MUTTON is wholesome, nutritious, and easily digested. The best is from a plump, small boned animal, with abundant white, clear, solid fat. The lean should be firm, dark red, and juicy, the leg bones clear, white, and short. GOOD LAMB has hard, white fat and reddish bones.
PORK is best in fall and winter. The skin should be thin and pearly, the lean a delicate red, juicy, firm, and finely grained, and the fat white. If the fat is yellow and soft, the pork is inferior. Pork is dangerous if not thoroughly cooked.
VEAL should be from a good sized, reasonably fat milk or stall fed calf, five to ten weeks old. The fat should be firm and white, but not too white; the meat finely grained, fairly firm, and juicy.
POULTRY.—Many farmers have found that it pays better to feed their grain to poultry than to sell it by the bushel, and poultry is therefore much more abundant, cheaper, and more widely consumed than ever before. The dry-picked or unscalded has the preference in price. The best have short legs and small bones, and are plump. If fresh, the eyes are bright and full, the feet and legs moist and limber. If stale, poultry looks dark and slimy. When chickens grow to be a year old they are called fowl; the legs grow rougher, the skin fat and tougher, and the rear end of the breast bone hard. A moderate sized TURKEY is more apt to be tender than a very large one.
HAMS, ETC.—The best are of medium size, weighing, say, from 8 to 14 pounds, plump, round, and the bone small. The shank should be short and tapering, skin thin and not shriveled or wrinkled, and the fat white and firm. To ascertain if ham has begun to spoil, thrust a skewer or knife in at the side of the aitch bone and at the knuckle joint; if sound there, it is good throughout. BACON.—This is the smoked flank. BREAKFAST BACON, made from young pigs, is very delicate and palatable. BEEF TONGUES are a delicacy, whether fresh, smoked, or pickled, hot or cold. The best are thick, firm, and with plenty of fat on the under side of the base.
DRIED COD.—This is an important grocers’ staple. The largest and best are caught on the “Banks” or in the deep waters off the Eastern coast. Some are sold whole and others are deprived of the back bone. Codfish is also prepared for market by being boned, skinned, trimmed, and even shredded. Other and inferior fish, such as Haddock, Hake, Pollock, etc., are often sold for cod, when salted, and especially when prepared as above.