Por que marinar a carne com ácido ou enzimas?

Isso pode soar como uma pergunta estranha, mas por que nós marinamos a carne com ácido / enzimas? Dado que a marinada não amacia a carne, ela simplesmente transforma as fibras externas em mingau e libera os sucos ao cozinhar? Por que não apenas ir com uma salmoura aromatizada?

Em outras palavras: Por que é costume usar marinadas e por que é comum dizer que amacia a carne?

Fonte Shirley Corriher:

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At first, water molecules are attached to and trapped within this protein mesh, so the tissue remains juicy and tender. But after a short time, if the protein is in a very acidic marinade, the protein bonds tighten, water is squeezed out, and the tissue becomes tough. If you've ever tried marinating shrimp in highly acidic ingredients, it's likely that you're familiar with this result.

My experience with tenderizing enzymes mirrors that of Dr. Nicholas Kurti, a famous Oxford physicist who tried tenderizing a pork roast by injecting half with pineapple juice, leaving the other half untouched. A noted chef, Michel Roux, was to judge on television which side was better. After cooking, the half treated with pineapple was total mush and looked like a pile of stuffing. Not surprisingly, Chef Roux preferred the untreated half.