FROZEN MEAT.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 6384, 29 July 1882, Page 3

FROZEN MEAT.

Mr E. S W. Trent, of London, writes as follows to tho Lyttelton Times :—

I anxiously waited for news of the arrival of the ship Dunedin into safe port, and, I may also mention, I have made the acquaintance of one of the largest butchers in the borough of Hackney, Mr C. J. Geary, to whom I am indebted for a large amount of useful information* This gentleman not only kills a large quantity of sheep and cattle on his own pre-, mises, but is also a considerable buyer at the Metropolitan dead-meat market. As soon as the ship was safely docked I put myself in communication with Mr Geary, and requested him to purchase some of the mutton in order that I might try it and introduce }t to my friends. Day after day for a whole week I visited his shop in the hope of ljehig able to obtain a supply, but his invariable reply was that the sheep were ajl too large and heavy for his trade, and he could not touch them. "Why," he said on one occasion, "some of those sheep weigh 1281b; I nqyer saw such sheep in my life." But when I told him I had seen sheep killed in New .Zealand 2001b weight, ho thought I was romancing. At last he informed me he had bought the smallest sheep he could find in the market, weighing 751b, and showed me certain joints that were left of it. The meat appeared much the same a? other mutton, except that tho outside was rather damp, and the lean, when cut, was rather darker in colour than fresh-killed meat. This meat was thawed out on Friday, and cooked on Sunday, The joint I was fortunate enough to receive—a good large shoulder—wo hung up all night in a cool and airy larder, ana when taken out to be cooked next morning was nearly as dry and firm as English-killed mutton. When cooked and placed upon the table, it was plump, juicy, and full of excellent gravy, was as tender as a chicken, haviug all wjo full flavour good mutton should have, and without prejudice I may say it was the best mutton 1 have eaten since I have been in England." Mr Barton, a. student of St, John's College, Cambridge, writes to the Government a long letter on New Zealand frozen meat, in which he says: "On hearing of the arrival of the shipment in London, I immediately wrote for a carcase to be forwarded to me at Cambridge. On its arrival I proceeded, under the guidance of the head cook of St. John's College, to inspect it. He declared it to be in splendid order. On the following day part was cooked; a joint was sent to tho Fellows of the College, who deplared the quality of the meat superior to any whioh was supplied here by tho College butcher —in short, everyone who tasted the meat pronounced it not only equal to, but far sweeter and better than ordinary English mutton,"