Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1919-01-31
Reducing Bulk Of Meats
John w. Harrington in New York Times.

W
Inquiries have come from all directions con
corning the new process by which meats and
fish can be kept indefinitely without preserva-
ton and then restored to full bulk and unim-
paired flavor by the application OF water.
Flesh prepared by this method, the origina-
tors Of the process say, only fills about per
cent of the space it fills when fresh. This would
multiply eightfold the facilities for shipping
meat, without adding tonnage.
This discovery grows out of researches be-
gun a year ago in the Hartman Laboratories
at Roosevelt hospital by Drs. X. G. Falk and
E. NJ Frankel when the laboratory was taken
over by the Division of Nutrition and Food of
the Medical department Of the United States
army, at the instance of Lieut.. Col ]. R. Murlin,
The final steps of the test were worked out at
Columbia university in the Department of
Chemical Engineering under the direction Of
Professor Frank H. Mckee who made the first
announcement concerning the process.
The first step in the drying of meat and fish
is the removal of bones superflous fat and
gristle Here at the very start is cutting down
of the bulk to abouthpne-half The drying pro-
cess reduces what IS left to approximately one
sixth The decrease in bulk is not So marked
with the fat, which consists largely of OIL as
with the lean meat.
Owing to certain legal reasons not all the
steps of the process can be published at this
time, but in the main il consists of drying the
prepared meats in vacuum oven at a low tenn
perature. The air having been nearly exhaust
ed from the receptacle its interior is warmed by
the passage of warm water through it in pipes
which maintain enough heat to cause the mois-
ture OF the meats to eYaporate. The principle
of the vacuum pan which is used by confecton-
ers and makers OF extracts applies in this case.
Just as the Shakers in making their products
from fragrant herbs in the old DAYS used to
keep the odors and flavors from escaping by
exhausting the air from above the simmerng
liquids in vacuum pans, so the taste of the
meats treated by the new process is imprisoned
in the fibres instead of being driven off by ex-
cessive heat In ordinary cooking operations
high temperatures necessary to overcome the
pressure of the atmosphere are likely to destroy
the delicate engines and flavors.
The use OF the low temperature also prevents
the coagulation of the protein in the meats. The
solidifying of this substance in dried meats
makes them unpalatable and indgestible. The
drying or desiccatng of vegetables can be ac-
complished with satisfaction even in crudely
controlled ovens and with great efficiency in
the dehydrating plants, because vegetables con-
tain very little protein as compared with the
quantities of starch. The meats do not retain
their redness, but as they are served cooked this
is not a grievous fault
All animal flesh must be cut into compare
lively thin steaks or into one-inch cubes before
the drying begins. Meat can be dried in about
10 hours and fish in from four to eight, accord
ing to the thickness of the pieces under treat
ment.
1t is possible to cut sirloin or porterhouse
steak according to the standard restaurant
dimensions, dry it by this recent method, and
then wet it before cooking and serve it hot, even
passably rare, without anybody's knowing that
It did not come directly from the butchers
block around the corner.
All meat may be ground up after it has been
dried, then mixed with fresh vegetables and
cooked without any previous soaking. A meat
flour can be so made that within ten minutes it
can absorb its full water content and thus be
ready for preparation in short order For
composite ration dry raw meat hashed with
potatoes, onions, carrots and other vegetables is
recommended as excellent.
The announcement is made that during a
period of comprehensive tests meats which
had been dried by this process and kept year
were restored to their fresh stateo and served in
the homes of the professors interested in these
experiments and to their unsuspecting guests.
A shipment of 800 pounds of beef thus treated
was sent to Camp Oglethorpe, Georgia, a few
weeks ago and eaten with gusto by the soldiers.
This restored or condensed product differs
from the jerked or sun-dried beef of the western
plains and of South American countries Jerk
ed beef must be torn into long shreds, and when
it is dried even under the best conditions it is
without much of its original SAVIOR and is best
adapted for cooking with red peppers. The new
process dried beef may be kept in neat and
presentable collops or steaks or boned chops
and served in slightly fashion Outlets of
large fish and small fish can be kept in their
original form, and the chef may Gust add hot
water and serve" AS the flesh remains sterile
there is no danger, according to the inventors,
of its spoilng