Ashland weekly tidings. [volume] (Ashland, Or.) 1919-1924, 1919-11-05
How TO Get Tasty Meals
From Cheaper Cuts of Meat

Meat is one of the chief sources of
tissue-building (protein) food. Its
food value is high, so unfortunately
is the price. The average American
housewife serves meat at least once
day. II the amount of meat is re-
duced, other food equally nutritive
must be substituted. The problem
with most housekeepers at present is
how to keep the meat bill down and
still serve palatable meals. This re-
Quires careful study and should in
clude a knowledge of the different
cuts of meat, the amount of waste
and quality. If these points are not
understood il is not possible to pur-
chase to the best advantage. And
most important, the marketing
should be personally conducted" If
the best results are to be obtained.
To order by telephone often adds to
the cost due to lack of details, such
as the thickness, exact weight or
choice of cuts, etc, which the dealer
will not observe as carefully as the
purchaser. Then again, the market
man will probably take a personal
interest in holding your trade If he
finds you know what you want, that
you are familiar with the different
cuts of meat and understand their
qualities.
Methods Of Cooking Depend on
Conditions
| The best method of cooking the
meat purchased depends entirely
upon the tenderness, texture and
flavor. The tenderness will depend
upon the connective tissue; tender,
fine grained meats are taken from
the least muscular parts of the ami
NAL and tough, coarse fibered sec
tions come from portions which are
most used. One-fourth of the weight
of a dressed beef consists of tender
meat, and all of these cuts are ex-
pensive. The less tender cuts are
Just as nutritious; in fact, many OF
the cheaper cuts have more food
value than the tender meat and are
less expensive, but require more at
tention in their preparation II
cooked properly these cheaper cuts
will be found juicy and palatable.
The value of any cut of meat de-
pends upon the quantity of waste,
bone, gristle, etc. For example, the
prime ribs are even higher than
they seem, because the purchaser has
to pay for so much bone; while some
of the cheaper meats have so much
waste in gristle, fat and bone that
they would be equal in price to a
more tender meat.
Surfaces Scared to Keep Juices in
Meat
All meat cookery is governed by
two general principles. For tender.
| fine grained meats there should be
intense heat, no liquid, and the
meat should be seasoned after cook
ing. The high temperature sears the
surface and keeps the juice from es-
Gaping. The meat is cooked quickly
because, being tender, it would hard
en- and become dry if it were allowed
to remain in too great heat for a
long period 1t is seasoned after
/ cooking because the salt would tend
/ to draw out the juices, which with
tender meats is not desirable. Water
| is not added because il would cause
steam, which would effect the brown,
crisp surface of the meat. Plenty
of fat should he used for basting.
Coarse, tough meats require quick
surface soaring, long, slow cooking
and a small amount of water. The
meat is scared to force it to retain the
greater part of the juices, and then
cooked slowly in a small amount OF
water, which mLy be seasoned dur
ing the cooking process. The meat
whel cooked should be juicy, due to
soaring, and tender because of the
slow cooking
Beef More Stimulating Than Veal or
Poultry
To understand which method to
use is the secret of economy in
meat cookery.
Red meats, such as beef and NUT
ton, are more stimulating than the
white meat of poultry or veal. Beef
is the most nutritious, mutton being
second. Lamb and veal are less nu-
tritious than the flesh of full-grown
animals. Dried or smoked beef con-
tains as much nutriment as the
fresh meat, while corned beef loses
in food values. the brine drawing out
some of the juices.
Meat is too expensive a food to
be thoughtlessly purchased or care
lessly cooked, and the meat bill may
be reduced by making more use Of
the less expensive cuts.
The wise man permits others to