Where does this come from, and can I check it?

Muscle proteins contract on heating and push moisture out of the cut. The figure is taken from USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service, which is linked in full on this page. Every fact on Mondo Knows names its source rather than repeating an unsourced claim.

Is this really a food fact?

Yes. It sits on the Food shelf, one of 2,600 sourced facts grouped into space, animals, the human body, history, science and more. Category pages collect every fact in the same field.

What else can I read about it?

The links under the fact point to a quiz, game, puzzle or calculator on the same subject, and the shelf below shows related facts. The wording here is original, and quoted phrases are marked as quotations.

Mondo Knows Facts

Meat shrinks because fibres squeeze out water

Muscle proteins contract on heating and push moisture out of the cut Muscle is mostly water held inside bundles of protein fibres. As those proteins denature and contract with heat, they squeeze water out, and a steak can lose a fifth of its weight in the pan. Cooking gently keeps the fibres looser and the loss smaller, which is why a slow roasted joint stays juicier than one blasted at high heat. It sits in Mondo's food collection, one of 200 facts that each trace back to the reference below.

Where this comes from

USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service

Facts that can change over time are reviewed and updated. If something here looks wrong, Mondo would rather know than be confidently incorrect.

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Food & Cooking trivia

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Tags: meat, protein, moisture

Meat shrinks because fibres squeeze out water: the short answers

Where does this come from, and can I check it?: Muscle proteins contract on heating and push moisture out of the cut. The figure is taken from USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service, which is linked in full on this page. Every fact on Mondo Knows names its source rather than repeating an unsourced claim.
Is this really a food fact?: Yes. It sits on the Food shelf, one of 2,600 sourced facts grouped into space, animals, the human body, history, science and more. Category pages collect every fact in the same field.
What else can I read about it?: The links under the fact point to a quiz, game, puzzle or calculator on the same subject, and the shelf below shows related facts. The wording here is original, and quoted phrases are marked as quotations.