Lamb chops
or mutton chops are the short ribs with attached flesh of lamb or young sheep. They are considered to be the most desirable part of the young sheep or lamb for edible purposes. The average composition of the edible portion of a number of samples of lamb chops is given in the following table:
| Water, | 63.98 | percent |
| Solids, | 36.02 | „ |
| Nitrogen, | 4.35 | „ |
| Phosphoric acid, | .61 | „ |
| Sulfur, | .24 | „ |
| Fat, | 7.09 | „ |
| Ash, | 1.49 | „ |
| Protein, | 27.18 | „ |
Roast lamb, as shown by the above data, has less water, more fat, and more protein than lamb chops.
Preservation of Fresh Meats.
—After delivery the meats are at once consigned to refrigerator departments in the markets, where they are preserved until they pass into the consumer’s hands. Thus, a properly fattened, properly slaughtered, and properly dressed piece of fresh meat may be brought into the consumer’s hands in a manner at once unobjectionable and at the same time one which secures it admirably from contamination of any kind. So perfect are these means of transportation that fresh meat may be sent not only from city to city but across the sea, and reach the consumer as near perfection as human ingenuity can devise.
Length of Storage.
—The question of how long meat can be safely kept in cold storage of this kind is one which has not been decided. It may be said, however, that the period should not be extended any longer than is necessary and that the consumers of meat should be provided in ordinary times, if transportation is undisturbed, with practically fresh meat. It is evident that if the principal meat-packing centers are Chicago, Omaha, and Kansas City the cities and parts of the country remote from these localities must have meat somewhat older than those which are near by. If we pass to distant countries, as for instance, Europe, where fresh meats are received from the United States or even from Australia, the time elapsing between slaughter and consumption must necessarily be long. Thus the length of time in which meat should be left in cold storage after it is properly matured depends upon its geographic distribution and is not a matter to be decided arbitrarily.
When meats are not only kept in cold storage for transportation but are actually frozen, as is often the case, they can, of course, be kept for a much longer time than when subjected merely to a low temperature at or slightly above the freezing point. For this reason meats that are to be carried to a long distance and not to be consumed for a long time after preparation are usually frozen and kept so during transport.