The Arizona sentinel., 1878-09-21
ARIZONA SENTINEL.
SEPTEMBER 21, 1878
No More Tough EIeat.
Los Angeles EXPRESS /

EDITOR EXPREss:-In the middle of the
last century some travellers in the tropics
observed that the aborigines had way of
cooking meat very tender in abort time,
by using the juicy leaves of the melon
tree (Carica Papaya) These Indians
wrapped the meat for some time in these
| leaves, and after while the meat, either
when roasted or tried, was unusually ten
| der, and cooked in a short time. These
observations were mentioned in all the
books on botany as a curiosity for long
time, and there is now no doubt about
this interesting phenomenon.
Dr.. Wittmark, Of Berlin. made the first
scientific experiment from the leaves of
this remarkable tree, which he received in
fresh state from a hot house plant in
one of the botanical gardens in Germany,
and he publishes now the following facts:
"A few drops Of the milky juice from
the fruit were diluted with twenty ounces
of water, and in this mixture were cook
ed ten ounces of very lean, tough, fresh
meat. He then cooked in the ordinary
way piece Of the same meat, of similar
weight, and, after few minutes, the meat
in which the papaya was put fell to pieces
and the other became tough and hard.
"He then made second experiment,
wrapping a piece of meat in the leaves
only, during twenty-four hours; he cook
ed it, al the same time cooking a piece of
meat kept in tie ordinary way. The first
was tender in very short time, the latter
remaining tough. Hard boiled albumen
(the white of eggs was dissolved by a
weakly diluted solution Of the milky juice
in about four days. An atom of the dried
juice of this plant put in milk produced
curdling at temperature of forty de-
grees, with no sour reaction"
The Professor takes tie ground that
this milky juice of the melon tree pro-
duces the same effect as pepsin, the we'll
known agent in our system of digestion,
which transforms the albumen and nitro
genous matter of our daily food into a
compound readily assimilating with the
digestion.
After this important discovery we have
only to consider whether We can produce
this pepsin-like article in this climate in
sufficient quantities to make it an article
Of household use. The tree grows very
rapidly, produces an abundance of fruit
oil
nam, West and East Indies and Mexico
The dried juice of the fruit and of the
leaves can be made an article of transport
tation, and like other juices, such as gutta-
percha and India rubber, it might become
source of commercial interest to this
section of our State.
We recommend this important plant to
our merchants who have communications
with those countries where this plant
abounds as an article of import which will
benefit our households greatly and be-
came an article of value for export if it
will grow in our climate, which is proba-
bic, as there are Jew f the plants at
present here growing in healthy coDdi-
ton.
That the plant is one of great valne IS
an adjunct to the culinary art is beyond
cavil. Its value can be tested in any
house. 1t simply remains to be demon
strated whether We can raise it here sue
cessfully, and if not, can we import it, in
order that we have no more tough meat
SANS DENIES.