NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



JAN. 31, IfiS'. 



(For the New Engl:ind Fnrnicr.) 



ON THE PRESERVATION OF MEAT I5Y 

 SALT. 



The antisoeptic powtr of snlr must appear to ha 

 the most fortiiiiate of that siil stnnre wlien we con- 

 Siiih'r how great a relish inankhid have hail for it 

 ill all ages of the world. Much hetter for us 

 would it lie to he deprived of all that remains of 

 tlie tribe of coiulimeiits than this one. It should 

 however be observed that salt is oidy an anliscep- 

 tic ill lar^'e qu.-intities, and that a Pinidl quantity, 

 BO fai from preventing, promotes putrefaetion. — 

 F'rom ibis fact, it was concluded by Hir John 

 Priugle, that as we use salt at table in small quan- 

 tity only h-i u.se is to lielp dige.-ition by its sceptic 

 power, the meat being thus softened and dissolv- 

 ed. 



The kind of this article most preferred in cur- 

 ing meat and first is the Bay salt which is obtained 

 by spontaneous evaporation of sea-water. Meat 

 Salter:? prefer that which is coarse grained or oc- 

 curring in large crystals, and evidently of impure 

 quality ; arul perhai s this very impurity adils to 

 its antiseeptic power. Different kinds of salt dif- 

 fer in their degree of saltness. The coarse-grain- 

 ed salt possesses a greater degree of poignancy 

 than the fiue-graiiied, although the latter pene- 

 trates meat much sooner than the former. 



Jn order to salt meat for long keeping it ought 

 to ho in the first jjlace, of the best possible qual- 

 ity ; for as the nalnral effect of the process is to 

 deteriorate the meat, unless it was originally ex- 

 cellent a sufTicieiilly good quality to rem'er it 

 agreeable will not remain. The main object to 

 lie kept in view ought to be to extract as much of 

 the animal moisture as possible, with the least pos- 

 sihh; quantity of salt, I'tu] therefore vviili the least 

 injury to tlie softness of the fibre. To effect this 

 object with beef, select the meat perfectly free 

 from taint ; let all the kernels be cutout ; s;'riiikle 

 it all over with fine salt ; lay it on an inclined 

 plane for ubosit six hours, so that its juices, which 

 the s.'ilt will separate and dissolve in, may, as 

 iiiiich as possible, drain off. ],et it be tlieii wiped, 

 well rubbed with Hay salt, and placed between 

 two strong boards, with a heavy weight on the 

 upper one. The combined action of the salt and 

 pressure will cause the extrusion of the juices. — 

 In twenty-four hours, lei the meat he wiped and 

 rubbed again, and laiil hetvveen the pressing boards. 

 The same wiping, salting, and pressing, are to he 

 repeateil in Iwenty-fbnr hours more. In this 

 way, the weights lieing added to every ilay, the 

 meat may be kept until it is salt enough for the 

 purpose. The time will be shorter or longer ac- 

 cording to the fancy of the consuiner ; hut if the 

 meal is to be kept for store, it must not he left ex- 

 posed to the air between the hoards more than a 

 few days. Alter being removed from the press- 

 ing hoards, the (licccs must be packed closely in 

 a perfectly tight cask, with salt between and 

 urouud. Instead of using salt alone, it may he 

 mixed with one eighth of its weight of saltjjctre to 

 redden the meal. 



Jn thfe Journal dts Connoissances Usuellcs, the 

 ,.^1] -wing mode of making nintlon hams is given, 

 »». -. -haps might be followed with advantage 

 pn'l H I I -ocess for preserving meat : — The 

 ps a genera. ' ^.^^^ -p^^^ ounces of sugar are to 

 mutton must bo . ■ ^^^^ ,of common salt, and half 

 be mixed with one oi.. ^^^^ ^^^^^^ ._, ^^ j^^ ,.„i,l,ed 



^ spoonful °f f 'M"="''^' , 'j .„ a tureen. It must 

 ■ • • id then ilacecl in 



I .«,;,•» a d;iV. ou'''"g ihree 

 Lid t"l""M tWILe»H'^/t ° 



consecutive days; and the scum which comes 

 Iroin the meat having been taken off it is to be 

 wiped and again rubbed with the inix'tiiieof sugar, 

 salt, anil saltpetre, in the same proportions as be- 

 fore. The next day it should be again beaten and 

 the two operations ought to be repeated alter- 

 nately during ten days, care being taken to turn 

 the meat each time. It must he i.'xposed to smoke 

 ten days. Hams ihus prepared are generally eat- 

 en cold. There can be little doubt that this mode 

 of preserving, if applied generally, vvoidd be found 

 an excellent one ; and it will be readily admitted 

 that any process which fircserves meat with so 

 small a quantity of salt is valuable. It should al- 

 ways be kept in mind, that the Irue art of pressing 

 meat by sailing, is to do so with the smallest quan- 

 tity of salt than can he made lo answer the pur- 

 pose. 



Ft is a common opinion that salting greatly im- 

 pairs the nutritioiisness of meat, and, in proof, the 

 faft is aildiicid, that all the juices of the f^esh run 

 out and form brine. It is believed that the nutri- 

 tive qualities are scarcely impaired by a few days' 

 salting, notwithstanilimr the great quantity of 

 gravy-like juices which pour out. But there can 

 he hut little doidit that the action of long-contin- 

 ued salt is to corrugate and harden the fibre, to 

 render it somewhat less easily digestible, and [irob- 

 ahly only lessens its nutritiveiiess in a small <le- 

 gree, for the liquid consists merely of water tinged 

 with blood ; and one use of the iirocess is to expel 

 from the meat this blood and water, which, if 

 allowed to remain, would tend to promote its pu- 

 trefaction. 



When meat has been too long kept in salt the 

 taste becomes disagreeably saline, and resource 

 is had to the expedient of exposing the meat to 

 the action of water. In the way that this is gen- 

 ernlly done, the process is totally inefficient for 

 the salt is iT^ained with great idistinacy, probably 

 by chemical combinarion in a slight degree, and 

 the external portions of the meat defend the in- 

 ternal parts from the action of the water; and if 

 the watering were renewed often enough to re- 

 move any salt from the central portions, the result 

 would be, that the external parts must have been 

 totally deprived of salt, which never hajipens. 



Ail meats are not rendered equally salt or hard 

 by exposure to the action' of salt during the same 

 time. Pork becomes much less salt than beef, 

 ami with that smaller portion it keeps as well, the 

 (iriiicipal reason of which is, that it does not take 

 up salt so speedily as oilier meats on account of 

 having a greater ra'io of fat to lean, the fat taking 

 up salt much more slowly than the muscular parts 

 of the animal. 



It is a curious fact, and one that it is useful to 

 he acqiiainled with, that the saltness of meat which 

 has been preserved in brine, will inciease, even 

 alier the meat has been removed from the brine. 

 Thus, if, in winter, a large piece of fresh, beef be 

 cut into two equal parts and botli are 

 immersed during the same length of tine in the 

 same brine, containing more salt than the water 

 can hold dissolved, suppose for fourteen days, one 

 of them, when dressed, will prove sufficiently salt 

 to please many palates. Let the other be taken 

 out of the brine at the same time, and set aside for 

 six weeks, and it will be- found on being duly 

 boiled thai it has grown by far more salt than the 

 former, although apparently they were both ex- 

 posed to the action of the salt during the same 

 length of time, 



Jjp beaten gud 



Many persons fail in preserving meat by nsi 

 too little salt, the error arising from the vague r 

 lions which prevail in regard to the nature oft 

 brine. In many books, we find it given as qii 

 a sufficient diiectiou for the strength of brine, tl 

 it shall float an egg. According to Gay Lnssac eg 

 are pietly, nearly all of the same specific gravii 

 which he found to be about 1,078. Now a sal 

 mated solution of salt bears an egg, and a satui 

 ted solution, diluted with almost double its bu 

 of water, will do the same ; hence the floating 

 an egg is a very vague test of strength. To c 

 tain brine that will be of the same specific gravi 

 as an average egg, a saturated solution of salt, 

 65° F., is to be mixed with double its measure' 

 common water at the same temperature. An e 

 |iut into this mixture will remain at the top, lii 

 tnm, or middle ; and the specific gravi;y of i 

 mixture at 60° is 1,078. Kriiie should never 

 weaker than a saturated solution ; and it will 

 always advisable that there shall be some nnil 

 solved salt present; for as meat is continually <;ivi 

 out juices, up to u certain period, these jiiic 

 would iower the strength of the hiine below t 

 preserving point. I5nt if there be an excess 

 salt present it will dissolve in the juices given o 

 and thus the strength of the brine will he kept i) 



It is because salt is the most agreeable prest 

 vation of meat that it is used for this purpose, ai 

 by no means because it is the most eflcctunl A 

 curding to the experiments of Sir John Priugle, 

 is the most feeble of all the substances tiied« 

 him. Saltpetre he found to possess no less tlii 

 four times the preservative power of cormnon s8 

 On this account, and on account of the iiropoi 

 which salt^ietre possesses of giving a pleasing rj 

 ness to beef, it is used as an ingredient in ( 

 brine with which meat is preserved. Soino sil 

 |iose, hiiwever, that it has also the effect ol' 111 

 dening the fibre. Among other substances whi 

 he tried he found that suljihate of potash psssesi 

 twice the preservative powers of common sal 

 Sal Ammoniac three times — carbonate of ami 

 Ilia four times — carbonate of potash (pearl-ii 

 four times — borax twelve times — succinic 

 twenty times— alum (sulphate of alumina) tl 

 times — chamomile flowers one hundred and f 

 ty times — and camphor three hundred timei 

 power of common salt. 



Mr Bahcock an ingenious artizan from Wl 

 is exhibiting his beautiful little (Hrcnlar Rail: 

 at the '1 own Hall. The Steam Engine leads 

 a train of Cars, with baggage and |iassenoer.s. 

 a given signal, they stop, a door opens and a 

 appears. He takes in the trunks, retires inta 

 Car, the bell rings, and the train is again in^f 

 tion. An engine is also put upon the track, w 

 operates by machinery within itself and whit 

 cajiable of regulating its own motions. He 

 also various little specimens of ingenuity, the 

 duct of his own skill, with some novel miii 

 instruments, all which go to make up a pretty 

 instructive exhibition. — JVorlhampton Courier 



A man boasting in a company of ladies, thi 

 had a very luxuriant head of hair, one of the < 

 sels remarked that it was owing entirely td 



MFLLDW.\ESS Ol'tlie Soil. 



Try to spend your time usefully both to yi 

 self and others. 



