Richland beacon., 1877-03-17
HOCSEKEEPER'S COLUMN

MANAGEMENT and Cookery, written by
W. B. Tegetmeir, has much general In
formation OF vital interest to mousse
keepers. The following extract on the
composition of meat is portion OF me
second chapter of the volume;
Meat, or the flesh OF animals u.ed for
,ood. consists of several very distinct
substances, each OF which possesses dit
ferent qualities. Some OF these SUD
stances are hardened, Others so;tened, by
heat; some dissolved and others rendered
tough BY boiling water. 1t is therefore
necessary to understand the nature o:
these different substances, in order to
perform the different operations OF
cooking in the best ard most economical
manner. If we take some small slireds
O, lean meat and wash them repeatedly
in clean water. rubbing them at the
same time, we shall wash away all the
soluble part, and at last there will re-
main nothing but some white threads,
which constitute the fibrous part of the
iesh of the animal from which they
were obtained. We could in this man
ner obtain about fifteen pounds from
every one hundred pounds of flesh. This
substance of which these threads are
composed is termed fibrin; it is an al
bumenoid article of food. Fibrin alse
exists dissolved in the blood Of living
animals, and when the fresh blood of a
pig or other animal is stirred as is done
in making black buildings the fibrin
separates and adheres to the stick in
song fbrcs. The action of heat on fbrin
Is very important. 1t is hardened and
contracted by heat as great as that of
boiling water. This is easily shown by
pouring boiling water on the threads
obtained by washing meat, or by cutting
thin shred of meat in the direction Of
the flores, boiling it for few minutes,
and then noticing the alteration in its
lie and the hardening it has undergone.
In water that is considerably less hot
than boiling, the fibres of meat become
soft; consequently, any meat, even if
old and tough, can be rendered Use
full for food by long continued stewing,
ct heat much less than that of boiling
water.
when meat is thoroughly washed to
obtain the fibrin, soluble substance,
similar to the white of an egg, passes
away in the water. This is termed
albumen. There are from three to five
pounds Of albumen in every hundred
rounds of meat it also forms very
large proportion Of the brain and of the
BLOOD. In cold or warm water it is easily
dissolved, but if heated to nearly the
boiling point Of water it becomes solid
II piece of fresh meat is suddenly
plunged for a few minutes into water
quite boiling, the albumen at the outside
is hardened, and becoming sold pre-
vents the escape Of the juices which form
the gravy. Exposed to heat greater
than that of boiling CRATER albumen be-
comes very horny and indigestible, but
when properly cooked it is one Of the
most valuable articles Of diet.
The tendinous or gristly parts of the
iiesh such as cows heel. the sinewy parts
about the joints, also the skin and the
nutritive parts of the bones. consist
chiefly of a peculiar substance termed
gelatin. This is a valuable albumenoid
article of food when used with other sub
stances. Gelatin and gelxtinous articles
offocd may be dissolved by boiling, an
the solution becomes jelly when cold.
Gelatin is rendered hard and horny by a
dry heat, and therefore the sinewy and
tendinous parts of meats are better
adapted for stewing or boiling than for
roasting, broiling or frying. IF
quantity of lean meat be chopped up
small and placed in closely.covered
earthern pot, without water, and the pot
be then put in saucepan of water by
the side of the fire, 20 as to be very
gradually heated, the juice OF the flesh
will escape. At first this will be Of q
color, being tiLged with little blood,
but if heated TO greater degree i, will
become brown. The juice of the flesh
contains many substances of the greatest
value as food, and meat from which it is
extracted is of very superior value. All
operations of cookery should be con
JuctaJ m N. IN ,,ravant "a fa r q : ranssib,o