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of the salt. This is accomplished by the use of centrifugals similar to those used in sugar refineries (p. 108). After the excess of salt has been removed, the extract is further concentrated to a nearly solid consistency.

SOLUBLE MEAT

"Soluble meat" is prepared by treating the comminuted meat with dilute hydrochloric acid and pepsin under pressure or with HCl and steam. The object of this process is to begin the digestion by converting the meat into proteose or peptone and to retain the extractives. Although there may be instances in which such a product is of value in the diet, ordinarily it is better to require the digestion to take place within the body, by natural methods.

DRIED OR POWDERED MEAT

Powdered meat preparations under various names have been placed on the market. They consist largely of albumoses rather than peptones.1 The "pemmican" of the northern "voyageur" is a product of this class and serves a very important purpose when the weight and bulk of the provisions transported must be considered. Dried meat powder is sometimes useful in artificial feeding to supplement a soup stock low in nutritive protein.

GELATIN

Gelatin, another meat product which has come into quite general use, is prepared from the bones, tendons, horns, piths and hoofs of animals by boiling them under pressure. Collagen, which composes the fibers of connective tissue, is one of the chief sources of gelatin, into which it is transformed by boiling. If bones are used in the process of making, they are crushed and treated with hydrochloric acid to remove the inorganic salts. This mass is then mixed with the softer material used, and soaked 1 Foods and Their Adulteration, Wiley, p. 85.

with lime or soda for two or three weeks to dissolve out the fat. The mass is finally washed and steamed to remove the gelatin,

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FIG. 72.-The ordinary commercial cuts of beef are as indicated in Fig. 72 and are named as follows: 1, Shank; 2, round; 3, rump; 4 and 5, loin (4, sirloin; 5, porterhouse); 6, flank; 7, rib; 8 and 9, plate (8, navel plate; 9, brisket); 10, shin; 11, chuck; 12, neck; 13, suet. (By permission Dept. of Agric. U. of Mo.)

and sulfurous acid is used in bleaching the product. It is then solidified in layers, redissolved, washed free from acids, and dried at a

low temperature. If prepared under good sanitary conditions, and from material which was in the beginning fit for food, there is no objection to the use of gelatin as a food material. The impure, unpurified gelatin is known as "glue."

Gelatin swells readily in cold water and as small a quantity as one per cent. will set into a jelly, although the ordinary jelly contains about 2 per cent. It has come into popular use, because of this property, and because it can be sweetened and flavored, and made into numerous appetizing and decorative dishes. In regard to its nutritive qualities some authors believe that it has a value in stimulating the flow of gastric juice, and while not a tissue former it has the property of sparing the protein tissues from destruction. It is evident that the nitrogen in gelatin is not present in a form available to the body as in true proteins.1

BEEF

In the United States for commercial use, the carcass of beef cattle is usually cut as illustrated in Fig. 72.

These different cuts, exclusive of bone, have only a slightly different food value, but on account of their other qualities such as flavor, shape and tenderness, sell in normal times at retail prices ranging from 10 cents per pound for a soup bone to 45 cents for the best sirloin steaks. In the United States these prices differ very much in the different sections. The large cities are supplied mostly by the packing houses, while the rural population is supplied in part by local abattoirs. Veal, although very much in favor in many countries, especially in Germany, has not been considered as wholesome or as easily digested as beef. It contains more gelatin and less fat than the latter, and some believe if used in too large quantities is liable to cause intestinal disturbance. There has been a common prejudice against the use of very young veal, but experiments have shown that the meat is just as easily digested as that of older calves.2 Its use seems to produce no 1U S. Dept. Agri., Bur. Chem. Bull. No. 114.

2 J. A. M. Ass., Vol. 60, p. 834. Also (Fish) Am. Vet. Rev., 41, p. 178

laxative effect, and in no way affects the health of normal

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Domestic swine are the descendants of the "wild boars" that formerly inhabited the forests of the Eastern Hemisphere. They are raised in great numbers in those parts of the United States where corn (maize) is readily grown, also in the South where they are fattened with peanuts and acorns and are shipped to the packing houses in Fort Worth, Chicago, Kansas City, Omaha and othes large cities.

The ordinary cuts of swine are somewhat different from those of beef, as so much of the former is utilized for salt pork and bacon. The hams and shoulders are used for pickling and smoking. From the top of the back and the belly are obtained the cuts used for salt pork. "Spare ribs," "chops" and roasting pieces are obtained below the "back cut." Leaf lard is made from the kidney fat, found inside the back. The illustration (Fig. 74) shows the common method of cutting up the hog.

Although many believe that pork is a much less desirable food than other meats, it is very extensively used by all classes of people the world over. When the hogs are raised under sanitary condi

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FIG. 74.-Commercial cuts of pork. (By permission Dept. of Agric. U. of Mo.) The ordinary commercial cuts of pork are named as follows: 1, Ham; 2, bacon (spare rib, leaf lard); 3, fat of back (loin); 4, shoulder; 5, jowl, plate.

tions with good, wholesome food, there is less objection to the use of the meat than when they are fattened in filthy surroundings, and fed with brewers' slops or other refuse. Hogs are subject to comparatively few diseases, and these, such as hog-cholera, usually

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