k Matter of Taste 
upon roadside jerky producers who sell 
this vestige of frontier days in larger 
quantities. A couple in eastern Maine, 
who were principally engaged in com- 
mercial smoking in their backyard, had 
a sideline in jerky when I stopped in a 
year ago. So did a butcher shop in Bay 
City, Oregon, on the Pacific Coast. 
Despite these widely scattered signs 
of persisting interest in jerky, it is safe to 
say that this prehistoric method of meat 
preservation has virtually dropped from 
view in the United States and that no 
serious jerky revival is about to engulf us 
as the next chic food fad following upon 
the heels of the quiche. 
Indeed, I will wager that few Ameri- 
cans can explain what jerky is. The 
answer is as simple as the process. Jerky 
is any meat that has been preserved by 
drying. Most jerked meat is cured in 
salt, first of all, and then set out to dry, 
but salting is not strictly necessary. The 
important thing is to cut the meat in thin 
strips and then expose them to the air. 
Some people pin the strips to a clothes 
line. Others set them outside on racks 
and protect them from insects with 
screens. Thick pieces of meat dry more 
slowly and run a greater risk of spoiling. 
The resultant meat not only keeps 
well, but has a mild flavor and an 
appealingly chewy texture. The Swiss 
have perfected jerking to its highest 
level, using the cool, dry air of the Alps 
to create that sublime form of beef 
called Biindnerfleisch and a jerked ham 
named BUndnerschinken. “Bundner” 
comes from the Swiss-German name for 
the mountainous canton of Graubun- 
den. Because the thin air thereabouts is 
dependably low in temperature, whole 
pieces of meat can be dried without fear 
of spoilage and without heavy salting. 
THE VIKING PRESS, Dept. ATE-NH, 625 Madison Ave., New York 10022 
Send me the following: 
copies of AMERICAN PHOTOGRAPHERS AND THE NATIONAL PARKS 
Co $75.00 
copies of THE ART OF ROBERT BATEMAN (a $40.00 
copies of BOBCAT YEAR (S $15.95 
copies of THE DOOMSDAY BOOK OF ANIMALS (a $40.00 
Include sales tax where applicable plus $2.00 per book for shipping. 
I enclose $ total. 
Name 
Address 
City 
State 
AMERICAN PHOTOGRAPHERS AND THE NATIONAL PARKS 
Published in collaboration with the National Park Foundation 
The 37 most famous 19th- and 20th-century photographers capture the glory of our 
richest natural resource. 11" x 12 5 /s", 24 full-color, 287 duotone photos, slipcased. With 
essays by Robert Cahn and Robert Glenn Ketchum. A Studio Book 
THE ART OF ROBERT BATEMAN 
Text by Ramsay Derry 
Introduction by Roger Tory Peterson 
The first book devoted to the work of one of the world’s foremost painters of birds and 
wildlife. 11%" x 11”, 82 full-color plates, 40 two-color illustrations, and 13 black-and- 
white photos. A Studio Book 
BOBCAT YEAR 
by Hope Ryden 
A “charming, utterly engrossing” (Philadelphia Inquirer) account of one bobcat's first 
precarious year, as excerpted in Smithsonian. 6Vt" x 9", 115 photos. 
THE DOOMSDAY BOOK OF ANIMALS 
by David Day 
Foreword by H.R.H. the Duke of Edinburgh 
72 full-color and 50 black-and-white illustrations depict over 300 extinct species of 
mammals, birds, reptiles, and fish. 6 Vi" x 9". A STUDIO Book 
The season’s most 
beautiful 
nature books! 
1 
V 
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