(7) Game is easy of digestion.
The practical work, besides the experiments, in connection with the meat lessons, should consist of at least three preparations of this food: (1) the cooking of tender meat, (2) the cooking of tough meat, (3) the making of soup.
[Illustration: Cuts of pork]
The object of each preparation should be made plain, so that the pupils may fully understand what they are trying to accomplish.
1. Object in cooking tender meat:
(1) To change the flavour and appearance.
(2) To seal the tubes to keep in the juices.
(3) To cook the meat without densely coagulating the protein of the muscle juice, so as to keep it digestible.
2. Object in cooking tough meat:
(1) To change the flavour and appearance.
(2) To soften and partially dissolve the connective tissue, making it easy to cut.
(3) To avoid making the muscle juice indigestible.
3. Object in making soup:
(1) To extract the connective tissue from the bone.
(2) To extract the muscle juice from the tubes.
GENERAL RULES FOR COOKING MEAT
1. Baking:
Place the meat in a very hot oven with pieces of the fat or some dripping in the pan. Baste every ten minutes. Keep the oven very hot for a small roast. For a large roast, check the fire after the first fifteen minutes. Bake fifteen minutes to each pound.
2. Broiling:
(1) Over the coals.--Put the meat between the hot greased wires of a broiler. Place over a very hot, clear fire. Turn the broiler every ten seconds. Beef one inch thick cooks rare in eight minutes.
(2) Pan Broiling.--Heat a frying-pan smoking hot. Lay the meat in flat; turn constantly until seared, then frequently, as in broiling, but do not pierce the muscle part with a fork.
Beef one inch thick cooks rare in ten minutes.
3. Boiling:
Cover the meat with boiling water. Boil five minutes. Then simmer until done. Tender meat takes twenty minutes to the pound; tough meat takes from three to five hours.
4. Stewing:
Cut the meat in pieces of a suitable size.
Cover with cold water. Bring gradually to the simmering point and simmer until tender, usually three or four hours. Keep the pot closely covered.
5. Beef juice: Take one pound of steak from the top of the round. Wipe the steak, remove all fat, and cut the lean meat in small pieces.
Place in canning jar, and cover; place on a rest in the kettle and surround with cold water. Allow the water to heat slowly, care being taken not to have it reach a higher temperature than 130 degrees. Let stand two hours; strain and press the meat to obtain all the juices. Salt to taste.
NOTE.--These rules may be dictated to the class, as all of the principles which they involve have been previously discussed.
FISH
Since fish is the flesh of sea animals, there will be little new to learn concerning it.
Main points of difference between this flesh and ordinary meat are:
1. Fish is less stimulating and nourishing than meat, as it contains more water and less protein than an equal quantity of lean meat.
2. Oysters, and the class called white-fish, are more easily digested than meat, hence they should be chosen for invalids or those having weak digestions.
Kinds of fish:
1. White-fish.--The fat is stored mostly in the liver, making the flesh easy to digest. Examples: cod, halibut, haddock, white-fish.
2. Oily fish.--The fat is distributed throughout the flesh, making it more difficult to digest. Examples: salmon, herring, mackerel.
3. Shell-fish.--Because of their close fibres, these are difficult to digest, with the exception of oysters. Examples: clams, scallops, and oysters.
4. Crustaceous.--The flesh is tough and hard to digest. Examples: lobsters, crabs.
Selection of fish:
Fresh fish may be recognized by the following:
1. The eyes should be full and bright.
2. The flesh should be firm and elastic.
3. The gills should be bright red.
4. There should be no unpleasant odour.
Cooking of fish:
Fish may be cooked in any way similar to meat. As the flesh of fish contains food substances which are very easily dissolved in water, boiling is not a good method of cooking to choose for this food.
Steaming, baking, and frying are more suitable.
GELATINE
A lesson on gelatine naturally follows the lessons on meat and fish. The study of bone and the making of soup have explained the source of this substance, and only a few additional facts are necessary.