VICTORIAN MEAT IN ENGLAND

Star (Christchurch), Issue 298, 28 April 1869, Page 3

VICTORIAN MEAT IN ENGLAND

The following letier on this important subect reached us (Aryus) by the last mail from .■ondon : — I The Australian meat preservers ought to be J rell satisfied with tlie unprecedented degree j f attention which the samples of beef and nulton forwarded by them is now receiving n this country. Australian meat has, in act, formed one of the Jeading topic 9 of he pnst month. Not only has the subject ound its way into the columns of the metroolitan and provincial press, but it is also avourably alluded to in several of (he Chris. ■ aas pantomimes, and— sue indication of ;rowing popularity — forms the theme of nore than one of our music-hall songs, Therein the virtues of "good Australian autton, at 6d per lfa., free from bone,-'' re forcibly contrasted with the horribly mwholesome and putrid stuff so often oade up into sausages by dishonest trndesnen. This success is the more remarkable tecause of the significant fact that, ever ince the failure of the South American erked beef experiments, people here — espc:ially the working classes — have been very uspicious with respect to the use of preserved neat in any form, however good and unobectionable it might be in reality. To Mr < . Fallermann is due the credit of combating the '

prevailing prejudice with great effect. He had scarcely commenced the work of the agency establMied by him before he found that a considerable portion of the strong disfavour with whicli English people regarded preserved meats was directly attributable to the rude and defective manner in which it was often prepared by inexperienced hands for the table. However good the meat might be in its preserved condition, it was frequently rendered perfectly unpalatable by imperfect! cookery. The dangers of bad cookery here I increase! also by the unsatisf :C.ory manner in which the meat is sometraes preserved. Many colonists seem to think that they have nothing to do but to merely salt their beef aud mutton and send it over here. A. more fatal mistake cannot be imagined. This fallacy has proved the great obstacle with which Mr Tallermaun has had to contend from the very first. No article of food, however good, nutritious, or cheap, can finl a permanent place in the Knglish market un!es3 it be adapted to the tastes of the purchasers ; besides, animal food is not so dear or scarce here that people are likely to be driven, as a matter of sheer necessity, to the use of Australian meat, which, to secure a trade, must be at least as palatable, wholesome, and cheap as the various descriptions of meats with which it comes into rivalry. It was i with the view of ascertaining how far the Victorian meats could be rendered palatable to English mouths that Mr Tallerman conceived the idea of organising a couple of dinners, at which all the entrees should be composed of Australian beef and mutton cooked in various ways. Of the first of these dinners enough has been said. It was admittedly a success, despite the defective manner in which some of the dishes had been prepared. The second was more remarkable, aud more successful. It took place in January, and was presided over by Dr B. W. Kichardson, senior physician Co the Boyal Infirmary for Diseases of the chest, and editor of the Social Science Review, who was supported by Dr H. B Paul, Dr tallard, and various gentlemen connected with colonial interest. The guests numbered about 200, the majority being workmen and their wives. These men had been selected from some of the leading establishments in London, including, amongst others, Perm's engineering works at Millwall, Waterlow's printing establishment in London Wall, Samuda's ship-build-ing yard at Poplar; Clowes and t^ons, printers; Truman, Hanbury, Buxton. aud Co., brewers; Delarue and Co., stationers; Price's candle- works; als:> several of the principal working-men's clubs and institutes, the number of artisans thus represented being estimated at from 50,000 to 70,000. The dinner comprised mutton pies, beafsteak pies, stewed btef and vegetables, beafsteak pudding, Australian dumplings, mince collopß, stuffed roll of mutton, German sausages, potted meats, &c. The greater part of the dishes appeared to give unqualified satisfaction, especially the Australian dumplings, which vanished with extraordinary rapidity, but the puddings were cotnpla'ned of as. being too salt. This saltness is indeed the great impediment in the way of the general use of the preserved meat. It was, however, stated by Mr Talleruiann that he expected to receive within a few days a fresh supply of meat, in the curing of which sugar as well as salt had been used. It will, it may be remarked in passing, be very curious should the development of the trade in Australian preserved meat prove a means of assisting the progress of colonial sugar produce. The leading medical and scientific authorities here concur in expressing their approval of the meat ; at the game time, however, indicating various improvements which require to be effected in the different preserving processes. The workmen who partook of the dinner appear to have reported most favourably respecting it to their fellowworkmen, for there have been a large number !of orders from the various workshops for samples of the meat. The importance of this movement will be better appreciated when it is understood that on the verdict passed by these artisans will depend much of the work-ing-o!a8s favour with which the Victorian beef nnd mutton is received. Here, again, a fresh obstacle has to be encountered. Even were the meat all that could be desired, the trouble of preparing it for cooking is too great for a class who generally live from hand to mouth. Either arrangements must be made for enabling the meat to be retailed iv a cooked shape, or it must be preserved in such a manner that slices can be immediately broiled or fried, after the manner of ham or ! bacon. At the agency in Norton Folgate, | the cooked meat, in the shape of sausages, sausage-meat, sausage- rolls, mutton collops, &c, is disposed of with wonderful rapidity. Considering the short time that the meat has been before the English public, its progress in general estimation certainly appears as remarkable aa it is encouraging. But it must be remembered that a very great deal remains to be effected before Australian beef and mutton takes its place here as a common article of food. English tastes must be closely studied, nor must English habits be lost sight of. The meat must contain us little salt as possible, the time requisite for preparing it for the table must be greatly reduced, and the smoky flavour peculiar to some kinds of preserved meat must be got rid of. At the same time, the greatest possible care should be taken against sending out diseased or unwholesome meat. The discredit into whicli the South American preserve! beef so speedily fell was primarily occasioned by the large quantities of inferior meat forwarded f/om the River Plate districts by colonists who, "n their eagerntss to derive immediate profits, unwkely sacrificed the prospects of a large and permanent trade. Honesty is always the best policy in the long run.

It has been wittily remarked tbat a French major is a man who has three decorations. The third was given him because he had two, the second because he had one, and the first because he bad none !