The Republican journal. [volume] (Belfast, Me.) 1829-current, 1872-11-28
The Cooking of Meats.

HE WASTING OF NUTR1MENT. Cookery
III all Its branches is both Il science and an
art Frenchman would perhaps rank it
among the fine arts. There can be no
doubt that much valuable nutriment is vast
ed, owing to the imperfect and irrational
methods of preparing it, which prevail in
many households In fact, the processes
to which food is subjected are often pre-
cisely such as a chemist might adopt, if his
object We're to get rid of it's really valuable
constituents, and retain only what is worth
loss for purposes of nutrition: or such MS
som" malicious demon might devise in or
der 10 tantaize his victims with the empty
StmDlance OF nOurlShment while he was de
StfOYln@ them by slow starvation. Vemeta-
ME tood, as rule, suffers less in this re
Nptct than animal. and we therefore re-
Stllct our attention in the present familiar
essay 10 some suggestions with regard Ia
the cooking of meats
The most economical way OF using meat
is to cook it in hot water, and serve it up
III lis own gravy. Ii it IS boiled for pre-
pairing soup, the water should not be too
quickly raised to the boiling point, since
This tends to coa@ulate the albuminous por-
tlonS ana 10 prevent the Juices from pass
inc into the water. The meat should be
chopped or cut as fine as possible, and
stceped fnr some time in cold water which
should then be gradually heated mp, to n
temperature not exceeding 80 deg Fahren-
heit, or 81 deg. below the boiling point.
At the last moment the soup may he allow
ed to reach the boiling point. The bones
should be crushed or broken mp into small
pieces. and boiled, or rather simmercG for
: or 10 hours, in order thoroughly to eX-
tract their hutritiVe matter. Soup contains
thc greater part OF the saline matter, with
the creatine, creatinine and kindred COM
pounds, some OF the albumen and fat. and
an amount Of gelatine that depends upon
the duration of the boiling process Cold
water extracts from one-siXth to one-fourth
Of the weight OF the solid constituents of
the meat; and this water extract contains
nearly all the Sayory, saline, and crystalline
ingredients. After long continued boiling,
lneat becomes a hard mass, composed Of
tough muscular tibres, the areolar tissue
connecting tnen, and parts OF the nerves
and bood-y,ssels. This is difficult to mas
ticate, more difficult to digest, and 50 de
void of favor that it is impossible to tell
from what animal it came As Liebig re-
marks even Il dog will reject it, For in
valids, beef soup is by far the best. That
made from mutton is less digestibfc, and is
seldom free from fat. The remarkable re-
storative properties Of soup are due to the
presence OF a large quantity of highly nitro
9enOus principles. Very strong beef tea
may ALMOST be classed with such stimuiants
as brandy and tea. Creatlne, creatinine,
and other similar substances IN meat bear
a close resemblance 10 the theme Of tea
and coffee, and the theobromine Of cocoa.
PRESERVING THE NUTRIMENT. If we
wish to cook meat in such Il way rs to pre-
serve the maximum of nutriment in the
most digestible form, We should place it in
large pieces in boiling water, and keep it
there for five minutes. The high tempera-
ture coagulates the albumen at the surface
Of the meat, stops up its pores, and thus
prevents the juices from escaping. After
this boiling for tive minutes add cold wa
ter to reduce the heat to about $50 deg. F.,
and keep it at that Temperature until the
meat is sufficiently cooked 1t will then be
found to be tender, juicy, savory and nutr-
tl0uS- Sailed meat intended to be eaten
cold, should be allowed to cool in the water
IN which it has been boiled
III roasting meat, as in boiling it, the
first object should be to coagulate the albu-
men at the surface, in order to prevent the
escape OF the juices. The meat should
first he placed close to the fire, kept there
for ten or fifteen minutes and then with
drawn 10 Il greater distance from the heat.
Ii cooked IN the oven OF Il stove or range,
the oven should be very hot when the ineat
is first put into it; kept at the same heat
for a short time, then cooled down partial
| ly (by opening the door or checking the
tlre), and the roasting should then be al
| lowed TO go on very slowly, 50 that the IN
Ter parts may be thoroughly done. The
loss Of weight, (moSty water and lat) i,
nearly one Third more in roasting thln II!
boiling. Roast meat has the richer flavor,
because certain aromatic principles are de
velopcd by this mode of cooking. The oc-
casiOnal ''drcdging" of -four over the sur
face Of the meat helps to stop UP The pores
and check the escape of the fat Roasted
meat is not so well suited to invalid, and
dyspepticS as boiled meats, since it ia apt
to contain acrid substances formed out OF
the highly heated fat. Broiing is a species
OF roasting, but it ordinarily produces a
somewhat more digestble food for the dys-
pcplc- Frying is the worst possible mode
oi cooking meat, especially Tor persons
whose digestive powers are not vigorous,
as it almost invariably develops a very ac-
rid substance known rs acroleine, and sun
dry fatty acids that are nearly rs unWholc-
some
SteWs and hashes are often very savory
bnl seldom agree with weak StOlnachs.
They are far better when made from fresh
meat than from that which has been already
cooked. The repeated cooking of any Kind
| of food dctracts materially from its nntri-
| tive quality. As some one has said at
is better TO reheat our good cold beef
and mutton in our stomachs than in oul
| fryin pans OF Stewing pots" as
| Sailed meat is less nutritious than fresh
| because much Of its saline matter is dis
solved out by the brine. IL is well know
that scurvY is often produced by the con
| tinucd use OF salt meats without fresh vegc-
| tables, some have asserted that meat may
| become poisonous by being cured in brine
| that has been used again and again; but
however that may be, the flavor of meat
kept in old brine can hardly he As good IS
if the liquid were re1hIy made )onrnaI
| OF Chemistry.