FoodNet

Principles of food preparation

1914

Page 33

Presented as published in 1914. Historical recipes may not meet modern food-safety standards. Cook from the modern interpretation, not the original instructions.
8. Heat very quickly and at a high temperature a cubic inch of lean meat until it puffs up a little. Then express the juice from it by means of a meat press, and divide this liquid into two parts. Add acid to one part, apply heat to the other. Compare the result of each. What substance already dealt with reacted similarly to heat and acid? 9. Test the various substances isolated for protein, using both the xanthoproteic test and Millon's reagent. 10. Shake up together in a test tube a little scraped lean meat with twice its volume of ether. Let it stand for a moment to settle, then decant the liquid on to a piece of filter paper. Does lean meat contain some fat? TOPICS FOR STUDY OR DISCUSSION 1. The names and location of the various steaks in the beef animal. 2. How to choose good beef. Sources of the best beef. 3. Effects of the ''hanging" of meat. Rigor inortis. 4. The effect of feeding, care, etc., on the flavor of meat. 5. The physical structure of meat. 6. The nutrients and non-nutrients contained in meat. The characteristics of the protein of meat. 7. Various animals used for food. Cost of production of beef. Imports and exports of meat. Cause of in- creased cost of meat. 8. Appropriate accompaniments to beef — vegetables, sauces, desserts, beverages. 9. Vegetarianism vs. mixed diet from the standpoint of economy. 10. How the protein content of foods is estimated; discussion of various methods. 11. Dangers of excessive meat eating. Results, in QUESTIONS 77 different physical conditions, of a total exclusion of meat from the diet. QUESTIONS 1. Compare the structure of meat with that of an orange. In what points are they alike? in what points do they differ? 2. Why are steaks cut across the direction of the muscle fibers? What steaks are not so cut? Describe these, and suggest ways to serve them. 3. So far as you are able, name and describe the differ- ent substances you have found in meat. In which of these does the flavor of meat reside? 4. Which of the constituents of meat is most affected by acid? by water? by heat? In each case, what is the reaction? 5. Account for the ''puffiness" observed during the cooking of steak. Account for the effects of freezing. 6. Discuss the causes of toughness in meat. From what parts of the animal should you expect the tenderest cuts? 7. Compare the probable effect on meat of (1) violent exercise, or hunting, of the animal before slaughtering; (2) prolonged hanging of the meat before its sale; (3) the application of a marinade by the housekeeper before cooking. (See Chapter XIII, page 117.) 8. Trace the relation between the experiments in analy- sis of meat and the cooking of meat in today's lesson. 9. What new principles in the preparation of food have you gained from the work of this lesson? 10. What agents have you recognized so far as serv- ing for non-conductors of heat in the preparation of food? 11. What are the possible errors in the estimation of protein by factor? In what foods is this method most likely to be erroneous? 12. Account for the fact that the protein content of veal is greater than the protein content of beef. (See charts.) 78 PRINCIPLES OF FOOD PREPARATION EXERCISES