Foods and home making

Animals used for food are cut into halves and each half cut so as to form quarters. In general it can be said that more of the tender cuts come from the hind quarters than from the fore quarters. Only about a fourth of an animal consists of the more tender cuts. What is inspected meat? Animals used for food may be diseased. The meat of such animals may prove harmful to man. Meat, as you doubtless know, spoils readily. If it is kept for any length of time, it must be kept cold. It also must be handled under sanitary conditions to keep it fit for food. In order to prevent people from getting diseased or spoiled meat, the United States government and some state and city governments inspect meat. That meat which is diseased or spoiled is, of course, not allowed to be sold for food. However, not all meat sold in the same state in which it is slaughtered is inspected. Meat which is inspected by the federal or state government is stamped. When buying meat at a market, ask the butcher whether the meat he sells has been inspected by the United States, state, or local government. Ask him to show you the stamp which appears on inspected meat. What are some points to consider in buying beef? Since more beef is used for food than any other animal, we shall con- sider first the buying of beef. Some points to observe are : 1. The fat. Beef that is tender and of fine flavor has a gen- erous amount of fat, not only around the edge of the piece of meat, but sprinkled through it. The fat of good beef is also light in color — pale cream or white rather than yellow. 2. The grain. If the lean part of beef looks stringy, the meat is probably not tender. The grain of meat is, of course, very different in different cuts. Flank steak even in the best quality of beef is more stringy and coarse than sirloin steak. But flank steak is not so tender as sirloin steak. Stringy, coarse meat is tough, while fine-grained, smooth meat is tender. 352 Dinner 3. The bone. The appearance of the bone is one indication of the age of the animal. The bone of a young animal is light pink and fine-grained. It contains marrow. The bone of older animals is gray and coarse-grained. Adapted from a Chart by Bell and Helser, Iowa Slate College Hind shank Round Rump Loin end (sirloin) Short loin (porter- house) Flank Prime ribs Navel Brisket Chuck rib Chuck Neck Round-bone roast (Eng- lish cut or crosscut or flatiron or Boston cut) Fore shank Figure 103. Half a Beef Showing Bones and Cuts The diagram containing the skeleton shows how beef is cut into large pieces or cuts. The other diagram shows how the cuts may be separated into pieces of suitable size for roasts or stews, or sliced into steaks. What are some tender cuts of beef? Along the backbone there is a muscle which is very tender. This muscle is called Bureau, of Publications, Teachers College Figure 104. Sirloin (next to the Rump and the Round) Notice the shape of the bone. This cut is sometimes called round-bom sirloin. The entire sirloin section is sliced for steaks or cut into pieces for roasts. Bureau of Publications, Teachers College Figure 105. Sirloin (in the Middle of the Loin End) Notice the shape of the bone and the appearance of the lean portion. This is the choicest part of the sirloin cut. 353 354 Dinner