Hermann Krätzer

“ A well-known process of securing meat, vegetables, etc., against decay is by canning, which consists in heating the substances so as to drive out the air, and sealing them up while still hot in air-tight vessels. ”

“ The old-fashioned way of packing meat in salt and saltpeter is bad, because it takes all the juices from the meats. It is preferable to prepare a brine by heating a kilogramme of salt, 160 grammes of white sugar, and 80 grammes of saltpeter in six litres of water over a gentle fire, and pour the mixture, after it has been cooled, over the meat.
Fruits, cucumbers, and meat, may be preserved for a long time with vinegar, by processes which are too well known to require a close description. Meat is not generally preserved by the direct action of vinegar, but by the vapors of acetic acid. ”

“ THE protein constituents of our animal and vegetable foods, such as albumen, etc., render them in a high degree sensitive to external influences and easily susceptible to decay. For this reason attention has for a considerable time been given to the search for methods of preserving them as long as possible unchanged. ”

“ Meat is dried, by the processes of Endemann and others, into a very nourishing food. By Endemann's method, the meat, cut into slices, is placed in a chamber heated to a temperature of about 140°, in which a current of air of the same temperature is kept constantly circulating. If the ventilation is sufficiently active the meat will be dry enough in three hours to be ground up in a mill. The powder, which has a faint smell of roast meat, is very good, and can be used in the preparation of soups and broths. ”

“ By another English patented process the meat is soaked during from twenty-four to thirty-six hours in a solution of 150 grammes of boric acid, 300 grammes of borax, 155 grammes of common salt, and 53 grammes of saltpeter, which had been previously dissolved in two litres of water, after which it is packed in casks. A practicable method of preparing meat for long transportation is to expose it to a current of refrigerated air till it is stiffened, then sprinkle powdered borax upon it, and put it in a refrigerator-car. ”