HOME KILLED VERSUS FROZEN MEAT.

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume XXVIII, Issue 9100, 19 March 1901, Page 1

HOME KILLED VERSUS FROZEN MEAT.

Some further interesting experiments have recently been conducted by The Hospital with a view of ascertaining the relative economic and nutritive qualities of Home-killed and frozen muttton for hospital use, and the results have been most satisfactory from a colonial point of view. The trials may be. briefly summarised as follows: (1) As regards the alleged wastefulness of the frozen article — two legs of mutton were carefully weighed, cooked, carved, and afterwards tested for yield of gravy, bone, and waste, with the following result: Weight when delivered, 81b 6oz (English), 71b 14 oz (New Zealand) Canterbury; weight when taken from oven, 51b ISoz (English), 51b.130z New Zealand) ; weight of slices suitable for hospital diet, 31b 4oz (English), 31b (New Zealand) ; weight of bone and waste after carving, 21b soz (English), 21b soz (New Zealand; -weight of pure bone, 11 ounces (English), 11£ ounces (New Zealand) ; weight of dripping, cold, 12oz (English), 15oz (New Zealand; gravy in dish after carving, 8£ teaspoonfols (English), 5£ tablespoonfuls (New Zealand ; gravy under dripping, 24 tablespoonfuls (English), 4 tablespoonfuls (New Zealand) ; total quantity of gravy, 103 tablespoonfuls (English), 9i tablespoonfuls (New Zealand). "Thus, contrary to expectations, it was found that the English meat lost more in proportion during baking, viz., 21b 7oz against 21b loz ; " and "it is clear even from one experiment that, the assertion that foreign (i.e. frozen) meat is essentially and invariably more wasteful than English cannot be supported." (2) As regards the necessity for hospital meat being "easy of digestion and rich as possible in food value," recourse was had to artificial digestion experiments, conducted under the examination of Dr. Rideal D.Sc, Lond., F.1.C., three kinds of mutton being treated, viz., Scotch, New Zealand (Canterbury crossbred), and Australian (merino). The trial was made in duplicate, the results of which are as follows : Water, per cent., Scotch, 74.25 ; New Zealand, 71.32; Australian, 72.45. Nitrogen, contents of dry meat, Scotch, 12.38; New Zealand, 11.39; Australian, 11.55. Percentage of dry meat digested in one hour : — Experiment 1, Scotch, 41.02; New Zealand, 37.2; Australian, 37.4. Experiment 2, Scotch, 43.03: New Zealand 37.3; Australian, 38.6. Mean, Scotch, 42.25; New Zealand, 37.25; Australian, 38.0. "The amount of digestion in these sxperime-nts is, therefore, very nearly the same for each kind of meat, and is proportional to the amount of matter capable of digestion present as measured by the quantity of nitrogen existing in each kind. The diRestibilifcr- of the meat- is all important from an invalid's standpoint, and remembering that foreign (i.e. frozen) meat is very commonly indeed used for the patient's diet it is very reasuring to find that the freezing process does not, to any extent, render it less easv of assimilation or constitute a drawback to its uses for persons of feeble digestive powers."