Pork fat

“ Beef suet drippings, for reheating meats or for frying or shortening purposes, take the place of lard and are much more economical.
Pork fat, left from roast, chops or ham, can be used in the same manner.
Mutton drippings need no longer be set aside, since the housewife has learned how to sweeten them.
Smoky kitchens indicate the improper use of fat in cooking. Too high a temperature causes a chemical change to take place which results in smoke and disagreeable odor, and also renders the fat less digestible.
Put cold fat into a cold pan before placing it over the heat. ”

“ In salt pork there is from 60 to 85 per cent of fat, and less protein than in bacon. The protein and fat of pork differ from those in beef not only in percentage amounts, but also in the nature of the individual proteins and fats. The composition of pork varies with the nature of the food that is consumed by the animal. Experiments show that it is possible by judicious feeding in the early stages of growth to produce pork with the maximum of lean meat and the minimum of fat. ”

“ It is really nothing more than the old farmhouse proceeding of ‘rendering’ lard, by frying the membranous fat until the membranous matter is browned and aggregated into small nodules, which constitute the ‘scratchings’—a delicacy greatly relished by our British ploughboys at pig-killing time, but rather too rich in pork-fat to supply a suitable meal for people of sedentary vocations. ”

“ In a hundred parts of the meat, only nine of nitrogen are found, fat being forty-eight and water thirty-nine, with but two of salty matters. Bacon properly cured is much more digestible than pork, the smoke giving it certain qualities not existing in uncured pork. No food has yet been found which can take its place for army and navy use or in pioneering. Beef when salted or smoked loses much of its virtue, and eight ounces of fat pork will give nearly three times as much carbon or heat-food as the same amount of beef ”

“ Cook your pork until it is crisp and brown, by a good, steady fire, or in boiling water, at least twenty minutes to each pound. Pork eaten in cold weather, or moderately in summer, alternately with other meats, is a palatable and nutritious food. It has a hard fibre, and needs to be thoroughly chewed in order to be perfectly digested; for that reason it should be sparingly used by the young and the very old. The least fat is found in the leg, which contains an excess of flesh-forming elements, and resembles lean beef in composition; the most fat is in the face and belly. ”

“ Pork is not so digestible as beef or mutton, partly because of the large proportion of fat, and partly because its fibres are hard and difficult to masticate. Its digestibility varies greatly with its age, breeding, and proportion of fat.
The Flesh of Birds contains very little fat, and that found separate from the meat is rarely nice. ”

“ How few people can eat this meat with impunity! but they might do so if the animal had been properly fed.
It is a great mistake to make pork so fat as it usually is: it is not only great waste, but deters many persons from partaking of it. ”

“ Pork-fat (lard) , when used alone, reaches 392° F. without burning. Very pure goose dripping withstands 428° F.; and, finally, vegetable fats may reach, without burning, 482° F. in the case of cocoa-nut butter, 518° F. with ordinary oils, and 554° in the case of olive oil.
The temperature of ordinary frying fat may be tested thus: it is moderately hot when, after throwing a sprig of parsley or a crust of bread into it, it begins to bubble immediately; it is hot if it crackles when a slightly moist object is thrust into it ”

“ Chop finely or force through meat chopper, then add one-half pound fat salt pork (also finely chopped) , six common crackers (rolled) , four tablespoons cream, two tablespoons lemon juice, one tablespoon salt, one-half tablespoon pepper, and a few drops onion juice. Pack in a small bread pan, smooth evenly on top, brush with white of egg, and bake slowly three hours, basting with one-fourth cup pork fat. Prick frequently while baking, that pork fat may be absorbed by meat. Cool, remove from pan, and cut in thin slices for serving. ”

“ A generation ago it was the custom to kill pigs about two years old, at enormous weights, after the flesh had become coarse. The method of curing left the lean portion gorged with salt, hard, indigestible and uninviting: then it was an advantage to have a large proportion of fat to lean. Now, however, the system of mild-curing renders the flesh sweet and juicy, and all efforts are directed towards the production of as great a proportion of lean to fat as possible. The large increase of the consumption of fresh pork has also encouraged the demand for young lean bacon ”

“ An important point is to feed a proper proportion of flesh-forming ration rather than one which will serve to develop fat at the expense of lean. The proper proportion of these will best subserve the interest of the farmer, whether he is finishing off swine for family use or for supplying the market with home cured bacon. A diet composed largely of protein (albuminoids) results in an increased proportion of lean meat in the carcass. On the other hand, a ration made up chiefly of feeds which are high in starchy elements, known as carbohydrates, yields very largely in fat (lard) . ”

“ The amount of fat in meats, however, is more important; and depends largely upon how well the animal has been fed. There is usually the least amount of fat in mutton, more in {29}beef, and by far the greatest amount in pork. This fat adds to the fuel value of meat, but makes it a little slower of digestion; and its presence in large amounts in pork, together with the fact that it lies, not only in layers and streaks, but also mixed in between the fibres of the lean as well has caused this meat to be regarded as richer and more difficult of digestion than either beef or mutton. ”

“ Stand aside to become cold and solid. The boiling process prevents the peculiar taste which fried lard and suet usually possess. Treat the pork fat in a similar manner. Allow the suet and pork fat to stand until the following morning, when remove the solid fat from the boiler of water, wipe off all moisture and add both pork fat and suet fat to the melted butter, which had been prepared in the following manner: The butter was melted in a porcelain lined boiler and allowed to cook until all salt and other foreign substance had settled and the butter had the appearance of clear oil. ”

“ In the percentage of fat present in different kinds and cuts of meat, a greater difference exists than in the percentage of proteids. The lowest percentage of fat is 8.1 per cent. in the shank of beef; the highest is 32 per cent. in pork chops. The highest priced cuts, loin and ribs of beef, contain 20 to 25 per cent. If the fat of the meat is not eaten at the table, and is not utilized otherwise, a pecuniary loss results. If butter is the fat used in making crusts for meat pies, and in preparing the cheaper cuts, there is little economy involved ”

“ Pork especially, and other meats are so exceedingly fat in the tropics that they would be most disgusting or even impossible to eat with either bread or potatoes, but the plaintain seems to neutralize or absorb all the greasy substance, and the fattest meat is thus eaten by natives and foreigners without the least inconvenience. ”

“ Pork contains the largest percentage of fat of any meat. When eaten fresh it is the most difficult of digestion, and although found in market through the entire year, it should be but seldom served, and then only during the winter months. By curing, salting, and smoking, pork is rendered more wholesome. Bacon, next to butter and cream, is the most easily assimilated of all fatty foods.
Pork Chops Wipe chops, sprinkle with salt and pepper, place in a hot frying-pan, and cook slowly until tender, and well browned on each side. ”

“ Our chief sources of fat supply are cream and butter, vegetable oils, nuts and the flesh of animals. Most meats, especially when mature, contain considerable fat. When the fat is mixed in with the meat, it is more difficult to digest than the lean flesh. Fresh fish, most of which contains very little fat, is digested very easily, while the fattest of all flesh, pork, is tedious of digestion.
There is an instinctive craving for fat with foods that contain little or none of it. That is why we use butter with cereals and lean fish, and oil dressings on vegetables. ”

“ The fat should be nearly in equal proportion to the lean, but of course this matter must be arranged to suit the taste of those who will eat the sausages. If young pork is used, remove the skin as thinly as you can—it is useful for various purposes—and then with a sharp knife cut all the flesh from the bones, take away all sinew and gristle, and cut the fat and lean into strips. ”

“ The fat in the bread itself, estimated at one per cent, which is probably above the average, was reckoned in its equivalent of starch, and the ratio of nitrogenous and non-nitrogenous constituents was then found to be 1 to 6·8. Of the animals fattened for the butcher's use, the fat calf, only, gives a smaller proportion of non-nitrogenous constituents than the bread; the fat ox has nearly the same, and the other animals very much more. The averages also show that beef, mutton, and pork, on the whole, are not deficient in carbo-hydrates or non-nitrogenous nutritive constituents. ”

“ A little clarified butter or salad oil may be brushed over the skin quite at first, particularly should the meat not be very fat, but unless remarkably lean, it will speedily yield sufficient dripping to baste it with. Joints from which the fat has been pared, will require of course far less roasting than those on which the crackling is retained. Brown gravy, and apple or tomata sauce, are the usual accompaniments to all roasts of pork except a sucking pig; they should always be thoroughly cooked. ”

“ The age of the animal from which pork is cut can be determined by the thickness of the skin; the older the animal, the thicker the skin. To be of the best kind, pork should have pink, not red, flesh composed of fine-grained tissues, and its fat, which, in a well-fattened animal, equals about one-eighth of the entire weight, should be white and firm. Although all cuts of pork contain some fat, the proportion should not be too great, or the pieces will not contain as much lean as they should. ”

“ After they are cleaned, Aleck rolls them in corn-meal and lays them carefully in the frying-pan, which is already on the stove, and in which a small quantity of cotton-seed oil is sizzling merrily. If you should have no oil, pork fat will do nearly as well, only have it boiling hot before placing the fish in it. ”

“ I suppose that there is no kind of meat which is consumed so generally or in such large quantity as pork; yet, according to the chemical and physiological data, the conversion of Indian corn into pork, at the rate of one thousand pounds of corn to two hundred pounds of pork, results in a waste of practically all the protein and nearly all the starch, and gives a residuum of fat of which most people get too much in the other kinds of food which they consume. ”

“ Also, as a large part of the surface of a pork roast, especially one cut from the shoulder, loin, or ribs, is covered with a layer of fat, pork does not have to be seared to prevent the loss of juice, nor does it have to be put into such a hot oven as that required for beef. In fact, if the temperature of the oven is very high, the outside will finish cooking before the heat has had a chance to penetrate sufficiently to cook the center. While this makes no difference with meat that does not need to be thoroughly cooked, it is a decided disadvantage in the case of pork. ”

“ Heads are soused, and cooked by boiling. The flank, which lies just below the ribs, is salted and smoked, and furnishes bacon. The best pieces of fat salt pork come from the back, on either side of backbone.
Fat, when separated from flesh and membrane, is tried out and called lard. Leaf lard is the best, and is tried out from the leaf shaped pieces of solid fat which lie inside the flank. Sausages are trimmings of lean and fat meat, minced, highly seasoned, and forced into thin casings made of the prepared entrails. Little pigs (four weeks old) are sometimes killed ”

“ Every day we see exemplified the truth of the proverb, that "one man's meat is another man's poison." There are persons who relish and readily digest fat pork, and yet they cannot eat a single egg with impunity; others enjoy and easily assimilate eggs, but their stomachs cannot tolerate a particle of fat bacon.
It is not merely the composition of an aliment and its adaptability to the organism which determine its nutritive value—its digestibility and flavor are points which affect it. There are few people in these countries who are disposed to quarrel with beef ”

“ When pork is roasted, peas should be used in preference to boiled barley, and the soup will be very superior in flavour to any that is made with the bones of meat, or combined with bacon. Fat pork is eaten daily in large quantities, in most of the counties of England; and in some parts, hog's lard is spread on bread instead of butter, besides the abundance of lard that is used by all ranks of people, in puddings, cakes, and pasties. Fat enters so much into the composition of our diet, that we could scarcely subsist without it ”