Foods and Household Management Part 33

_Courtesy of the Bureau of Publications, Teachers College._]

=Composition and nutritive value.=--Figure 64 shows you the composition of several common meats. Meat is valuable chiefly for its protein, fat, and mineral salts. The juices of the meat in the muscle cells contain nitrogenous extractive materials which give flavor, and are possibly stimulating, but they have no food value. From the bone and also from the connective tissue, gelatin is dissolved in cooking. Gelatin is a protein, but differs in certain chemical properties from other proteins, and cannot be used as the only source of nitrogen. It is a very useful protein, however, and as it can be subst.i.tuted in part for more expensive proteins, it used to be called a "protein saver."

In spite of the fact that meat is a common article of diet it should not be used in excess. Other forms of protein, as those in eggs and milk, are usually digested as easily, and most people can digest vegetable proteins if the vegetables are carefully prepared. Very little children should not have meat, for it has stimulating properties which are undesirable for them, and it takes away the taste for foods more important for growth (see Food for Growth, Chapter XVIII). When used largely in the diet, meat tends to cause intestinal putrefaction and to form excess of acid in the body.

It is less likely to be harmful if taken with plenty of fruits and green vegetables and liberal drinking of clear water.

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 61A.--Left: Chuck rib roast, 9th and 10th ribs. Right: Blade rib, 7th and 8th ribs.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 61B.--Left: 1st cut prime rib roast. Right: 2d cut prime rib roast. _Courtesy of Bureau of Publications, Teachers College._]

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 62A.--Porterhouse steak; Delmonico steak. _Courtesy of Bureau of Publications, Teachers College._]

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 62B.--Flatbone sirloin steak; Hip steak.]

It should be realized that in none of the European countries is meat used so liberally as in the United States, and that there are reasons to believe that we might be better off if we could satisfy ourselves with a meat consumption nearer the average of other civilized peoples--say half as much meat per person per year as we are now accustomed to use. The fuel value of meat depends largely upon the amount of fat which is eaten. If a pound of steak contains 2 ounces of fat and 14 ounces of clear lean, the rejection of the fat means a loss of fully one half of the fuel value. The following table shows the difference between raw meat of the same cut, free from bones and connective tissue, due to differences in amounts of fat. Most people would prefer the strictly lean meat.

TABLE SHOWING 100-CALORIE PORTIONS OF RAW EDIBLE MEAT

=================================================== | LEAN | MEDIUM FAT | MEAT |----------------|----------------| | Weight, Ounces | Weight, Ounces| -----------------|---------------------------------| Beef, round | 2.3 | 1.7 | Chicken (Fowl) | 3.2 | 1.6 | Lamb, leg | 2.8 | 1.6 | Mutton, leg | 1.9 | 1.5 | Pork, loin chops | 1.4 | 1.0 | Veal, leg | 2.9 | 2.2 | ---------------------------------------------------

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 63A.--1: Rib lamb chops, French. 2: Rib lamb chops. 3: Loin lamb chops. 4: Left: Blade shoulder chop. Right: Round bone shoulder chop. 5: Chuck steak. 6: Skirt steak. 7: Flank steak.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 63B.--Left.--Top and bottom round. Right.--Round bone sirloin steak. _Courtesy of Bureau of Publications, Teachers College._]

For very complete and conveniently arranged tables giving the percentage composition, the food values per pound and per ounce, the weight and nutrients of the 100-Calorie portions of all the important meats and other food materials as well, see Rose's "Laboratory Handbook for Dietetics."

=Dangers from meat.=--Three dangers from meat must be recognized; (1) animal parasites, such as the trichina sometimes found in pork, (2) poisons developed in the meat by bacteria when it is kept too long or without sufficient refrigeration, this danger being recognized as ptomaine poisoning, (3) bacteria, sometimes present in meat, which are directly injurious to man and which are now held to be the cause of most of the sickness commonly attributed to ptomaine poisoning. Government protection must be given us here, but the housekeeper too has a responsibility. If the raw meat has failed to receive proper inspection, we can protect ourselves by cooking the meat to a degree that will kill any parasite present. For this reason meat should not be served that looks raw or too underdone. The cooked meat should be pink rather than red.

_Meat poisoning_ may be avoided in the first place by exercising great care in regard to the odor of meat. Meat may hang to "ripen," as the butchers say, but one must learn to distinguish between the odor of properly ripened meat, and that of even slightly tainted meat. Quite as important is the _rapid cooling_ of meat, poultry, fish, and soups that are not to be used at once. Cases of digestive disturbance and even actual poisoning sometimes occur when underdone meat, especially lamb, veal, or poultry, remains warm overnight.

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 64.--Composition of meats.]

=The effect of heat upon meat.=--The _fat_ of meat is melted by heat. The meat fiber shrinks and hardens with intense heat; on the other hand it softens at a temperature somewhat below the boiling point of water. The structure of the muscle must be studied further in order to make the principles of cooking perfectly clear. If you think of the structure of the muscle cell as somewhat resembling the structure of an orange, you can picture quite clearly what happens under different conditions. Open a section of orange and separate some of the single cells. These may represent the muscle cells of meat that can be seen only under the microscope. If you cut across one of these tiny cells, the contents will escape, and this is what happens when the muscle cells are cut across.

Then, too, if the muscle is heated, the juices will pa.s.s through the membrane of the cell, and this happens, too, if the meat is put into cold water. The substances in the juices of the meat which are not coagulated by heat are called the extractives, because they can be extracted by hot water. The most valuable protein matter remains behind in the muscle cell, however. Among these proteins are those known as meat alb.u.min, and this behaves in cooking very much as does the white of egg,--that is to say, it coagulates.

Bearing these facts in mind, we can decide just what to do in order to bring about the result that we desire in meat cookery, for sometimes we wish to extract the juices and sometimes we wish to have all, or nearly all, retained in the meat. We are now ready to state the principles of meat cookery as follows:

1. _Juices retained._

In broiling, pan broiling, roasting, and boiling the high temperature coagulates the meat alb.u.min and hardens the fiber on the surface, thus forming a coating which prevents the further escape of juices. In the roasting and boiling of large pieces the temperature may then be lowered to prevent the further shrinking and hardening of the fiber in the interior of the meat, which comes from a protracted high temperature. With a very thick steak after the surface searing the cooking may be completed in the oven.

2. _Juices extracted._

In beef juice or beef tea, this may be done by placing the chopped beef in a jar and placing the jar in an oven, or in hot water; or for beef tea and ordinary soup by putting the chopped meat, or small pieces of meat, in cold water and heating the water slowly.

3. _Juices partly retained and partly extracted._

This is desirable in stews, in braised beef, and in pot roast. State for yourself just how this would be accomplished.

4. _Connective tissue softened_ at low temperature, and with water.

5. _Sterilization by continued_ heat which destroys parasites and bacteria.

6. _Rapid cooling_, when serving is not immediate.

=Flavors suitable with meat.=

_Herbs._ All the pot herbs including savory, marjoram, thyme, sage, pot marigold.

_Vegetables._ Onion, carrot, turnip, celery, celery root, parsley root and leaf.

_Spices._ Clove, allspice, mustard, red, black, and white pepper. Some nationalities use nutmeg.

_Acids._ Lemon, tomato, and other acid fruits.

EXPERIMENTS AND RECIPES

_Experiment A._

Chop finely a small piece of meat, squeeze out the juice with a lemon squeezer and heat this juice in a saucepan. Observe the coagulation that takes place.

_Experiment B._

(1) _Apparatus._--If possible, 2 gla.s.s beakers, 1 square wire net. If these are not available, use an ordinary tumbler and a small saucepan.

(2) _Method._--_a._ Put a small piece of meat in a beaker with cold water, and allow it to stand.

_b._ Bring water to the boiling point in the beaker on the net over the gas flame. Throw in a small piece of meat.

Compare the appearance of the two pieces of meat and the water in the two beakers.

=1. Broiled steak.=

(1) Wipe steak with a damp cloth. If a wood or coal stove is used, have a bed of glowing coals ready. If gas is used, have the gas broiler thoroughly heated. Grease the bars of the broiler.

Place steak in the broiler and sear meat first on one side, then on the other. Continue to turn the broiler and cook the meat until it is brown and done according to taste. Steak an inch thick will take about ten minutes to be cooked to a medium degree. Chops are broiled in the same way.

(2) Steak and chops may also be broiled in the pan. An iron frying pan is the best utensil. Heat the pan, and brush it over with a small piece of fat cut from the steak or the chops. The purpose of this is merely to keep the meat from sticking to the pan. The principle of procedure is the same as with (1). The steak or chops must be frequently turned, using a knife and a fork, being careful not to p.r.i.c.k the meat with the fork. The length of time is slightly longer than for (1). This method must not be confused with the frying of steak in a pan with a large amount of fat. By this method the steak is not fried, and it is often a convenient subst.i.tute for (1).

=2. Roast of beef.=

Wipe roast with a damp cloth. Sprinkle with salt and dredge with flour. Place in a roasting pan, fat side up if it is a standing roast. Put the roast in a very hot oven and after fifteen minutes reduce the heat. Baste roast two or three times with the fat that tries out during cooking. The usual allowance of time for a medium rare roast is fifteen minutes for every pound of meat.

_Roast beef gravy._--After the roast has been taken from the pan, pour out all but 1-1/2 tablespoonfuls of the melted fat. Stir in 1 heaping tablespoonful of flour and brown very slightly. Add one cup of cold water and stir constantly until thickened. Add 1/2 teaspoonful salt. Strain.

=3. Bouillon.=

Shin of beef 6 pounds Cold water 3 quarts Peppercorns 1/2 teaspoonful Cloves 6 Bay leaf 1/2 Thyme 3 sprigs Marjoram 1 sprig Parsley 2 sprigs Carrot} Turnip} 1/2 cup each Onion } cut in dice Celery} Salt 1 tablespoonful