40G 



DOMESTIC ECONOMY. 



[ClIAP. IV. 



■water become liikowiirin; tlion ])ut in the ham. Let it simmer or Loil 

 lightly for four or five hours — live is better tliau four — then take it out and 

 shave off the rind. Hub granulated sugar into the -whole surface of the 

 ham, so long as it can be made to receive it. Place the ham in a baking- 

 dish, with a bottle of champagne or prime cider. Baste occasionally with 

 the juice, and let it bake an hour in a gentle heat. A slice from a uicely- 

 cured ham, thus cooked, is enough to tempt a Jew. 



451. Saiisa^r-Iflakiicgi — AH the lean scraps of pork that accumulate in cut- 

 ting up the pigs, whether for bacon or juckled pork, will be most economi- 

 cally used if made into sausage meat. But do not attempt this work unless 

 you have a good sausage-meat cutter; and if you wish to stuff the meat into 

 cases, you should have a combined cutter and stuffer, so as to do the work at 

 one operation. Cut the pork into small pieces, and divide it in parcels of 

 about a quart, upon a clean table, to wliich the cutter should be fastened. 

 Mix your seasoning of salt, sage, thyme, cloves, pepper, and a little sugar, 

 if you like it, with your meat, and then put it through the cutting-machine, 

 thus nicely blending the seasoning with the meat, which passes directly into 

 the cases, and tinislies the job with great expedition. 



452. The Value of Pork in Bacon. — If bacon sides should range at 13 cents 

 per pound, shoulders at 10 cents, and hams at 15 cents ; and prime pickled 

 pork at 818 per barrel, mixed pork at §16, and rumps at $14 per barrel, we 

 would advise all small farmers, who have a limited force to feed, and a 

 limited purse to empty, to buy the rumps; they are about eight inches of 

 the small end of the backbone, with the tail cut off, and consisting of a due 

 proportion of tat, lean, and bone, and are the clieapcst meat diet that can 

 possibly be i)urc]iased by planters for their people. 



453. How to Cmre and Cook Corned Decf.— For a pickle, to every 100 lbs. 

 of beef, take five lbs. of salt, a quarter of an ounce of saltpeter, and one pound 

 of sugar; dissolve in suiBcient water to cover the meat. Do not get your 

 meat too salt, for it makes it tough and tasteless. Do not allow it to remain 

 over two weeks in the first brine, for it takes ni> all the blood that was in the 

 meat, and consequently ought to be drained off, as the meat will be much 

 more likely to be injured than it will when separated and replaced with 

 fresh-made brine : but more especially in warm weather. In this way it will 

 keep with just sufficient salt to season it. In the second place, the cooking 

 is of just as much importance as the corning; it should be boiled at least 

 lour hours, or until it can be cut and eaten as readily as a piece of soft 

 l)read. Not one half of the domestics cook their meat long enough. Try it 

 once and you will see the difference. Meat prepared in this way can be 

 eaten with a relish, and is easily digested, giving nourishment and strength 

 to the body. But fried meats, or meats half cooked, can not be properly 

 masticated or prepared for the action of the stomach, and are among the 

 most indigestible articles of nourishment. Some persons are always in too 

 much of a hurry or too lazy to chew their food, thereby favoring their teeth 

 and throwing the responsibility upon th(i stomach. Frequent abuses of this 



