Food study

This gives a temperature high enough, with time, to soften connective tissue or even gelatinize it. The fibers, however, are not dissolved and are always tougher than in more tender meat ; but, on the whole, the general effect Porter-house Steak TYPICAL CUTS OF STEAK BEEF STEW 179 is better than can be obtained by treating such meat as a better cut. Since heat toughens meat, special care needs to be exercised in the preparation of left-over meats. If the meat is tender and already well cooked, it should be reheated but not recooked; if tough or insufficiently cooked, it should be simmered until tender. Since tenderness is such a desirable characteristic that it is the one on which price is based, great pains should be taken not to toughen choice cuts of meat in cooking, and to prepare the tougher cuts so that they may be as desirable as possible. Many cooks woefully fail in this respect. As in last lesson. (Farmer's Bulletins, No. 39, 34 and 162.) 1. Would you need a hotter or a cooler oven to roast two pieces of beef to the same degree, if one piece were very large and the other very small ? 2. How thick should steak be cut ? 3. If you wish steak well done, will you merely cook it longer ? 4. To what is the loss in weight due in roasting beef ? 5. Which cuts of beef furnish the most lean meat for the price paid ? BEEF STEW DUMPLINGS A. Class Experiments. COOKING MEAT. 1. Sear a small piece of meat in a frying pan. Pour half a cup of cold water over it and simmer for half an hour. 2. Repeat with a piece of meat of the same size and shape, but omit the searing. Compare the appearance and taste of the resulting broths. Cut the meat open and see whether one tastes or appears different from the other. B. PREPARE BEEF STEW. Cut lean beef into small cubes. Season each piece highly, dredge with flour, and brown on all sides in a frying pan with a little suet. Add enough water to cover meat (reserving one piece for the next experiment), let it come rapidly to the boiling point, then simmer or finish the cooking in a double boiler until tender. At least two hours is necessary. Before the stew is finished, diced vegetables may be added, and twenty minutes allowed for them to cook. If the gravy is not thick enough, a little flour and water may be added. This should be done before cooking the dumplings. If left-over roast beef is used, will it be necessary to brown ? Should the left-over gravy be added ? C. SERVE THE STEW WITH DUMPLINGS. Sift together one cup of flour, two teaspoons of bakingpowder, and a quarter of a teaspoon of salt ; then stir in enough milk to make a soft dough, about a third of a cup. 1. Drop a spoon of the mixture into the stew, covering it with the gravy. 2. Drop the rest by spoonfuls over the meat in the stew in such a way that the dumpling is held well out of the water. In which case is the dumpling soggy? D. Class Experiment. KEEPING MEAT TENDER. To show why meat is simmered instead of boiled. Boil the cube of meat reserved from (B) for an hour, and MEAT INSPECTION 181 then compare it with a piece of meat from the stew which has been cooked the same length of time. MEAT INSPECTION