Page:Foods and their adulteration; origin, manufacture, and composition of food products; description of common adulterations, food standards, and national food laws and regulations (IA foodstheiradulte02wile).pdf/60

 necessary in order to preserve the meat from decay. By reason of the change in its physical appearance, however, which makes it less attractive, this method is not likely to come into general use in the ordinary preservation of meat.

Dried beef is also prepared by preserving the meat by condimental substances and, instead of placing it in brine, drying it artificially. Chipped or dried beef is a common article of commerce and is prepared in the manner described above. This meat, however, has already been treated with condimental substances, and hence the drying is only one of the means of preservation. Dried or chipped meats are often smoked also as well as desiccated, so that in their preparation more than one method of preservation is employed.

Pickled Meats.—The method of preserving meats in a liquid environment is sometimes called pickling. All kinds of meat are pickled in this way, but pork especially. The pickling brine may be simply made of common salt, though other substances, such as sugar, vinegar, and spices, are used. The brine also sometimes contains a chemical preservative which is highly objectionable on the general ground of the harmfulness of these substances. The preservative commonly used is either sulfite of soda or boric acid. The making of a pickled meat of this kind should be discouraged. The vinegar which is employed or acetic acid may be injected into the carcass before it is cut up. When the arteries or veins are filled with vinegar in this way it rapidly permeates to all parts of the meat and acts as an excellent and unobjectionable preservative in all cases where an acid taste is desired. It is claimed that carcasses which have been injected with vinegar in this way are easily preserved, and require far less salt and other condimental substances than when not so treated. As vinegar is a condimental substance used everywhere, and one which promotes digestion when used in proper quantities, the preservation of meats or the pickling of meats by a previous injection of vinegar is not objectionable.

COMPOSITION OF THE FLESH OF PIGS.

Extensive investigation of the composition of the flesh of pigs has been made in the Bureau of Chemistry (Bulletin 53). The pigs upon which these examinations were made were specially bred and fattened at the Agricultural Experiment Station of Iowa, and were prepared for the market by the most approved modern style of feeding. They were slaughtered according to the approved method and immediately, after proper preparation, the carcasses were placed in cold storage, where they were kept until removal for the purpose of dissection and preparation of the samples for analyses. Expert butchers from Washington were secured for the dissecting and dressing of the pigs in the manner in which it would be done for the best market. The pigs were of different varieties, namely, Berkshire, No. 1; Tamworth, No. 2; Chester White, No. 3; Poland China, No. 4; Duroc Jersey, No. 5, No. 6, No. 7; Yorkshire, No. 8.