Pork and High Heat

I read an article in Cook's Illustrated magazine about Pork Chops. There was a small box in the article titled, science: Why Pork Chops Don't Like High Heat. It explained away the reason for cooking pork chops in low heat with molecular science terms. It was a great read, and added a credential to an old Chinese poem about cooking pork in low heat! Here's the article:

"Curious about the unconventional cold-pan method of cooking chops in our recipe. I decided to investigate the effect of heat on pork. What I discovered was that the secret to juicy pork resided in the structure of its muscle proteins.

Proteins are long chains of linked amino acids that fold into a huge variety of three-dimensional shapes. Folded muscle protein also holds and immobilizes a considerable amount of water in an ordered fashion. When things heat up, this organized state of affairs is thrown into disarray as the protein unfold. Thermal analysis of pork has shown that there are three proximate temperatures at which groups of proteins come undone: 126 degrees(F*), 144 degrees(F*), and 168 degrees(F*). As each of these temperatures is reached, more water is reached from the proteins. Meat proteins also tend to compact as they cook, squeezing out the freed-up water.

All cooks focus on the temperature reached at the middle of a piece of meat to determine doneness, but this may be to myopic. The means by which the middle gets to that temperature is at least as important. High-heat cooking methods, such as searing, guarantee that outer layer of meat will be well browned before the inside is just done. By keeping the heat level low, water loss on the outside of the chop is minimized, and more of the juice that is bound inside the meat remains there. And so the secret to juicy pork chops is revealed: Slow cooking over low heat is best. ---John Olson, Science Editor."
(Cook's Illustrated magazine, Free Issue 2011)
ps. * I added F, as Fahrenheit.

I think this could apply to almost anything related to pork, not just pork chops. The main article also pointed out that cooking pork chops with low heat has one disadvantage. The color will be very white compared cooked by high heat. The article then suggested by adding some sugar, which would enhance the color of the pork chop.

Here is the Chinese Poem about cooking pork in simmering heat:

【豬肉頌】by 蘇東坡

淨洗鐺，少著水，柴頭罨煙焰不起。
待他自熟莫催他，火候足時他自美。
黃州好豬肉，價賤如泥土。
貴人不肯吃，貧者不解煮，
早晨起來打兩碗，飽得自家君莫管。

罨: 音掩, 掩覆掩蓋的意思.