FORM IV: SENIOR GRADE (Continued)
MEAT
As meat is rather a complex food the teaching of which involves a good
many lessons, and as it does not lend itself as well as other foods to
the making of dishes useful in practice work, it seems wise to defer the
study of it until the Senior Form is reached; the ability and home needs
of the pupils should decide this. The season of the year should also be
considered. It is wiser to take meat lessons in cold weather because it
is then more pleasant to handle and easier to keep. The latter
consideration is important in some rural districts, where shops are not
convenient.
More preparation is needed for the first meat lesson than for most
foods. Some days before, thin bones such as leg or wing bones of fowl,
or rib bones of lamb should be soaked in diluted hydrochloric or nitric
acid (one part acid to ten of water), to dissolve the mineral substance
which gives the bone its rigidity.
Any time before the lesson, a large solid bone of an old animal, such as
a knee or hip joint of beef, should be burned for hours to get rid of
the connective tissue which holds the mineral substance in shape. This
should be carefully done, in order to retain the shape of the bone and
to show the porous formation of the mineral substance. If the bone is
not blackened by the fire, its white colour will also indicate the lime
of which it is formed.
On the day of the lesson it will be necessary to have a piece of meat
showing the three parts--fat, bone, and muscle. A lower cut of the round
of beef has all these parts, and the muscle is sufficiently tough to
show its connective tissue plainly. For the study of fat, a piece of
suet is best, as it can be easily picked apart to show its formation.
In examining fat meat and lean meat it is essential that, at least,
every two pupils have a piece, as close scrutiny is necessary. One or
two samples of bone will suffice for the class.
No definite amount of work can be laid down for any one lesson. The
interest and ability of the class must be the guide. In rural schools,
the time of each lesson must be comparatively short, though no Household
Management teacher should spend more than forty minutes on purely
theoretical work without a change of some kind.
The following is an outline of the facts to be considered in this
particular study:
LESSON I
1. Names of meat:
(1) Beef, from the ox or cow. The best meat
comes from an animal about four years old.
(2) Veal, from the calf. It should be at least
six weeks old.
(3) Mutton, from the sheep. Spring lamb is from
six to eight weeks old; yearling is one year
old.
(4) Pork, from the pig.
(5) Fowl, poultry--chicken, turkey, duck,
goose.
(6) Game, wild animals--deer, wild duck,
partridge, etc.
2. Parts of meat:
(1) Fat.--(_a_) Inside fat, around the internal
organs, usually called kidney fat, or suet.
(_b_) Outside fat, next the skin, called caul
fat.
(2) Bone, (3) muscle, or lean meat.
3. Composition of fat:
(1) Connective tissue, (2) true fat, (3) water.
Fat should be the first part studied, because it is the simplest tissue
and the parts are most plainly seen. Pick the specimen apart, and the
tissue that holds it together is found. Its name is easily developed
from its use.
The water may be shown by heating pieces of fat in a small saucepan and,
when it becomes hot, covering the dish with a cold plate. Remove the
plate before it gets heated, and moisture will be condensed on its
surface. The presence of water in fat may also be reasoned out by
remembering that water enters into the composition of all body tissues.
4. Composition of bone:
(1) Mineral matter (lime), (2) connective
tissue, (3) water.
Neither the mineral substance nor the connective tissue in bone can be
seen until either one or the other is eliminated.
Strike the fresh bone with a steel knife, and it shows the quality of
hardness. Bones are built from food, and the only food substance that is
so hard is mineral matter. Show the burned bone, with only the mineral
matter left, and let each pupil examine it. Its formation indicates the
spaces which the part burned out of it occupied. Let it fall or crush
part of it in the fingers, to show how easily it is broken. Such bones
would be no use as a framework to support the body. The bones of very
old persons get too much like this, and we are afraid to have such
people fall. The burned bone needs something to hold it together--a
connective tissue. Such a tissue was in the spaces before the bone was
burned.
Show the bone after it has been prepared in an acid solution, with only
the connective tissue left. Explain how it was prepared. Bend it to show
its pliability. To be of use in the body it needs some substance to make
it hard and rigid--the mineral matter which was dissolved out.
NOTE.--This is an excellent time to show the
necessity for bone-building mineral in the diet
of babies and young children. If they do not
get this mineral substance during the growth
period, they cannot have hard, rigid bones, and
their bodies are apt to become misshapen--bow
legs, curved spines, etc. This substance is
also necessary for hard, sound teeth.
Draw attention to the fact that the mineral matter in milk and eggs is
in solution, and therefore ready to be used by the body. Mineral matter
is not in solution in bone, and cannot be dissolved by the digestive
process, therefore it is practically of no use as food.
Compare the connective tissue of bone with that of fat, and let the
pupils account for the difference in thickness. Lead them to see that
connective tissue can be dissolved in hot water, and in this way may be
extracted from the mineral part of bone. The housekeeper may do this
herself, or she may buy it already extracted, as gelatine.
5. Composition of muscle:
(1) Connective tissue
(2) Red part, made up of microscopic tubes
holding a red juice. The juice contains: (_a_)
Water (_b_) Red colour (_c_) Flavour (_d_)
Muscle albumen--a protein substance similar to
egg-white (_e_) Mineral matter.
[Illustration: Muscle fibres highly magnified
Bundle of fibres. Tubes of one fibre. Proper carving of fibres--across
the grain.]
It should be made clear that the walls of such tiny tubes can never be
thick enough to be tough. Attention should be called to the real cause
of toughness--the thick connective tissue.
NOTE.--Very small pieces of meat will serve for
specimens. Tough meat is better, because it
shows the connective tissue more plainly. When
the muscle is being examined, it should be
carefully scraped with a knife, until a layer
of connective tissue is laid bare. The red part
that is scraped off should be explained, and a
drawing should be made to illustrate it.
Minced lean beef should he soaked in a little cold water for at least
twenty minutes, to extract the muscle juice for examination. The juice
should be strained through a cheesecloth and poured into a glass. It
shows nothing but water and a red colour.
In order to find the other substances, pour part of the juice into a
small saucepan and heat it gradually until it boils gently. The red
colour will disappear, and the albumen which is dissolved in the juice
will coagulate and become plainly visible. The pupils will recall that
egg-white was affected in the same way by heat, and may be told that
this coagulated substance is similar to egg-white, and is called muscle
albumen. The odour given off by heating suggests that the flavour is
also in the muscle juice, hence the importance of conserving this juice
in the cooking process.
Strain the boiled juice to get rid of the coagulated albumen and then
examine the liquid that is left. Its colour plainly denotes mineral
matter in solution.
LESSON II
6. Meat experiments:
If time permit, the following experiments may be taken. The facts which
these experiments prove may, however, be developed in a much shorter
time by questioning:
(1) Cut lean meat into small pieces, cover them
with cold water and let them stand. Note the
colour of the water.
(2) Cover a piece of lean meat with boiling
water and let it stand. Note the colour of the
water.
(3) Sprinkle a piece of meat with salt. What
happens?
(4) Wrap a piece of meat for a few minutes in
ordinary brown wrapping-paper. What happens?
(5) Simmer a small piece of very tough meat for
about an hour and then examine the connective
tissue.
(6) Boil or bake a small piece of very tough
meat and then examine the connective tissue.
7. Selection of meat:
(1) All flesh should be uniform in colour, of a
fine grain, and firm and springy to the touch.
(2) Beef should be bright red in colour, well
mottled, and surrounded with fat.
(3) Mutton should be a dull red, and its fat
white, hard, and flaky.
(4) Lamb is lighter in colour than mutton, and
the bone is redder.
(5) Veal has pinkish-coloured flesh and white
fat. Very pale veal is not good.
(6) Pork should have firm flesh of a pale red
colour. The skin should be white and clear, the
fat white.
(7) Poultry: (_a_) Chickens.--Young chickens
have thin, sharp nails; smooth legs; soft, thin
skin; and soft cartilage at the end of the
breastbone. Long hairs denote age. (_b_)
Turkeys.--These should be plump, have smooth,
dark legs, and soft cartilage. (_c_)
Geese.--These should be plump and have many pin
feathers; they should also have pliable bills
and soft feet.
8. Care of meat:
(1) Remove the meat from the wrapping paper as
soon as it arrives, to prevent the loss of
juices. The butcher should use waxed paper next
to the meat.
(2) Wipe the meat all over with a damp cloth,
but do not put it into water.
(3) Place the meat on an earthen or enamel
dish, and set it in a cool place until
required.
(4) Frozen meat should be thawed in a warm room
before being cooked.
LESSON III
9. General ways of preparing meat:
(1) Extracting certain substances.--(_a_)
Soup--substances extracted in water from lean
meat, bone, and fat. (_b_) Beef-tea--substances
extracted in water from lean meat. (_c_)
Bouillon--substances extracted in water from
lean meat and flavoured with vegetable. (_d_)
Beef juice--juices extracted from lean meat by
heat only, or by pressure.
(2) Retaining all substances.--Roasts, boiling
pieces, steaks, chops, cutlets.
(3) Retaining part and extracting part.--Stews.
10. Notes on tough meat:
(1) The toughness of meat depends on the
thickness of the connective tissue holding the
muscle tubes together.
[Illustration: Cuts of beef
1. Neck, stews and soup. 2. Chuck ribs, cheaper roasts. 3. Prime ribs,
very good roasts. 4. Loin, best steaks or roasts (sirloin, tenderloin,
porterhouse). 5. Rump, roasts and steak. 6. Brisket, stews or corned
beef. 7. Fore shank, soup. 8. Shoulder, stews or pot-roasts. 9. Short
ribs, stews or cheap roasts. 10. Navel, corned beef. 11. Plate, stews or
corned beef. 12. Flank, stews or corned beef. 13. Round, steaks. 14. 2nd
cut round, stews and soup. 15. Hind shank, stews and soup. 16. Tail,
soup.]
[Illustration: Bony structure]
(2) The connective tissue is made thick and
tough by two causes.--(_a_) Age--in old
animals the connective tissue has grown thick.
(_b_) Exercise--in certain parts of the body,
where muscles are much used, these muscles must
be more firmly bound together, as in the neck
and legs, etc.
(3) Dry heat will harden connective tissue,
making it more difficult to cut and chew;
therefore tough cuts should not be cooked in
dry heat.
(4) Moist heat will soften and finally dissolve
connective tissue, making it easy to cut and
chew; therefore tough cuts should be cooked in
moist heat.
(5) Tough meat is more abundant in an animal's
body, and is, therefore, cheaper than tender
meat.
(6) Tough meat has richer juices than tender
meat and should be used for soup, broth, and
beef-tea.
11. Digestibility of meat:
(1) The less muscle juice is coagulated by
heat, the more easily it is digested.
(2) Because of their close texture, the liver,
kidney, and heart of animals are more difficult
to digest.
(3) Mutton and lamb, because of their shorter
fibres, are more easily digested than beef.
(4) Veal is difficult to digest, owing to its
stringy fibres.
[Illustration: Cuts of veal]
[Illustration: Cuts of lamb]
(5) Pork has a large amount of fat intermingled
with its fibres, and is, therefore, difficult
to digest.
(6) Chicken and turkey are easily digested, but
goose and duck are indigestible, because of the
fat through the muscle fibres.
(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.
The gelatine practice dishes are sure to prove attractive to the class,
and the common use of this food in sickness, and in salads and desserts,
makes it important that its food value be understood.
1. Source of gelatine:
Gelatine is obtained from the bones, cartilage, and skin of animals. It
is the connective tissue dissolved out of these parts.
The housekeeper may obtain it for herself or she may buy it already
extracted; both are equally good.
2. Commercial forms:
(1) Sheet gelatine
(2) Shredded gelatine
(3) Granulated gelatine.
3. Properties of gelatine:
(1) It softens in cold water, but will not
dissolve.
(2) It dissolves in hot water.
(3) It jellies when cold, if the solution be
sufficiently strong.
(4) Good gelatine has little taste, colour, or
odour, and no sediment when dissolved.
4. Steps in dissolving gelatine:
(1) Put a small amount of cold water or any
cold liquid on gelatine, and let it stand until
the liquid is absorbed.
(2) Add a boiling liquid and stir thoroughly
until dissolved.
5. Value in the diet:
(1) Gelatine is a nitrogenous substance, but
cannot of itself build tissues, as most protein
foods do. When eaten, it will save the tissues
already making up the body, hence is called a
_protein-sparer_.
(2) It is very easily digested, and for this
reason it gives a pleasant variety to the diet
of an invalid.
(3) It makes an attractive dessert at the end
of a substantial meal, without adding much
nutriment.
6. Ways of using gelatine:
(1) It may assist in making soup.
(2) Any liquid may be used to dissolve this
substance to make a plain jelly. Examples:
coffee jelly, tomato jelly, wine jelly.
(3) Plain jelly may be varied as follows:
Allow the plain jelly mixture to cool until it
is as thick as cream, and then beat in whipped
egg-white, or fruit, or chopped vegetables, and
set away until firm. Examples: snow pudding,
orange charlotte, vegetable salad.
(4) Strain off the juice from a can of fruit,
heat it, and use it for dissolving the
gelatine. When almost set, add the fruit, and
set away to become firm.
FROZEN DISHES
A lesson on frozen dishes may be taken at any time, but it seems
specially opportune after the gelatine lesson. It may be impossible to
make these dishes in school, but the facts of the lesson may be
discussed and recipes furnished, after which a Form IV pupil should find
no difficulty in carrying out these recipes at home.
Elementary science should be correlated, to explain the use of salt in
the freezing process.
VALUE OF FROZEN DISHES
1. They are cooling, refreshing, and nourishing when properly taken;
they are not good as a final course at a meal, as cold mixtures reduce
the temperature of the stomach and thus retard digestion.
2. They are appetizing in appearance and flavour.
3. They are economical as regards cost of ingredients, fuel, time, and
energy.
KINDS OF FROZEN DISHES
1. Water ice.--Fruit juice diluted with water, sweetened and frozen;
stirred about every five minutes while freezing.
2. Frappé.--Water ice frozen to the consistency of mush; in freezing,
equal parts of ice and salt are used to make the mixture granular.
3. Sherbet.--Water ice to which is added a small quantity of dissolved
gelatine or beaten egg-white; stirred constantly while freezing.
4. Ice cream.--Thin cream, sweetened, flavoured, and frozen; stirred
constantly while freezing.
5. Plain ice cream.--Same as ice cream with custard added.
6. Mousse.--Thick cream, beaten until stiff, sweetened, flavoured,
placed in a mould, packed in ice and salt (two parts ice to one part
salt), and allowed to stand three hours. A small quantity of dissolved
gelatine may be added to the mixture.
PRACTICAL WORK
1. Freezing:
(1) Scald the can and dasher and cool just
before using.
(2) See that all parts of the freezer are
properly adjusted.
(3) Empty the mixture into the can; never fill
the can more than three-quarters full, to allow
for expansion when freezing.
(4) Prepare ice by chipping finely or by
crushing in a canvas bag by means of a mallet.
(5) Allow three measures of ice to one of
coarse rock salt and pack this mixture solidly
around the can.
(6) Turn the crank slowly and steadily until
the mixture begins to freeze, then turn more
rapidly until frozen.
(7) Add more ice and salt as needed, but do not
draw off the salt water except to keep it from
getting inside the can.
2. Packing:
(1) When the mixture is frozen, draw off the
water, remove the dasher, and pack the contents
of the can down solidly with a spoon.
(2) Replace the cover, using a cork for the
opening, then repack in ice and salt (four
parts ice to one part salt).
(3) Cover with newspapers, blanket, or carpet,
and let it stand for at least one hour before
serving.
2. Moulding:
(1) Wet the mould and pack the frozen mixture
in solidly.
(2) Place the cover on the mould and bind
strips of greased cotton or waxed paper around
all the crevices.
(3) Imbed the mould in ice and salt (four parts
ice to one part salt).
(4) Wrap a cloth wrung from hot water around
the mould for an instant, before removing the
mixture.
PLANNING AND PREPARATION OF MEALS
The food work of the previous Forms, from constant reference and use,
should be so well known that it may be reviewed in one lesson, under the
following heads:
1. Uses of food
2. Necessary substances in food
3. Composition of the common foods--milk, eggs, meat, vegetables, fruit,
seeds
4. General sources of each food substance.
After the review, the class may be asked to prepare menus for one day's
meals, keeping in mind the following:
1. Daily balance of food substances
2. Appetizing appearance and flavour of the food
3. Economy of time, labour, and money in providing the food.
The preparation of menus may be continued, even while other work is
being studied, until the teacher feels satisfied with the ability of the
class to prepare menus intelligently.
The planning of menus should, if time permit, be extended to actual
practice in preparing and serving the meals called for by some of the
menus. In this Form there should be a limit set to the number of people
served and the cost of the food.
Since breakfast and luncheon were prepared in the Junior Form, a dinner
should be taken in this. The entire responsibility of the meal should be
given to the pupils, each being appointed to perform definite duties.
The teacher may advise while the class is planning the work, but not
assist while it is being carried out.
Each member of the class may be asked to prepare a menu to suit the
special conditions which have been made as to number and cost. These may
be planned at home and brought to the teacher for criticism. At the
first lesson, three or four of the best may be written on the
black-hoard for comparison and choice.
When the selection is made, members of the class should be chosen for
the following duties: (1) marketing, (2) preparation of food, (3) laying
the table, (4) serving, (5) representing members of the family to eat
the meal.
NOTE.--To prevent any suspicion of favouritism,
the duties may be written on slips of paper and
the pupils allowed to draw these.
At the second lesson the meal will be prepared, served, and eaten. In
schools lacking an equipment, the meal may be planned and selected in
the same way as above, but the entire responsibility of carrying it out
must rest on one pupil, as it will be necessary for each to prepare and
serve it in her own home.