Eagle River review. [volume] (Eagle River, Wis.) 1890-1927, 1908-08-28
MOVE TO MAKE
MEAT COST LESS
PACKERS UNITE TO EDUCATE
HOUSEWIVES IN REGARD TO
VARIOUS CUTS.
EVERYBODY WANTS THE BEST.
If Portions Now Thoughtlessly Stunned
Were Used, the Better Parts
Would Sell Lower.
EVERYTHING RESTS WITH COOK.

SOUTH OMAHA, Neb., Aug. 20
Every person in the country is interested
in the price of meat and will, therefore,
also be interested in q movement when
the western packers are preparing 10
undertake to teach the American pubic
that other portions of a beef are as nj
tritious and, when properly cooked, as
palatable as the costlier cuts. The ultl-
mate end will be the lowering OF prices
on all grades of meats, especially III
those cuts which are now Ill chief de-
mand.
In short, the western packers are pre-
pairing a campaign to teach the puDlc
to buy and eat the whole ''crltter, ana
not a few choice cuts alone, from the
sale of which the retailers say they
must obtain the cost of the entire car
cass because of their inability to sell
the cheap cuts. This campaign is to
be carried on through the retail dealers
of the country who will be coached on
the subject so thoroughly that they will
be competent to teach their customers.
The packers say one of the chief rea-
sons why beef is not cheaper in Amerl-
ca is that the people demand the best
cuts and leave so much Of the so-called
inferior grades on the hands of the pack
ers that they are forced to keep the
price of the best cuts up to counterfeit
the waste, but if the sales of the cheap
er grades were increased the cost of all
would decrease materially.
Mistakes of Poorer People
One of the packers arguments will be
taken from the year book of the United
States department Of agriculture, writ
ten by George X. Holmes, chief of the
bureau of statistics. Mr. Holmes points
out the mistake made by people of linn
tied means in selecting the most expen-
sive cuts when many of the unsought
portions are equally, or even more, nu-
tritious. One Of Mr.. Holmes comments
is as follows:
although epicureans admit and chem
lists demonstrate that the neckpiece is
toothsome and nutritious, it bears the
lowest price. In fact, it would hardly
be considered respectable to ask the
butcher for piece of the neck. Per-
haps a low order of proficiency in the
housewives cooking in the past gave to
the neckpiece it's low place. The story
might have been different had the cook
known how to utilize the meat in the
making of attractive and delicious dish
es. The point of the argument is that
cheap cuts Of a good carcass are as
good as expensive pieces when judicious-
ly selected and properly cooked
Housewife Is Ignorant
American butchers complain that the
average housewife has little knowledge
of the art of cooking. She does not
know how to make tasty dish of the
cheap grades of meat She therefore
buys the best steaks, slaps them in the
frying pan and places them on the table
when she thinks they are properly
cooked. On the other side of the Allan
tic the cuts are placed on a more equal
footing, the demand for the different
cuts being more general On this side
the laborer's wife is more likely to or
der chops or steaks than to ask for
brisket or neck. and in consequence it
pays the big packers to send barrels and
barrels of brisket and the cheaper cuts
to England, while in many cases the
American butchers would prefer pur-
chasing more of the portions from which
they take the so-called ''choice" cuts to
stocking up with the entire carcass.
While the tenderloin is the tender
est and is considered the most delicate
cut. it is not so juicy nor so well fla
vored as other portions less tender, and
it is not nearly so nutritious as parts
which require more cooking. And both
tenderloin and sirloin contain less nu-
tritive value than is found in the cheap
er meats.
Another government expert says that
chuck steak after careful cooking,
compares favorably with round or sir
loln from the same carcass.