In meat as it is purchased we have bone, fat, and the
flesh, consisting of the muscle of the animal with its con-
nective tissue. The color of the meat should be clear and
fairly bright, not purplish or duU. There should be little
or no odor, and the meat should be firm and elastic to the
touch.
Beef should be a bright red and well streaked with fat.
MEATS AND POULTRY 211
Veal should be pink and is some-
what less firm than beef If watery
and flabby, it is too young.
Mutton is a duller red, and firm.
The fat is white or slightly yellow
and hard.
Lamb is pink, rather than red,
and slightly less firm.
Pork is rather pale, somewhat
less firm than beef and mutton, and
the fat is softer.
Tough and tender meat. — To
understand the difference between
the tough and tender cuts we must
be famiUar with the structure of the
muscle (see Fig. 57). Each muscle
consists of bundles of tubes held
together by connective tissue. In
tough meat, the muscle tubes are
thicker and there is more connective
tissue present. Exercise strength-
ens the muscle, and this accounts
for the fact that the unexercised
muscles of the young animal ^ve
us a softer meat. In the mature
animal the muscles most exercised
fimush the tough meat, and the
less used muscles the tender. If e. i^e bone; a, socket bone;
you study Fig. 58, you can easily bo™''m°pKrt rf n^p'boM;
determine where the tough meat "■"'=»'*.
will occur, if you think of the proportionate amount of
exercise that the different muscles receive. The tough cuts
come from the neck and lega, the tender cuts from the middle
Fia. B9. — The hind quarter
of beef hangiiiE.
A, Leg; B, Round; C. Rump;
, Top Sirloin; B, Loin; F, Flank.
212 FOODS AND HOUSEHOLD MANAGEMENT
Fig. 60. — The fore quarter of beef, hanging.
MEATS AND POULTRY 213
of the back, the toughness increasmg as the cuts approach
the neck and the hind legs. The muscles of the abdomen
are also tender, but they give a coarse-grained meat. The
various cuts of meat are shown as they occur in the standing
animal in Fig. 58, and in the hind and fore quarters hanging, in
Figs. 59 and 60. The individual cuts of beef and mutton are
shown in the figures that follow. The tender cuts from the
ribs and loin are the most highly prized, and therefore bring
the highest price. These cuts are liked because of their ten-
derness although the nutritive value of the tough meat is as
high or possibly even higher than that of the tender. All
meat is now high priced, and you will find the reasons for
this discussed in Chapter XVII. For the sake of economy we
are forced to use the relatively cheaper cuts, and to seek for
meat substitutes. We must also take pains to use the cook-
ing processes that will make the tough meats palatable.
Page 108
Presented as published in 1914. Historical recipes may not meet modern food-safety standards. Cook from the modern interpretation, not the original instructions.
AI-modernized reading of the original text
In meat as it is purchased we have bone, fat, and the flesh, consisting of the muscle of the animal with its connective tissue. The color of the meat should be clear and fairly bright, not purplish or dull. There should be little or no odor, and the meat should be firm and elastic to the touch.
Beef should be a bright red and well streaked with fat.
Veal should be pink and is somewhat less firm than beef If watery and flabby, it is too young.
Mutton is a duller red, and firm. The fat is white or slightly yellow and hard.
Lamb is pink, rather than red, and slightly less firm.
Pork is rather pale, somewhat less firm than beef and mutton, and the fat is softer.
Tough and tender meat. — To understand the difference between the tough and tender cuts we must be familiar with the structure of the muscle (see Fig. 57). Each muscle consists of bundles of tubes held together by connective tissue. In tough meat, the muscle tubes are thicker and there is more connective tissue present. Exercise strengthens the muscle, and this accounts for the fact that the unexercised muscles of the young animal give us a softer meat. In the mature animal the muscles most exercised furnish the tough meat, and the less used muscles the tender. If e. i^e bone; a, socket bone; you study Fig. 58, you can easily bone; a, socket bone; you determine where the tough meat "■"'=»'*. will occur, if you think of the proportionate amount of exercise that the different muscles receive. The tough cuts come from the neck and lega, the tender cuts from the middle
Fia. B9. — The hind quarter of beef hanging.
A, Leg; B, Round; C. Rump; , Top Sirloin; B, Loin; F, Flank.
Fig. 60. — The fore quarter of beef, hanging.
of the back, the toughness increasing as the cuts approach the neck and the hind legs. The muscles of the abdomen are also tender, but they give a coarse-grained meat. The various cuts of meat are shown as they occur in the standing animal in Fig. 58, and in the hind and fore quarters hanging, in Figs. 59 and 60. The individual cuts of beef and mutton are shown in the figures that follow. The tender cuts from the ribs and loin are the most highly prized, and therefore bring the highest price. These cuts are liked because of their tenderness although the nutritive value of the tough meat is as high or possibly even higher than that of the tender. All meat is now high priced, and you will find the reasons for this discussed in Chapter XVII. For the sake of economy we are forced to use the relatively cheaper cuts, and to seek for meat substitutes. We must also take pains to use the cooking processes that will make the tough meats palatable.