Foods and Household Management Part 35

Make your own recipe for liver or kidney stew.

The _heart_ does not contain waste products. Why is it tough? What process would you select to make it tender? Even when softened, it would not be attractive or very palatable without further treatment. It is hollow, somewhat as the chicken is before roasting. Look over the recipes and flavors suitable to meat and see if you cannot make your own for Baked Heart.

_Sweetbreads_, the pancreas, are highly prized on account of their delicacy, and are costly. They may be broiled, or served in sauce in pastry cases or in patties.

_Calf's head and brain._--The brain is sometimes used as subst.i.tute for sweetbreads. From the meat and bones of the head soup and stew may be made.

EXERCISES

1. From what animals are meats derived?

2. What are the chief values of meat?

3. Why should its use be limited?

4. What actual dangers may arise from its use?

5. What precautions must be exercised by the government, inspector and the housekeeper?

6. We are told that chicken pie should have the crust p.r.i.c.ked or lifted when it comes from the oven. Is this reasonable?

7. How may you judge good meats in the market?

8. Why is the neck of beef tough? For what would you use it?

9. Why is porterhouse steak tender? Why is it not used in a stew? (It would make a delicious stew.)

10. What cuts would you select for stewing and braising?

11. Make a list of the cuts of beef and mutton and lamb, pork, etc., in your notebook, with the best methods of cookery for each.

12. Add to this list the current prices of each in your locality.

13. What is the size and cost of a 100-Calorie portion of beef round?

14. With this in mind, calculate how much round steak you would buy for dinner for five people. How much porterhouse?

15. Explain the structure of the muscle.

16. What takes place when meat is seared? When is this process used?

17. Explain the principle of soup making. Devise an experiment to show the effect of salt upon the pieces of meat. What is the nutritive value of soup meat?

18. Explain the principle of stewing meats.

19. What is the difference between broiling and pan broiling?

20. What are some of the best ways of utilizing left over meat and poultry?

21. Which is more economical, croquettes or an escalloped dish? Explain fully.

22. How may you distinguish poultry in good condition from that too long in cold storage?

23. Why is good poultry not a cheap food?

24. Discuss making soup _versus_ buying canned soup.

25. What are the advantages of canned meat? The possible disadvantages?

CHAPTER XIV

FISH, Sh.e.l.lFISH, AND OTHER MEAT SUBSt.i.tUTES

Fish and sh.e.l.lfish are valuable a.s.sets as food, so much so that the government has a Bureau of Fisheries, and has established stations at intervals on the coast and on inland lakes for the study and production of those foods that come from salt and fresh water. We have used these products of the waters as if the supply were limitless, forgetting that fish and sh.e.l.lfish are living creatures with habits that we cannot ignore without working havoc to the species. Young salmon and shad are hatched in the upper reaches of the rivers, and if we insist on trapping the mature fish at the river mouth on their northern migrations, the number of young decreases, and salmon and shad become high-priced foods. To ignore fishery and game laws is an ignorant and dishonest proceeding, with far-reaching economic results.

=Varieties of fish.=--In Bulletin No. 28 of the Office of Experiment Stations, United States Department of Agriculture, forty-four different fish are listed, all used as food. A visit to the fish stall in the market of a seaboard city will acquaint you with many interesting species. Fresh and salt water fish differ in flavor, and there is a difference to be detected between fish from running, or from lake water, brook trout, for instance, having a superior flavor. The food supply also influences the flavor, and both fresh and salt water fish have a better flavor when taken from sandy and rocky bottoms rather than muddy. The habit of the fish also has an effect on the quality and taste. The chequit, for instance, is so sluggish and easy to catch that it is sometimes called "lazy" or "weakfish," and it is watery and poor flavored compared with the shad, a fish of more vigorous habits. The amount of fat also causes a difference in flavor, such high flavored fish as salmon and shad containing much fat.

The distinctive flavors of mackerel and herring are apparently not due to fat, since their fat content is not particularly high. Among the most common and best liked fish are ba.s.s, blackfish, bluefish, cod, flounder, haddock, halibut, herring, mackerel, porgy (sometimes called scup or scuppaug), salmon, shad, smelt, weakfish, whitefish. Brook trout and salmon trout are luxuries.

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 65.--Composition of fish.]

=Composition and nutritive value.=--Figure 65 shows the composition of several kinds. Compare their composition with that of meat. The nutritive content is high, yet fish seems a lighter and less satisfying food than meat, although on the seaboard of some countries it is the chief animal food. The digestibility of fish and meat are about equal, but some varieties of fish are less digestible than others, this being true of the oily and strong-flavored fish,--herring, mackerel, salmon, and shad.

There are popular prejudices for and against fish that are not warranted.

The idea that fish is a "brain food" because it contains phosphorus was exploded long since, for fish contains no more phosphorus than some other foods, and phosphorus is no more valuable to the brain than to the other tissues.

Fish, however, is valuable in the dietary for supplying protein and giving variety, and in season, it is one of the cheaper foods.

=Quality of fish.=--Fish deteriorates and decomposes much more rapidly than meat, and is at its best when cleaned and cooked just after being caught. Ice will preserve fish for a short time only. If ever on a camping trip you have eaten bluefish caught in the surf, or trout from the brook, cooked immediately, you know what flavor a fish may have. Fish should be killed immediately, and put on ice if they are not to be cooked at once.

If there is no ice, clean the fish, sprinkle the flesh with pepper and salt, wrap in a wet cloth, and set in a breeze or draught.

When fish are transported over long distances they should be packed in ice in refrigerator cars, and you will notice that the fishman in the shop keeps the fish on ice until he sells them.

In selecting fish, see that the flesh feels firm and that the eyes are still bright. If you have a keen sense of smell, this will also guide you, although to the novice the odor of fish may be disagreeable even if untainted.

Fish in season and caught plentifully near by, are of good quality and should be cheap. Shad and salmon have their season in the spring, bluefish come north in the summer, sometimes as late as August, porgies are a summer and autumn fish, and smelt are abundant in the winter. Deep-sea fish like cod and halibut have a long season, and may be bought at any time.

GENERAL METHODS AND RECIPES

The _scaling_ and _cleaning_ of fish are important first steps. In the city this may be done for you at the market, but sometimes on fis.h.i.+ng expeditions when you are not a successful fisher you may make yourself useful by cleaning the fish. Clean the fish on a large piece of paper. Use a sharp strong knife, and rub off the scales from the tail to the head. To skin a fish well, you should first watch an expert. Cut through the skin of the back and abdomen, loosen it at the tail and pull it off. Remove the head, open the abdomen, and take out the entrails. Burn the paper on which the fish has been cleaned. Fish is boned by slitting the flesh down the back, and patiently separating the flesh from the side bones, and finally pulling out the spine and attached bones. The strong odor of fish clings to everything the fish touches. Wash the fish, the knife, and your own hands in cold water and salt. Always pour the water in which fish is washed or cooked down the sink at once, pour in some salt, and flush the trap with cold water. The utensils, and dishes in which fish is served, need very careful was.h.i.+ng in several waters.

The _connective tissue_ of fish softens and dissolves more readily than does that of meat. Fish varies in the dryness of the flesh, but there is no such thing as tough fish, and the texture of the muscles is about the same in all parts of the fish, although there is a difference in flavor in the dark and white flesh when these both occur. On account of this characteristic of the connective tissue the fish "falls apart" and our aim must be to prevent this.