St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1890-04-20
The Latest Ingenious Adult
ITERATION Is Directed to
Refined Lard.
In These Scientific DAYS the
Era of Pure Leaf Lard
Is Gone.
Vegetable Cotton Takes the
Place of Animal Pig in
the Market.
What the Chemist of the Min
nesota Department Has
to Say of 1t.
What do we aat2

10 Say OF IL.
What do we eat?
In these days of adept adulteration,
the householder has very little idea of
the true character of what he puts into
his interior.
In the food inspection departments of
the several states. the subject Of re
fined' or compound" lard is receiving
particular attention. Commissioner
Ives, of Minnesota, laid stress upon it,
and his two chemists devoted consider
able time to it. Chemist Eberman, of
st. Paul, has this to say of it:
Onlya few years since it whould have
been all easy matter to define Lard.
Little did the distinguished scholar
dream that the alchemist could bring
sweet water from bitter fountain. or
produce lard from the cotton plant. To-
day lard is almost indetinable. 1t may
be the fat of swine. 1t may
be the fat of beef. 1t may he
cottonseed oil, or perchance any
other vegetable oil that will unite and
form consistent compound that will
initiate lard. An eminent English
chemist in treating the subject of lard
and American lard compound, says:
almost anything may be expected to
be TO md ia these lards." A New York
writer, in discussing the lard question,
says: "What is commonly known as
lard by the public is really refined lard,
and known by that name in commerce.
In the country at hog killing time all
| the clean fat of the animal is tried out
| and run into stOneWare or earthern
crooks for future use.
Theoretically, this kind of lard, a lit
| tie more retiEed, and tried out by steam
| in vacuum, is what we are supposed to
purchase for use in our kitchen. The
following is the formula given by the
gentleman for refined lard: Take
thirty pounds of this No. l lard, with
thirty pounds each of city and prime
Western,' and ten pounds of stearine
He gets up a compound which requires
acids or oxide of zinc for bleach
ing it,. which are lett in to
| for pure lard, under the varied names
| of prime Leaf Lard." Pure Kettle
Lard" "Open Fire Rendered Lard"
etc. Then adds to such lard brand
with fancy name. When to such frauds
| as this is added that of an admiXture
''terre alba, starch. meal, boraX and the
substitution Of the oleO stearine, for lard
stearine, and other cheap and often in
furious articles, then The name fraud is
too mild term to use. Such lardS were
| found in the New York markets. g..
| Dairy and Food CommissiOnerDr.W Will
| lam K. Newton, of New Jersey, in his
report on lard, notes that LEAF lard'' is
now almost myth. Further on in his
>,,t tn ton if,-
used in our state comes from the West
and is rarely pure"
The above is verified by the statement
of N. K. Fairbanks, before the commit
tee of agriculture in the house of repre-
SentativeS. In his testimony. Mr.. Fair
banks said: Nov the great packing
houses of the West do not stop to clean
the CUTS or make sausage of
them; they just wash around mot
| thoroughly, and then throw all in the
tank, CUTS, heads, feet and everything.
The lard tank to-day in packing
house is sewer for cleaning out every
thing in the shape of grease. but there
is no such thing as white grease,
from packers, on the market. All goes
into lard-all the product that we used
such thing as No. lard any more. It.
all goes in, and is all prime steam lard.
The quality of it bad deteriorated
to such an extent that we had to
get something to mitigate it, to take
away the taste and the smell. The lard
we get from the packers we put into
large tank, and open steam is put in
and it is all boiled up with steam
| and washed. 1t is boiled for
an hour or two and then
allowed to precipitate, then it is skinned
off. Precipitation takes place, and it is
allowed to stand for ten hours. All the
| OdOr is taken out. Out of 100 tierces
of lard we take out tierce or two OF
mud. 1t was as black as my coat. All
the packers lard is made in that
way. 1t contains all of this filth, neces-
| sarily, from throwing into the tank CUTS
| and everything and steaming it all to-
| gether." AS delectable and appetiZing
| as it may seem, this is the statement
| dressed in very plain English made by
| Mr.. Fairbanks, defining the unsavOry
| and mysterious compound, refined lard.
The question of most vital Importance
| to the consumers of Minnesota is: Are
our markets, our lard manufacturers
| and our lard dealers in touch with the
| refined or lard compound" trade?
| From such data as we have been able
to secure, we are not ready to
| admit that there has been gen.
eral stampede toward the enemy.
| the lard compound dealers. Another
/ fact might also be mentioned in this
connection. From our very thorough
investigation relative to the condition
| of the lard market. we are slow in be-
| lieving that everything that is villainous
and which can be thought of as an
| adulterant is combined with the various
| brands of lard. The ''rehned" lards
and the lizard compound are composed
| chiefly of beef fat, hog fat and cotton
seed oil. They are compounds of these
adulterantS from the fact that the prod
-ucts just mentioned are by far the
cheapest products now known to the
| lard manufacturers, and are capable of
combination in such proportions, es-
| pecially with refined cOttonseed oil. as
| to defy and battle the most careful
! chemical research. 1t proves that
4'the children of this generation
are wiser than the children of light"
| 1t is repetition of the building of
| strong fortreSses, and the enemy invent
ing more powerful guns with which to
break down and destroy the seem
! irgly impregnable walls. The
lard literature and the tests
that were considered infallibIe,
may almost be considered as belonging
/! to the historic past. To-day the leading
chemists East and West and in foreign
| lands occupy ground which is neutral.
That is they are decidedly conservative
in the matter of lard. Tomorrow they
may be positive and aggressive. After
thorough inspection of lard in the st.
Paul department am able to present
more favorable report than could have