Some people describe braising as "transformative". Why is this so?


Braising is a common cooking technique where some primary ingredient (typically a cut of tough meat) cooks for a long time under low temperature and with lots of liquid. The main advantage of braising is that it causes the collagen in the meat fibers to break down into gelatin, which makes the meat fibers more separated and thus the meat more tender. In addition, the gelatin mixes with the remaining cooking liquids to create a scrumptious sauce. Thus, the overall process transforms meat from tough into tender, along with a tasty sauce that can be served alongside the meat. Braising is also convenient in that the cook does not have to attend frequently to the food during the cooking process. These two reasons, namely, rendering  tough cuts of meat (which also tend to be cheaper) more tender and requiring less effort from the cook, have made braising a common cooking technique among several cultures.