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attained by the use of superheated steam in large iron or steel boilers or "retorts." Sometimes an oil bath is employed as a means of maintaining the high temperature. In case the nature of the product makes it desirable to avoid a temperature above boiling, the processing may be accomplished by placing the cans for a sufficient length of time in large open kettles or tanks of water which are kept at the boiling point by means of steam coils.

As the cans come hot from processing, the ends are slightly bulged outward owing to the expansion of the contents by the heating. They are now subjected to a cold spray until the contents are thoroughly chilled, when the ends of the can should be slightly concave and should remain so until the can is opened for use.

Finally the cans are washed in alkali to remove any grease, then in water, dried, painted, and labeled. Many establishments maintain warm test rooms at a temperature of 100°110° F. to which is sent a sample batch of each "run" of canned meats to make sure that no cans prove defective when kept for several days at this high temperature.

A sound can should have slightly concave ends and should give only a dull sound when struck on the top or bottom; a can which shows bulging ends and emits a hollow or drum-like sound when struck on the top or bottom is likely to be leaky, or improperly packed, or to contain material which has undergone decomposition with production of gas.

Application of preservative substances is another common and important method of preserving meats. The substances which have been used to any considerable extent for this purpose are salt, saltpeter, boric acid or borates, sulphites, vinegar, wood smoke, and sugar. Salt, sugar, vinegar, and wood smoke are condimental as well as preservative in their properties, and there is no restriction upon their use. Saltpeter in addition to its preservative action has the property of maintaining or even intensifying the red color of beef. Under the present laws it

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FIG. 14.-Cuts of beef. (Atwater and Bryant.) U. S. Department of Agriculture.

has been ruled that saltpeter may be used pending further investigation regarding its wholesomeness. Boric acid and borax, which when used are employed purely for their preservative effect, and sulphites, which act both to preserve and to give the meat a bright appearance, are not permitted under the present United States meat inspection law. In England and Canada, on the other hand, no objection is made to the use of limited amounts of boric acid or of borax.

Composition of beef. The data given in Table 16 on the composition of the various cuts and preparations of beef are based on the American analyses complied by Atwater and Bryant. Their designation of cuts was that shown in Fig. 14.

The more detailed diagram of Hall and Emmett showing all the retail cuts of beef recognized by them is given later in this chapter (Fig. 19) in connection with the discussion of the relative economy of different cuts; and a still different diagram recently published by the United States Department of Agriculture as representing the present Chicago system of cutting is given as Fig. 18 in connection with the discussion of Federal standardization.

In the analyses recorded by Atwater and Bryant and summarized here, all the fat found on the respective parts of the dressed carcasses was included, whereas in practice much of this fat is trimmed off by the retail butcher, usually still more is removed during the preparation of the meat in the kitchen, and any distinct layers of fat which remain on the meat when served at the table are quite likely to be left uneaten or at least less completely eaten than is the lean portion of the beef. For these reasons the composition of the various cuts, as shown by the averages of all analyses, or analyses of samples classified as medium fat, are apt to show a very much higher fuel value than is in practice available to the consumer of the meat. The accompanying tables show the averages of all analyses for each cut and also, wherever available, average analyses for those specimens of the cut which were described as lean or very lean.

The lean samples contain more than an average amount of protein while the average samples contain more fat than is usually eaten, so that each exaggerates the food value in one way or the other. In dietary calculations or in comparing the nutritive economy of beef and other foods it might perhaps be wise to credit the beef with the protein content shown by the average of all analyses and the fuel value shown by the analyses of the lean specimens.

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1 Based on Atwater and Bryant's Composition of American Food Materials. Bulletin 28 (Revised). Office of Experiment Stations, U. S. Department of Agriculture.

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Flank, all analyses:

Edible portion
As purchased
Loin, very lean:

Edible portion
As purchased

Loin, lean:

Edible portion
As purchased

Loin, all analyses:
Edible portion
As purchased

Loin, boneless strip:1
Loin, sirloin butt: 1

Loin, porterhouse steak:
Edible portion
As purchased
Loin, sirloin steak: 1

Edible portion

As purchased

I 2

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Loin, tenderloin

Navel, very lean:

Edible portion

As purchased

1 All loin parts are included under analysis of "loin."

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