Chapter XVII

for the discussion of preservatives and pure food laws.

[Illustration: FIG. 58.——Cuts of Beef.

KEY:

_A._ Ribs _B._ Hip bone _C._ Loin _D._ Porterhouse _E._ Prime ribs _F._ Shoulder _G._ Neck _H._ Head _I._ Brisket _J._ Shin _L._ Navel _M._ Plate _N._ Flank _O._ Leg _P._ Horseshoe _Q._ Round _R._ Oxtail _S._ Rump _Z._ Sirloin

_Courtesy of Bureau of Publications, Teachers College._]

In meat as it is purchased we have bone, fat, and the flesh, consisting of the muscle of the animal with its connective tissue. The color of the meat should be clear and fairly bright, not purplish or dull. There should be little or no odor, and the meat should be firm and elastic to the touch.

_Beef_ should be a bright red and well streaked with fat.

_Veal_ should be pink and is somewhat less firm than beef. If watery and flabby, it is too young.

_Mutton_ is a duller red, and firm. The fat is white or slightly yellow and hard.

_Lamb_ is pink, rather than red, and slightly less firm.

_Pork_ is rather pale, somewhat less firm than beef and mutton, and the fat is softer.

[Illustration: FIG. 59.——The hind quarter of beef hanging.

_Cuts_: _A_, Leg; _B_, Round; _C_, Rump; _D_, Top Sirloin; _E_, Loin; _F_, Flank.

_Bones_: _g_, leg bone; _h_, socket bone; _j_, rump bone; _k_, hip bone; _e_, back bone; _m_, part of rump bone; _n_, wing rib.

_Courtesy of Bureau of Publications, Teachers College_]

=Tough and tender meat.=——To understand the difference between the tough and tender cuts we must be familiar with the structure of the muscle (see Fig. 57). Each muscle consists of bundles of tubes held together by connective tissue. In tough meat, the muscle tubes are thicker and there is more connective tissue present. Exercise strengthens the muscle, and this accounts for the fact that the unexercised muscles of the young animal give us a softer meat. In the mature animal the muscles most exercised furnish the tough meat, and the less used muscles the tender. If you study Fig. 58, you can easily determine where the tough meat will occur, if you think of the proportionate amount of exercise that the different muscles receive. The tough cuts come from the neck and legs, the tender cuts from the middle of the back, the toughness increasing as the cuts approach the neck and the hind legs. The muscles of the abdomen are also tender, but they give a coarse-grained meat. The various cuts of meat are shown as they occur in the standing animal in Fig. 58, and in the hind and fore quarters hanging, in Figs. 59 and 60. The individual cuts of beef and mutton are shown in the figures that follow. The tender cuts from the ribs and loin are the most highly prized, and therefore bring the highest price. These cuts are liked because of their tenderness although the nutritive value of the tough meat is as high or possibly even higher than that of the tender. All meat is now high-priced, and you will find the reasons for this discussed in