HOW TO CURE BACON.

Temuka Leader, Issue 2475, 11 March 1893, Page 3

HOW TO CURE BACON.

The most prevalent method of curing bacon by farmers, and the one I was taught, was that of dry salting. The plan is satisfactory in many ways, but experience has taught me that it certainly falls short of giving the best quality of meat to be had. If the temperature is right, from 50deg to 60deg, and you know when your bacon has salt enough to bear taking up and putting through the smoke, you may expect reasonably good bacon ; but the process of brine salting is much preferred, and for this reason chiefly, that by this method the bacon can be cured in winter or summer. All you need is a watertight tank, and a bucket or two of water to each carcase. Then make a brine by the addition of salt until it will bear an egg up. Lay the meat down as usual, occupying as little space as possible. It is not necessary to have the brine _ more than scarcely covering the meat, as it will settle down considerably; and it is a good plan to put a heavy weight on the top of the meat. At about the fifteenth day, if 1 ' the weather is reasonably v>a _ ' i the brine oil, take tho sjufs ' i back in dil&tmxt *- ..a, and put I the ‘ positions. Then pour l .....are brine over it again. In ten days more the meat will be ready to smoko, Use luird, dry wood for smoking, —pot old chips, rags, or an) to mako \

! smoke. After smoking, wrap the hams and sides in paper, then place in small sacks of good material ; tie tightly, and put in a cool place. The secret of brine salting is this :—ln dry salting there is always an accumulation of watery blood in the bottom of the vessel. This is mostly composed of the juices from the meat, which should have remained in it, rendering it tender and pleasant, instead of dry and tasteless. Brine-cured bacon retains all its juices, and its flavour and richness are unmistakeable. Australasian.

Spouting. —At the A.J.C. Meeting at Melbourne on Thursday the Second Hurdles was won by Royalist, Nursery Handicap by Projectile, Autumn Handicap by Autonomy, Champion Stakes of 2000 sovs. by Camoola with Culloden second and Portsea third (the Admiral was the favourite in this race), Special Gelding Handicap by Graduate, and Free handicap by Newman. At Wanganui on Thursday The Cup. of 500 sovs., was won by Mr W. Bussell’s St. Katherine. Taste and Smell. Recent curious observations indicate that our appreciation of food depends largely—if not chiefly—upon the sense of smell. A student. 21 years old, had inherited from his mother the defect—acquired by her in childhood — of complete absence of smell, taste and other sensations being unaffected. He could detect no difference between tea, coffee, or water. In three trials out of five he confused bitter almond water and water, but distinguished between ether and water and ether and ammonia. Fruit syrups were smply sweet, with no difference of flavor. Cloves and cinnamon were recognised, but mustard and pepper gave only a sharp sensation on the tongue. B.M. Court, Timrau. —At the R.M. Court, Timaru, yesterday, a man named Aikenhead, 19, of Oamaru, was charged with stealing a suit of clothes, valued at £4, the property of Wallace Sinclair. The clothes were found in accused’s swag on board a steamer, but he at once said they were not his, and that he had not put them there. A good suit of clothes, £l2 in money, and other property were found in his possession. The owner of the clothes gave the accused a very good character, and said he did not believe he had stolen the clothes. Evidence was called as to his character, and His Worship gave accused the benefit of the doubt, and dismissed the case, warning him to be more careful with whom he associated in future. The accused had been consorting with two men well known to the police. A Kerrytown resident was charged with indecent exposure and using obscene language to two women, who, however, made no complaint. After hearing the evidence, which showed that the accused was very drunk at the time, His Worship dismissed the charge of exposure, and fined the aecused 20s with costs, for using obscene language. He said he hoped it would prove a warning to accused to avoid drink in future. Holloway’s Ointment and Pills. — Coughs and influenza.—The soothing properties of these medicaments render them well worthy of trial in all discuses of the respiratory organs. In common colds and influenza the Pills taken internally and the ointment rubbed over the chest and throat, are exceedingly efficacious. When influenza is epidemic, this treatment is the easiest, safest and surest, Holloway’s Pills purify the blood, remove all obstacles to its free circulation through the lungs, relieve the over-gorged air tubes, and render respiration free, without reducing the strength irritating the nerves, or depressing the spirit; such are the ready means of escaping from suffering when afflicted with colds, coughs, bronchitis, and other chest complaints, by which the health of so many is seriously and permanently injured m most countries.