A, Tenderloin. B, Back of Sirloin. C, Flank. D, Suet. ]
The weight of the hind quarter described is about twenty pounds, and I save about one third what it would cost me to buy the soup meat, chops, and roast separately. One must have a good sharp knife, a meat-saw, and a cleaver to cut up meats in this manner.
Before going to market one should look through her supplies, and then make a list of things for use with them. A list of the meals that are to be arranged, and such purchases as must be made for these meals, is next in order. One may find it best to make radical changes in her plans when she gets to the market; still, the list will be a great aid as a guide. With it, one is not likely to buy too much or too little.
[Illustration: RIB CHOP BEFORE TRIMMING.]
In some places it is a great pleasure to go through the markets, especially on the regular market days. This is particularly true where there is a large German or French population. The women of these nationalities have stalls where they sell eggs, butter, cheese, poultry, fruit, vegetables, and flowers,—the product of their own and neighbors’ farms. Nothing can be brighter or more picturesque than are such markets in the spring, summer, and fall, when flowers and vegetables are in abundance. Even the poor laborer’s wife takes home her little growing plant, or a bunch of fresh flowers. Going to market has not been all prose to that poor woman, although she had to calculate very closely in her purchases for her table; for has she not had the sight and odor of the plants and green vegetables, and did not their beauty and freshness fill her mind with visions of a beautiful and fragrant country? What a pity there are not such markets in all our cities!
If you have never made a practice of going to market, try the plan now. It will pay you.
A woman who has to provide for a large family can plan and buy with greater economy than if her family consisted of only two or three. This is especially the case with meats and some kinds of fish. In buying meats, if the family be small, it is wiser to get only the parts actually wanted than to buy large pieces, simply because they are cheaper by the pound. When planning to cook a large piece of meat or fish, its adaptability to being made over into various little dishes should be considered. Pork is the least desirable of the fresh meats for such purposes. For warming over in various ways the following-named meats are the most valuable: poultry, veal, lamb, mutton, and beef. The white meats are better than the red for this purpose. This is also true of fish; the white, dry varieties are much better for made-over dishes than the dark, oily kinds.