Picture by TheHungryDudes, CC BY 2.0.
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A video posted on TikTok by Adam Haney just lately went viral, racking up greater than 2 million views, after he shared his go-to methodology for having fun with steak. Within the clip, he makes an easy declare: eat pineapple alongside your steak to assist your physique break the meat down extra effectively. “All the time keep in mind while you eat steak or meat to eat pineapple with it so it breaks it down faster,” Haney said within the submit.
It seems the tip holds up scientifically. As detailed by BroBible, the mechanism behind it’s bromelain, a pure combination of two protein-digesting enzymes present in pineapples. Scientists have studied these enzymes because the Nineties and located that bromelain is extremely efficient at breaking down the peptide bonds that hyperlink proteins collectively. In a steak, these proteins kind the collagen that provides muscle tissue its construction, and separating these bonds softens the meat, making it a lot simpler to chew.
Robust steak often comes all the way down to collagen, which acts because the structural binding for muscle tissue. Whereas some cuts, resembling beef shank, are naturally agency because of excessive quantities of connective tissue, even commonplace steaks could be a chore if not ready appropriately. Cooking and mechanical strategies like mallet-tenderizing or piercing break down these fibers, and pineapple provides a extra pure, chemical method to the identical outcome.
Pineapple is doing extra work in your plate than most individuals notice
Bromelain is most concentrated within the stem of the pineapple and has a variety of economic makes use of past meat preparation. It’s used to deal with irritation and swelling, and is added to beer to forestall cloudiness in a course of generally known as chill-proofing.
HowStuffWorks notes that if contemporary pineapple has ever left your tongue feeling delicate after consuming it, that’s the bromelain at work, briefly breaking down floor proteins earlier than your physique regenerates the cells and metabolizes the enzyme. Amid wider viral curiosity in how meals interacts with the physique at a chemical stage, a viral electrical salt spoon that manipulates style notion by sodium ion focus has drawn related fascination on-line.
Timing and methodology matter when placing this into apply. The enzymes in bromelain are neutralized by warmth at round 158 levels Fahrenheit (70 levels Celsius), which means they cease working the second the meat is cooked. For the method to be efficient, pineapple must be utilized as a marinade earlier than the meat goes on the grill. Leaving the meat in bromelain for too lengthy could make it overly mushy, so the aim is to melt the feel sufficient to enhance the consuming expertise with out shedding the firmness of the minimize.
The response to Haney’s video drew 1000’s of feedback. One commenter wrote, “I really wanted this recommendation,” whereas one other stated, “Take a look at me cooking steak for dinner tonight.” Some joked about pairing their steaks with a pineapple margarita. The consensus was largely that the tip might make a heavy steak dinner sit lighter. Amid that response, a TikTok video breaking down the science behind human conduct just lately drew related engagement, with viewers within the feedback providing extra grounded solutions than the clip itself.
Pineapple capabilities as a pure organic tenderizer, and the identical precept applies to different powerful cuts like pork shoulder. Whether or not you might be coping with a funds minimize or simply need a greater outcome from a ribeye, incorporating pineapple into your marinade is a sensible use of meals chemistry that the majority dwelling cooks haven’t thought of.
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Revealed: Jun 4, 2026 05:15 am