faucet running at slow trickle. The water will circulate better and defrost the food quicker since you're using convection and conduction to defrost the food.

1. Water is a better conductor of heat than air so it would defrost the food faster, thus reducing the amount of time in the "bad" temperatures.

2. You immerse the entire item in a conductive medium. The metal pan will work for thin items, but the pan is only touching one surface. For a roast, which can be large, oblong and irregularly shapped, the metal is inefficient.

Chemically, it comes down to thermodynamics and energy exchange.

Answer 2

Place the meat unwrapped on a metal surface such as an aluminum or stainless steel sheet. the metal conducts heat away from the meat quite rapidly so that the defrost time is short. it also keeps the meat cooler during the defrosting (than does submersing it in water or leaving it wrapped on the counter)since the heat is conducted away from the surface of the meat to the metal and carried away.

Answer 3

I usaly put the meat in extra cold water for 20 minutes that does the job...I guess its B

Answer 4

A.