Video Transcript
Meat can be classed as fresh, not frozen, even if it is stored at minus one degrees Celsius. Why would meat, despite being mostly water, not freeze at this temperature?
A beef steak is about 75 percent water. Pure water freezes at zero degrees Celsius. So the question is, why would meat made mostly of water not freeze at below this temperature, minus one degree Celsius? Besides water, meat contains proteins, sugars, fats, ions, and other substances. All these substances interact with water, keeping them in a liquid state at cooler temperatures, lowering the freezing point. So meat, despite being mostly water, doesn’t freeze at this temperature because ions and other solutes in the water lower the freezing point.