Sharp County record., 1879-11-27
Hogs and Pork.

"
devils went, and out of which there is
no proof they ever came" Things
quite as derogatory of pork as food
have been uttered many times before.
Still all the would-be dietetic reformers
will find it Il very difficult task to abolish
pork from the regular bill of fare on the
table of the workingman in city or
country, at home or abroad. Pork is
the most economical meat to be found
anywhere. 1t contains the smallest
proportions of waste of any sort OF
''feSh, fish or fowl" 1t has very
small amount of bone, and next to no
griStle. Even the rind furnishes excel
lent eating. As to the head, feet and
tail, they are dainties that an epicure
can enjoy. The small intestines and
hairs of the hog have an industrial and
commercial value. In short, there is
nothing about hog that does not rep
resent value.
Pork is almost the only kind of meat
that contains sufficient fat to cook and
flavor the muscle. On this account, if
for no other, it is preferred by persons
who can not afford to purchase butter
for general use. The fat of the hog fur
nishes the best substitute for butter of
any substance, with the exception of
sweet oil, which is not relshed by most
persons, and which is quite too eXpen-
Sive to be used even as a condiment
in this country. 1t is very
easily preserved, requiring only cool
place in which to keep it, and a vessel
that is nearly air-tight. Unless it is to
be preserved long time it may be kept
in an open vessel and stand in room
at the ordinary temperature. No salt
or other antiSeptics are required to pre-
serve it, as is the case with other fats.
Lard ranks very high as an article of
food, while its advantages for shorten
inc pastes and cooking fish and other
substances are acknowledged by all.
For persons of sedentary habits and
dyspetic constitutions pork may not be
a desirable food. 1t is not as easy to di-
gest as other kinds of meat. 1t is not
rightly constituted to make a good soup
or broth. 1t is not a desirable article of
diet for invalids, children, or very old
people. Pork, however, is most ex-
cellent food for adults of vigorous con
stitutions who are engaged in hard work,
especially if their employment keeps
them in the open air large proportion
of the time. Some years ago a theO-
retical psychologist published the state
ment that pork was not consumed in
any considerable quantities by persons
living in warm countries. Facts, how
ever, are against his statements pub
lished to sustain theory. Throughout
Spain, Portugal, the West Indies, Cen
trail America, and the Southern States in
this country the amount of pork con-
sumed is larger than that of all the other
kinds of meat A diet largely composed
of pork is preferred by laborers in all
parts of the world where meat is eaten.
During the past % years there have
been quite too many Improvements in
the hog for the good of his flesh as an
article of food. An effort has been
made to dispense with bone and mus
Gle as far as possible and to make an
animal essentially composed of fat.
The head has been reduced to deli
cately formed snout and some sockets
for the eyes. BY judicious, Or rather by
iniudicious, selection race of hogs has
been obtained with legs so short and
small that the animals can scarcely
walk after they are few months old.
The hog is no longer a grazing animal.
1t is not beast of the field. 1t is al
lowed neither the food nor the exercise
necessary to develop muscle. 1t is gen
orally kept in close quarters and only
those substances to eat that will pro-
duce fat. The hog should he allowed
to return to some of its old ways, and
to develop natural form. 1t should
have food that will form muscle instead
of fat. Vegetables, peas, and barley
should constitute a portion OF its food.
Too much corn produces too much fat.
Improvements are required in the
curing and cooking of pork. Salt
should be displaced by sugar, and dry
ing should Supercede smoking as far as
possible, as means of preservation.
Some picked pork is required in every
family for use in cooking fish, larding
fowls and game, and for baking with
beans. Some choice side-pieces, that
contain ga streak of fat and streak
of lean," should also be preserved for
frying and broiling. In preparing pork
for cooking, in either of these ways, it
should be cut in very thin slices. They
should remain on the Goals, or in the
fry-kettle, till all the fat is tried out of
them, and the surface is slightly Drowned.
They should be served hot on warm
dish without the fat that has been sep
arated from them in cooking. 1t is best
to fry pork in stove-oven, where the
heat will strike the upper as well as the
lower surfaces.
Salt pork cooked in the manner above