An economically sound buying campaign would be a resolution by the housewives to use in its regular order every cut on a side of meat before reordering a cut. One of the extra meat portions could well be every third meat purchase.
In order to secure the most satisfactory cuts of meat, marketing should be done in person. Before this can be done with any degree of satisfaction, the buyer should be familiar with the various cuts of beef, pork and mutton.
The meal is planned around the meat dish, as a rule; so it is most important to select the main meat dish with greatest care.
When buying beef, see that it is bright red in color, streaked with fat—and firm. The streaks of fat add to the food value and make a more flavory steak or roast. Veal is pink in color, but less firm. Mutton flesh is firm and dull red in color, the fat hard and white or slightly yellow. Pork is dark pink in color and the fat is less firm than beef or mutton.
The modern system of refrigeration has made world-wide distribution of fresh meat possible. Refrigerator cars, iced en route in such a manner that the contents are kept always in a current of cold air, make it possible to carry the products of the packing house to remote parts of the country and deliver them in sound condition.
The housewife in turn may have such products by being discriminating in her marketing, skillful in her cooking and careful in her serving.
By a knowledge of all the cuts of meat, the housewife can keep down her meat expenditures. She should also have her recipe file well stocked with tested recipes for the wide variety of popular meat dishes to be made with the less expensive cuts.
For those who do not include meat in their diet, there is a wide variety of non-meat protein foods to choose from. Eggs, cheese, milk, and beans will give the necessary protein for a complete diet.
Much of the vigor and force of Americans is attributed to the beef which is so generously included in the American diet. It is the favorite meat of a large percentage of people of every nation because it is easy to secure, is delicious of flavor and, properly cooked, is easily assimilated. The best cuts of beef for broiling are porterhouse, sirloin, and tenderloin steaks. For roasting, the prime ribs are preferred, while for the pot roast the rump, round, chuck, shoulder clod and brisket result in a tender piece of meat of delicious flavor when subject to slow, moist cooking.