THE TYPES 



179 



meat eaters ; also such flavor as will make the meat most 

 palatable, this being of secondary importance to texture 

 as a rule, because flavor may be altered to such an extent 

 in the cooking process. The relative nutritive values 

 of meat figure less in the consumer's demand and are, 

 therefore, of less concern to the judge. Both texture 

 and flavor are contributed to or indicated by the grain of 

 the lean, the proportion of fat to lean, the distribution of 

 the fat, the color and consistence of both lean and fat 

 and the moisture and odor of the meat. 



191. The grain of the meat involves especially the part 

 of the carcass from which the cut is taken, improving 

 toward the center of the carcass away from the extremi- 

 ties, the coarser cuts being taken from the neck, shoulders, 

 shanks, the small part of the leg 



and the rump, the loin and rib 

 cuts being finest grained. Old 

 animals, as a rule, have coarser- 

 grained muscle tissue with more 

 connective tissue in it than do 

 younger ones. 



192. Marbling. A generous 

 proportion of fat to lean is de- 

 sirable, since it is impossible to 

 secure, age, or prepare prime 

 meat without fat. The better 

 class of meat animals are all fed 

 to a high finish. Unless there is 

 a fairly thick layer of fat sur- 

 rounding the cuts they rapidly 

 deteriorate and dry out before 



they can be properly aged ; while in the roasting pan or 

 broiler the envelope of fat retains the juice of the meat. 



FIG. 88. The fat cells in- 

 terspersed between the 

 muscle fibers. 



