| Liebig’s Company. | Tooth, Sydney. | French Company, South America. | Whitehead. | Twentyman. | ||
| Water | 18·56 | 16·00 | 17·06 | 16·50 | 24·49 | 20·81 |
| Extractive, soluble in alcohol | 45·43 | 53·00 | 51·28 | 28·00 | 22·08 | 13·37 |
| Extractive, insoluble | 13·93 | 13·00 | 10·57 | 46·00 | 44·47 | 59·10 |
| Mineral matter | 22·08 | 18·00 | 21·09 | 9·50 | 8·96 | 6·72 |
| 100·00 | 100·00 | 100·00 | 100·00 | 100·00 | 100·00 | |
The following are the characteristics of extract of meat of good quality. It should always have an acid reaction, its colour should be a pale yellowish brown, and it should have an agreeable meat-like odour and taste. It should be entirely soluble in cold water, and should be free from albumen, fat, and gelatin.
Meat Pie. Stew 2 lbs. of beef steak with one small onion, the gravy from which is to be thickened with flour, and flavoured with pepper and salt. Put it into a baking dish, and cover with a lard crust. It should be baked for one hour. The addition of two kidneys will greatly improve the pie.
Meat (Australian) Pie. Take 2 lbs. of Australian meat, or 11⁄2 lb. of meat and 1⁄2 lb. of kidney. Season to taste, pour in a little water, cover with a lard crust, and bake not more than half an hour.
MEAT PRESERVING. “The Belgian Musée de l’Industrie notes the following methods of preserving meats as the most deserving of attention amongst those communicated to the French Academy of Sciences, and published in the Comptes Rendus. 1. M. Bundet’s method, by which the meat is kept in water acidulated with carbolic acid in the proportion of 1 to 5 parts of acid per 1000 of water. A series of experiments proved that all kinds of meat could thus be kept fresh for lengthened periods, without acquiring an ill taste or odour.
“The meat may be placed in barrels or air-tight tin cases, filled with acidulated water of the strength above specified, and headed up; or the pieces may be packed in barrels or cases in alternate layers with charcoal, pounded small, and saturated with water containing 5⁄1000 of carbolic acid. The charcoal serves as a vehicle for the antiseptic fluid, and as an absorbent of any gaseous matters given off by
the meat. The latter should be wrapped in thin linen covers to prevent the charcoal working its way into the tissues.
“This method, it is suggested, might be employed in curing pork in place of ‘salting,’ or of the more lengthy and costly process of ‘smoking,’ and also for the preservation of poultry, game, butter, eggs, &c.
“2. In the case of South American meat M. Baudet proposes the use of large sacks of caoutchouc. The meat should be packed in them, with alternate layers of charcoal as above described, and each sack, when filled, should be hermetically closed by drawing another empty caoutchouc sack, cap-wise, over it. The caoutchouc, it is supposed, would fetch enough in the market—its low price notwithstanding—to cover expenses of packing and freight, and so permit the meat to be sold in Europe at a very small advance on cost price. If intended for use a second time, the empty bags should be steeped in boiling water for a few minutes, to remove any organic impurities adhering to them.
“3. M. Gorge’s method, which is in use in La Plata, consists in washing and drying the meat, and afterwards steeping in successive waters containing hydrochloric acid and sulphite of soda, and then packing it in air-tight cases holding 1, 5, or 10 kilog. each. Meat thus treated requires to be soaked in warm water for about half an hour before use.