Kitchencraft

Southland Times, Issue 23578, 4 August 1938, Page 15

Kitchencraft

HOW TO SELECT MEAT By SARAH In the selection of meat, not only its nutritive value, but also its palatability and cost must be considered. The most important factors that enter into the palatability of meat are tenderness, flavour and juiciness. In the cooked produce it is difficult to say which is the more important, tenderness or flavour, but both may be materially affected by the method of cooking. Meat should, therefore, be selected with the cooking method in mind, or the cooking method should be adapted to the requirements of the cut selected. Tenderness is influenced by the age of the animal, the location of the cut on the animal, the amount and distribution of the fat, and the ageing or ripening, which takes place after tife animal is killed. The amount and distribution of the fat seems to improve the tenderness of cooked meat. A tender cut shows good marbling, medium firmness of the lean, and soft, red bone. Generally speaking meat from an older animal is better flavoured than that from a young one. Veal, for example, has less flavour than beef.

In the selection of meat, the appearance a particular cut will have when served should be kept in mind, as well as its suitability for the cooking method proposed. It should be a wellproportioned piece, neither too thin nor too thick. A two-pound roast, for instance, can easily be too thin either to cook or look well. RECKONING COST The price of meat varies with the kind and the cut The demand for small cuts which can be cooked quickly has increased the price of portions suitable for steaks to a figure out of proportion with their nutritive value as compared with other cuts that require longer cooking. For quick cooking cuts must be tender. The price a pound is little indication of tiie relative economy of meat. The amount of waste must be taken into consideration. A cut which has a great deal of bone and fat and a comparatively small amount of lean, may prove an expensive one when purchased at a comparatively low price a pound. The less tender cuts are always less expensive. They are usually of good flavour, and their nutritive value is as high as that of the most popular cuts. In figuring the cost of meat the cost of preparation including time and fuel should be taken into consideration. These factors sometimes increase the price of the less expensive cuts. In order, therefore, to buy meat intelligently, the housewife should know not only the qualities she wants, but also the grade and cuts from the different animals that possess these qualities and how to identify these cuts. A cut of meat from a sound animal will be almost odourless, of a uniform colour, free from spots or bruises, dry, firm and uniform in texture. RULES FOR CHOOSING MEAT MUTTON: (1) Fat very whitetinged neither with red nor with yellow—and of a waxy hardness. (2) Lean, where in some parts of a leg it shows through the skin, should be purplish-looking, and when freshly cut of a pinkish red. (3) Texture, plump-looking and fine grained. Very little free moisture on the surface. , BEEF: (1) Fat cream-coloured or pale yellow. (2) Lean, bright cherry-red, closegrained, and somewhat moister on surface than mutton. If slightly cloudy or marbled throughout with fat, extra good feeding and quality are denoted. LAMB: (1) Fat delicately white, hard and firm. (2) Lean, fresh pale pink with, if anything, a faint tinge of brown. (3) With every joint of lamb the butcher should give a piece of trans-parent-looking membrane netted with fat and known as “caul.” This is fixed over the joint to protect it while roasting. VEAL: (1) Fat whitish with a semitransparent look. (2) Lean less firm-textured than that of other meats. (3) Plump and fine-grained. Colour fresh greyish-pink. PORK: (1) Small and not too fat Pig of 100-1201 b gives best roasting pieces. Whole loin or neck of this should not weigh more than five to six lbs. (2) Fat very white. (3) Lean delicate pink, firm-textured, close-grained. Above all free from any kind of spots. Lamb, veal and pork should not be hung for long. Lamb and veal should be cooked within two or three days of killing, while pork if it is to be kept longer, should be rubbed over on the outside with a little salt.