Part 17

It is not necessary to boil the water for brine if you know it to be perfectly pure. If its purity is doubted, it should always be boiled and the impurities which rise to the top should be thoroughly skimmed off, or if they precipitate the water should be carefully drawn off. When brine becomes jelly-like, you mean that it gets ropy. This condition is owing to a great many causes; sometimes it is due to the sugar which may be of low grade or unrefined, or where molasses and syrup are used, it quite often results. The best grade of granulated sugar should always be used for brine. Sometimes the ropiness of brine is due to the packages in which the meat is cured. This is especially true when syrup barrels are used. One of the most common causes of ropy brine is owing to the fact that the meat is cured in too warm a temperature. If the curing temperature is kept from 38 to 40 degrees, the brine will remain thin and not get ropy, but there is always risk in a temperature higher than we have given. If the meat has not been properly chilled before putting it in pickle, ropiness will also result. Great care should always be given to meat before putting it in the brine, as it will become soft and spongy if not chilled through to the bone. When in this condition it becomes pickle-soaked and contaminates the brine.

PACKING EGGS.

_Query.--D. B. writes: “I have been using your goods for some time back and they give the best of satisfaction. Can you give me a good recipe for packing eggs?”_

Ans.--You will find the following very efficient for preserving eggs: To each pailful of water add two pints of fresh slaked lime, one pint of salt and one ounce of White Berliner Konservirungs-Salze; mix well and then fill a barrel half full of this fluid, put the eggs into it and they will keep for a long time. The eggs, of course, should be stored in a cool room. A cool cellar will answer, but the temperature should never be allowed to get too low--never lower than 38 degrees.

HOW TO TEST VINEGAR.

_Query.--G. G. writes: “Do you sell a thermometer or gauge for testing vinegar? How am I to know the degree of strength of the vinegar without a gauge?”_

Ans.--Vinegar is tested with a special apparatus called a Twitchel Tester. Unless you use large quantities of vinegar, it would hardly pay you to go to the expense of buying such an apparatus as they are rather expensive and cost about $15 each. If you buy the vinegar by the barrel from the wholesale grocers and specify the degree of strength, they will give you the article desired. If you have any doubts as to the purity of vinegar there are various ways to test its purity. The adulterant of vinegar is sulphuric acid, which increases its indicated strength. Sulphuric acid can be detected by placing some of the vinegar to be tested in a saucer. Put some white sugar in the vinegar and evaporate to dryness by placing the saucer on top of a boiling water kettle. After the water has evaporated if the sugar turns black, the vinegar contains an adulterating acid. In lieu of a saucer, a teacup can be used in which the vinegar and sugar can be placed. The cup can then be placed in a basin of hot water in which it can be allowed to float until the vinegar in the cup is evaporated. If the vinegar contains free sulphuric acid the dry sugar will be found to be blackened. These are simple methods and are claimed to be more accurate as a test than the use of the Barium Chloride Test. The Barium Chloride Test is as follows: Mix one ounce of Chloride of Barium with ten ounces of water. A little of this mixture dropped in vinegar will quickly test its purity. If the vinegar contains sulphuric acid, this mixture will make it turn flaky at once, but if it remains clear and shows no change, the vinegar is free from sulphuric acid adulteration. Sulphuric acid makes vinegar show a very high test when, as a matter of fact, it is of very poor real vinegar strength.

SEPARATING WATER FROM LARD.

_Query.--C. W. writes: “I have my lard in such a shape that I don’t know what to do with it. It seems that the water will not separate from the lard and the mixture stays about the thickness of cream and about as white. Can you give me any instructions or advice?”_

Ans.--To overcome your difficulty, we would advise you to remelt the lard and heat it quite hot, even up to 190 to 200 degrees, but do not let it come to a boil. Then let the lard settle. The water and impurities will settle to the bottom. The lard will rise to the top. If you heat the lard to the boiling point of water, that is, 212 degrees, it would do no harm except that the lard will then foam and you will have to be careful so that it does not foam over the top of the kettle. When it foams, it will bring the impurities to the surface, besides much of the moisture will evaporate. Either of these methods will remove your difficulty. You can dry the lard by heating it sufficiently or you can melt the lard and have it hot enough so that the water will settle to the bottom. After the lard is melted, dip it from the kettle, or if you have a lard cooler, run it into the lard cooler; be careful, though, that all water which may be at the bottom of the kettle is drawn off first if your intend to run the lard into a lard cooler. You will have to get rid of the water that is in the lard, so do not stir the lard while the water is still in the kettle. If you dip the lard out of the top of the kettle and place it in a lard tierce, when the lard begins to cool, you can stir it and keep on stirring it until it is thick like cream; it should then be run into buckets. You can readily understand that if there is a large per cent of water in the lard, it will keep the lard soft, which is the trouble you are now having.

COLORING SAUSAGE MEAT ARTIFICIALLY IS ILLEGAL.

_Query.--J. R. B.: Will you send me a guarantee that your Rosaline for coloring sausage, etc., will stand the Pure Food Law? Also state particulars of Potato Flour, and whether it is guaranteed or not to be pure. I want to use the goods, and the house I deal with won’t guarantee them to me._

Ans.--In reply to your inquiry we beg to say that Rosaline for coloring bologna or other sausage would not be legal under your state law. However, you can produce even a better sausage, both in appearance and taste, by using =Freeze-Em-Pickle= according to the directions given in the enclosed circular, “A New Way to Make Bologna and Frankfort Sausage.” =Freeze-Em-Pickle= is legal in your state as well as all other states, as it does not contain any ingredient that has been ruled against under any of the food laws. We would urge you to adopt this method of making your sausage, not only because it complies with your law, but because you will make better sausage and will save yourself from loss of the meat juices which would be lost if you made your sausage in the old way. As regards potato flour, we do not handle this product and are not interested in it. Bull-Meat-Brand Sausage Binder, our guaranteed binder, is far superior to potato flour for this purpose, and it is legal in your state if used in the proportion of not to exceed 5 per cent, which will bind your sausage very nicely, and be greatly to your advantage. Bull-Meat-Brand Sausage Binder is a pure and wholesome article of food in itself; it tends to absorb the juices and fats and helps retain them in the sausage when it is cooked, thus making a more palatable and pleasing sausage than where no binder is used. Whenever a sausage in which a binder has been used is shipped out of the state, it is necessary to label the container to show that a binder was used, in order to comply with the National Meat Inspection Law, which controls the interstate shipment of all meat food products. =Freeze-Em-Pickle= and Bull-Meat Sausage Binder are guaranteed by us under the Pure Food Laws, and every package of these preparations leaving our factory, carry a label to this effect. Unless these preparations comply with the Pure Food Law, we could not afford to put our guarantee on the package. You will find =Freeze-Em-Pickle= a very valuable aid to you for other purposes than for making your Bologna, Frankfort and other sausage. By its use you can make very fine hams, breakfast bacon, shoulders, corned beef, etc. If there are any other questions you would like to ask, we shall be pleased to have you write us, and we hope you will order a case of =Freeze-Em-Pickle= and a barrel of Bull-Meat-Brand Sausage Binder, as their use will quickly convince you that you can not afford to do business without them.

WHITENING AND PURIFYING TALLOW.

_Query.--Messrs. S. B. write: “We render our tallow and other slaughter house offal all together in the regular tanks, and we would like to inquire whether you have anything that will whiten it after it is rendered.”_

Ans.--You can treat the tallow and whiten and purify it after you have rendered it in the regular manner in your tank if you are willing to go to the additional labor of treating it in your open jacket kettle. The proper way to do is to fill your open jacket kettle or caldron, whichever you may use, about one-third full of hot water; dissolve in this a one-pound package of our Lard and Tallow Purifier, then on top of this put the tallow after you have rendered it. It will make no difference whether the tallow is hot or whether it is cold. Get the water boiling hot; stir the water and the tallow frequently, about two minutes each time. This stirring should be at intervals of about five minutes for from fifteen to twenty minutes; then turn off the heat and permit the tallow to settle; next skim off the tallow from the top. More tallow can be treated in the same solution in the same manner; in fact, you can use the same solution in the jacket kettle two or three times. It should then be renewed with a fresh solution because the water will become impure, as the impurities of the tallow remain in the water and contaminate it; while in this condition the Tallow and Lard Purifier will exhaust its strength. Of course, more Lard and Tallow Purifier could be added to the same solution, but it is advisable to change the water occasionally as it will aid materially in purifying the tallow.

MEAT MOULDING IN A COOLER.

_Query.--M. & S. Co.: Please forward to us one of your brine tester hydrometers. Ought fresh beef to mould in a cooler where the temperature is 36 degrees, after being in there ten to fourteen days? We have lost meat this way in a cooler with three coats of white lead throughout and the temperature maintained by ice. Not only has meat moulded, but it has had a pine taste._

Ans.--As requested, we have sent you a hydrometer by express. You wish to know if fresh beef stored in a cooler ten or twelve days should begin to become mouldy. You say that your cooler is cooled by ice and that its temperature is 36 degrees. We are inclined to believe that your thermometer is not accurate. It would be very difficult to get the temperature of a cooler down to 36 degrees with ice. If an ice box is kept closed from Saturday night until Monday morning the temperature runs down to 36 or 37 degrees, but where it is in constant use, and opened from time to time throughout the day it is almost impossible to reduce the temperature to 36 degrees, unless the cooler is a very small one and a large amount of ice is packed in the ice chamber above. Try another thermometer. It is important to have one that is right. Do not buy a cheap thermometer for a cold storage tester. If your cooler is constructed properly it should be perfectly dry and all the drip water drained without entering the storage chambers. A cooler, even when cooled with ice, should be so dry on the inside that a match might be struck on the sides. If the cooler is moist, there is no need to search further for the cause of your meat moulding. If the cooler is perfectly dry then the beef will keep about two weeks without moulding, then it is liable to mould slightly, but not enough to do any harm. It is frequently stored three weeks before it is consumed, and when kept that long it is tender and juicy--in other words, it is “ripe.” You say that your meat tastes of pine. You did not state whether or not your cooler was a new one or not. If it is a new one and has been properly constructed it should not give meat a taste; if it has been made from boards not thoroughly dry it will cause meat to taste of pine and it might even be responsible for some mould. Then again the walls may have been stuffed with green pine sawdust, and this will cause trouble. It may be that your cooler is a home-made one, not properly constructed; perhaps the circulation is not right. You merely state that the meat moulds and tastes of pine, whereas you should have given full details. If you will send us a drawing of your cooler and full details we will be able to give you the cause of your trouble and the remedy as well.

CAUSE OF FAILURE IN CURING BACON.

_Query.--T. K. writes: “We have been having trouble with our bacon. We put it down in second-hand lard tierces which we got from the large bakers here. We thoroughly cleansed them with boiling water before using them, and have been careful to weigh everything and measure the water we made the brine out of. We used brown sugar, the same as we have always used previous to this time. Our bacon was thoroughly cooled out before it was salted, and was never frozen. After being put in the pickle, we let it stand in the back part of the shop, where the temperature was often below freezing, but never cold enough to freeze the meat in the brine. We repacked it by moving from one tierce to another, always putting the same brine on the meat. We usually let our bacon in the brine for six weeks, unless it is very heavy, then we let it in a longer time. We usually keep four tierces full, and by moving from one to another always have the last one ready to take out and smoke. We used just the common barrel salt and have always had good results until now; in fact, this time the meat is perfectly sweet, but the fat of it is very dark colored, while heretofore it has always been nice and white. We do all our own killing. If you can tell us what we have done wrong, we would like to know, as we are always trying to improve whenever we can.”_

Ans.--You have been very fortunate indeed to have escaped trouble if you have always cured your bacon as you explain. There are many things which you have done while curing which are likely to cause you serious trouble, and which should never be done in the future. You are lucky that some of the meat did not spoil completely. It is never advisable to use lard tierces for curing, as the lard is run into the tierces while hot, and the fat naturally soaks into the wood. This fat in time becomes rancid, and is likely to contaminate the brine and also the meat, even though you scald out the tierces, you do not get the grease out of the pores of the wood. It is always best and safest to use new tierces for curing purposes; in fact, there is great risk in using anything else. You should never use brown sugar for sweet pickle, but the very best grade of granulated sugar. Brown sugar is always more likely to contain foreign substances detrimental to the brine, and in most cases causes the brine to turn ropy, sometimes even causing it to ferment. The purest of sugar should always be used for sweet pickle. You have deviated from one of the greatest essentials to successful curing by not observing the most important of all requirements and that is an even temperature of about 38 degrees during the entire period of curing. You state that your meat was sometimes in a temperature below freezing point, but never cold enough to freeze the meat in the brine. Such a degree of temperature is enough to ruin your meat, as the curing room should never be allowed to go below 36 degrees. The moment you get the temperature below 36 degrees, the meat ceases to take on salt and will not cure; besides, it is likely to spoil in the brine. It is all right to cure heavy Breakfast Bacon six weeks, but bacon from light or small hogs will cure perfectly in twenty to twenty-five days. The meat, however, at a temperature below freezing point would not cure in six weeks or even in a much longer time. We, of course, understand that the temperature in your curing room was not always below the freezing point, but it should never be that cold.

We are going to send you free of charge our book, “Secrets of Meat Curing and Sausage Making,” and we will ask you to read carefully all we have to say on “General Hints for Curing Meats,” which covers the entire process, including chilling, overhauling, pumping, packing, temperature, etc. You will also note that we advise against the use of molasses and syrup barrels, as they are liable to cause ropiness of the brine. Also note what we have to say in regard to the handling of meat in curing, the chilling room, the condition of the meat, and the proper time to slaughter. If you will read carefully all we have to say in reference to curing in this book and will follow our methods and instructions, you cannot fail to turn out the finest kind of mild cured sweet pickled meat, having a most delicious flavor and a beautiful appearance. We ask you to make the trial and report results.

HOW TO TREAT PORK WHICH IS TOO SALTY.

_Query.--F. B. writes: “We have about twenty barrels of pork that have become very salty in the brine. What would you do and how can we get the brine out?”_

Ans.--Salt pork is usually put down in very strong brine, therefore it is perfectly proper that pickled pork should be very salty. If it is desired to store the pork for a long time, it should be left in the strong brine and in order to freshen it so that it will not be so salty, the pork should be washed in fresh water. It is best to handle one barrel at a time as it is to be sold or used in the market. The water in which the pork is soaked should be as cold as possible; in fact, it would do no harm to put a little ice in it. By allowing the pickled pork to soak in the fresh water, a great deal of the salt will be drawn from the meat. The meat should be soaked twenty-four hours altogether, and during the daytime the water should be changed every six hours. After the meat has been soaked, it can be placed in a mild brine, which should not be over 40 degrees strength, but if the meat can be disposed of in a few days, it is not necessary to keep it in the brine at all. It will be sufficient to place it on a shelf in the ice box; at the end of three or four days, it might be necessary to wash it off with fresh water.

IMITATION BULL-MEAT-BRAND SAUSAGE BINDER.

_QUERY.--G. H. F. writes: We recently ordered from a jobber 50 lbs. of Freeze-Em Pickle and 100 lbs. of Bull-Meat Sausage Binder. The Freeze-Em Pickle was not shipped but we received a barrel of what is claimed to be Bull-Meat Sausage Binder. We notice that the Bull-Meat Sausage Binder is not put up in the regular way. It is in a plain keg without any of your labels upon it. We are suspicious about its genuineness. Do you ever ship Bull-Meat Sausage Binder in this way? As yet we have not opened the package to test it._

Ans.--You can rest assured that you have not received our goods and you should return them at once. We never pack goods of ours of any description except in our well known packages with labels on the outside and circulars inside. We never sell Bull-Meat-Brand Sausage Binder in any other manner than in red drums, which are familiar to you and the trade generally. These drums vary only in size, otherwise they are identical in every particular. They have our large label on the head and our long label on the side, just as you see them illustrated in the cuts which you will find in our circulars and advertisements. You have received some substituted article which the shipper has sought to impose upon you with the hope that you would not question its genuineness. We leave to your own ideas of fairness as to just how such a firm should be regarded. Our goods are the first and genuine of their kind and have won great prestige among butchers all over the United States. Unscrupulous parties in trade seek to reap some advantage from our great reputation by substituting worthless preparations upon which they make a big profit. You should always be careful in ordering your goods to specify the article wanted and insist that the name of B. Heller & Co. shall be upon the package and that you will accept no other. Upon receiving the goods, you should always inspect the labels and see that they are ours. Do not be misled by similar names or packages resembling ours.

COMPLYING WITH FOOD LAWS IN CURING MEATS.

_Query.--F. K. writes: “We should like to have you inform us what we can use in our state for curing meat and at the same time keep within the restrictions of the law. They have prosecuted butchers all over the state of Pennsylvania for using preservatives of some kinds, and it leaves everyone in the meat business at a loss to know what to do. We can’t keep meat or cure it without using preservatives of some kind. What would you advise us to do?”_

Ans.--We manufacture a preparation known as _Freeze-Em-Pickle_, which can be used for curing purposes and fully keep within the requirements of all food laws, both state and National, as well as laws of foreign countries. This article can be used in all kinds of sausage, fresh or dried. We guarantee that the use of this article will not in any manner conflict with the pure food laws of your state, and you are perfectly safe in using it. Its uses are so various that it would be impossible for us to give full directions for using it within the limits of these columns, but we take pleasure in sending you a booklet which will give you all necessary instructions and much other valuable information.

KEEPING CURED MEATS IN CELLARS DURING SUMMER.

_Query.--We have not enough cooler room to cure meat during the summer time, and we want to know if there is any way we can keep cured meat in our cellar during June weather without it becoming too salty._

Ans.--Even if you cure the meat in the winter and keep the cooler at a proper temperature and then leave the meat in the brine during the summer, the brine will turn sour, or become ropy, or thick, and will spoil the meat. To store meat in brine, it is absolutely necessary to keep it at a very low temperature. In fact, it is necessary to have an ice machine to keep the temperature in the cooler or storage room as low as 30 degrees. You could get it as low as 28 degrees. The meat would not freeze, but by having the temperature so low, the meat would not take on any more salt. You seem to be of the opinion that if the pickle on the meat were reduced you could keep the meat in the brine and keep it in a warm temperature. That would be impossible. Of course, having the brine weaker, it would not cause the meat to become so salty, but nevertheless, the brine would spoil, and it would then spoil the meat. To store meat in brine it is absolutely necessary to have the proper facilities and that means an ice machine. Our advice is that you cure enough meat during the winter according to the =Freeze-Em-Pickle= process to carry you until the middle or end of May, and then about the first of May begin curing some more meat in your regular cooler where the temperature is low enough so that the meat will cure properly.

STRONG LARD FROM BOARS.

_Query.--J. A. S. writes: “I have rendered 100 lbs. of lard made as follows: 75 lbs. from fat barrows, 25 lbs. from fat boars. I find that the lard is strong. Can you give me the cause of it?”_