How does meat tenderizer type seasoning work?
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Meat gets it’s toughness from a protein that forms a sort of elastic fiber mesh that *holds* meat together. This same protein can actually be extracted from the meat and used on it’s own as a binder/glue of sorts. It’s called “collagen” in the meat but if we extract it and process it it’s called “gelatin” and it’s what we make jello and some glues out of. It’s really sticky stuff.
Anywho, chemicals that *eat* other chemicals are called “enzymes” and there are many naturally occurring enzymes that we can use to *eat* the collagen in meat, removing it’s binding qualities and making the mean *tender.*
We can get these enzymes from a few different places, actually they can be easily found in some fruits, dry them and put them into a powder. The manufacturer will probably add a lot of flavoring stuff as well – garlic, salt, onion, paprika, peppers, etc. for flavor and taste. But the real “job haver” in meat tenderizer are these digestive enzymes that eat away at the collagen and make the meat soft.
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