8 BULLETIN" 613, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



grams daily is quite well assimilated and is suited for use as human 

 food. 



HARD-PALATE FAT. 



The so-called " hard palates " are taken from the roof of the mouth 

 of beef animals. In appearance they are very unattractive, pos- 

 sessing a black or white, rough, ribbed outer surface, and contain 

 little muscular tissue. According to information obtained from the 

 Bureau of Animal Industry, 1 several of the large packing establish- 

 ments utilize the hard palates of cattle in the preparation of edible 

 products, such as potted meats, sausage, etc. One establishment is 

 reported as saving about 2,500 pounds monthly, another about 6,000 

 pounds monthly. In view of this rather extensive use of hard palates 

 for food purposes, it appeared very desirable to ascertain the digesti- 

 bility of this material, and accordingly seven experiments were con- 

 ducted in this laboratory, and it was found that the protein was ap- 

 proximately 87 per cent digested. 2 Some attention was paid also to 

 the fat of the hard palates, and its possible uses for culinary purposes 

 emphasized the desirability of studying its digestibility. 



In the preparation of the hard palates for use in the experiments 

 referred to they were boiled for two to three hours, a yellow fat 

 being extracted during the process. While hard palates contain 

 only a small amount of this fat — about 11 per cent — of which ap- 

 proximately one-half is extracted by boiling the hard palates for 

 two or three hours, the total yield of packing houses preparing two 

 or three tons per month of hard palates for edible purposes is evi- 

 dently of commercial importance. 



The hard-palate fat used in this study was obtained by boiling 

 palates for two or three hours in a large amount of water. About 

 100 pounds of fresh hard palates secured from a local abattoir were 

 extracted in this manner. The fat, which floated to the top of the 

 liquor, hardened on cooling and was removed and purified by re- 

 melting several times in boiling water. It had a yellow color, was 

 without characteristic taste, and resembled butter somewhat in ap- 

 pearance, though it was more granular. 



As previously reported, 3 it was found to have a melting point of 

 34° C, an iodin number of 52.53, and a refractive index of 1.4586. 



Three subjects assisted in the study of this fat. The results of 

 the tests are reported in the following tables : 



1 Personal communication. 



2 Digestibility of Hard Palates of Cattle, Jour. Agr. Research, 6 (1916), No. 17. 



3 Loc. cit. 



