The characteristics of meat should be known to every housewife. She should know that good meat is firm and elastic, and that it scarcely moistens the finger pressed. Under no circumstances should the meat be \vet, this being a sign of decayed meat which has already passed into a state of putrefaction. The housewife should know that good meat is of a uniformly red colour, that it has no disagreeable odour, and that its fibres are short and delicate in contrast to the long, coarse, and broad fibres of inferior meat. :1n exact comparison of the value of the various parts of meat in the same animal is shown in Fig. 275, has been taken from Dr. Neumann's " Systematik der Kochkunst." About the same differences as to quality prevail in the various animals \vhose flesh is used by man, and they are soon learned by experience. The great fluctuations \ vh cl I are possible with regard to the chemical composition of the different parts of the same animal, may be shown by the foregoing figures, Ch are based on an analysis of the meat from an ox of medium fatness.
It is that the figures to be considered cannot be very high ones ; but, since better quality always goes hand in hand \vith digestibility and palatability, the most expensive meat generally becomes the cheapest.
Figures referring to the nutritive value of the meat of different are given in Plate XIX. It is noteworthy that venison contains large amounts of albumin and salts. This is (Inc to the method by which game is killed, causing a large part of the blood to be retained in the meat, to the benefit of the human organism. Caviare naturally contains much albumin, since it consists of the eggs of sturgeons and other fish. Oysters, on the other hand, are mostly over-rated. :\ccording to Stutzer it takes fourteen oysters to equal the albumin value of one egg, and 223 to equal one pound of good, lean beef. Oysters, however, are readily digested when raw.
The different organs of animals, as \•ell as the offal (liver, brains, pancreas, bones, cartilages, sinews, etc.), may, with advantage, be utilised for the table. Not only do these parts constitute about forty per cent. of the weight of the live animal ; but they also have great nutritive values. The list is headed by the liver, the most savoury organ, which, on an average, contains eighteen per cent. of albumin, two per cent. of fat, and five to six per cent. of sugar. Almost equal in value to the liver, hut richer in fat, are the kidneys ; whereas the brain, which contains only about eight per cent. each of albumin and fat, is considered to be less digestible owing to its peculiar composition. The nutritive value of the lungs is very insignificant ; that of the heart slightly greater ; whereas that of tripe is much higher. The pancreas, or sweetbread, is readily digestible, and has a high nutritive value. In the sinews, cartilages, and bones, the nutritive value consists chiefly of the lime-salts and gelatine.
Marrow-bones possess no advantages over other hones in the pre paration of soups, except that the marrow contains a greater amount of fat. Broken hones always add to the strength (tattiness) of soups. To speak about the " strength " of soup is really incorrect, inasmuch as soup possesses no nutritive value, unless its abundance of fat he considered as such. The small quantities of albumin Nvhich precipitate as froth upon the boiling soup are thrown out by the cleanly cook ; and, apart from the fat, no strictly nutritive substances can be extracted from the meat and hones used in the preparation of soups. Water merely extracts the salts from the meat ; and
it does this the more thoroughly the smaller the pieces into which the meat is cut. When meat is placed in boiling \ voter the albumin, coagulating, closes the pores of the meat, and prevents the \voter from reaching the inner parts. In this way some of the salts of the meat arc preserved. If, on the other hand, the meat be placed in cold water, gradually coming to a boil, the salts will be mare thoroughly extracted, and the soup more savoury. Meat which has been used for soup becomes tasteless, but does not lose its real nutritive value, which consists in the albumin ; and, by propel seasoning, very palatable dishes may be prepared from it Although soup in itself possesses no distinct nutritive value, it is of great importance as a stimulator of the appetite, owing to the amount of meat-salts it contains. It is also a most suitable means of administering other nutritive substances, such as eggs, minced meat, cereals, cheese, etc. Meat-extracts, which are nothing but evaporated and dried bouillon, are likewise valuable as stimu lants, especially when fresh soup is not available. Gelatine, the chief ingredient of jelly, while not directly utilised as a proteid food, is termed by the dietists as a proteid-sparer.
The usual methods of preparing meat for the table (roasting, frying, broiling) entail a considerable loss of salts, thus rendering the meat less easy to digest. Careful chewing, however, will partly compensate for this. Cooked meat, moreover, is decidedly preferable to raw meat, because of the danger of infection which the eating of uncooked flesh always carries with it, despite the most careful inspection. Trichinze, tapeworms, tubercle-bacilli, and other parasites may enter the body with raw meat. The eating of raw chopped meat is particularly improper, because this usually contains inferior meat and offal. Chopped meat should not he used for cooking purposes unless it is known to be strictly fresh and wholesome.
One of the best methods of preparing meat is by roasting it in a pot which contains a small quantity of water. In this way the nutritive substances of the meat arc best preserved. Meat which is fried loses part of its nutritive value ; and a still greater loss takes place by the process of broiling, which, however, renders the meat very palatable. When roasting a piece of meat, it is essential that the albumin of the outside coagulate as quickly as possible, in order to preserve the juices in the interior of the meat. The oven should, therefore, be very hot when the meat is placed therein. In a properly roasted piece of meat the crust should be hard enough to prevent the juice from escaping, yet soft enough to admit of easy slicing. The interior of the should not be too raw, underdone meat being subject to the same objection as raw meat. The fibres of the meat should appear separate, and the cut should be pink, not dark red. The processes of salting, smoking, and pickling make it possible to preserve meat and fish for longer periods, but they always entail a loss in nutritive value and a diminution of digestibility. It should always be borne in mind that smoke will destroy trichinae only when the meat is exposed to its action for a sufficiently long time. Smoked articles make greater demands upon the stomach than freshly prepared ones. This fact is of particular importance in the nursing of the sick.