water is kept boiling it will render the meat tough and
dry. If the juice is to be extracted and the broth used, the meat
should be placed in cold water; if bones are added they should be cut
or broken into small pieces in order that the gelatin may be
dissolved. If the water is heated gradually the soluble materials are
more easily dissolved. The albumen will rise as a scum to the top, but
should not be skimmed off, as it contains the most nutriment and will
settle to the bottom as sediment.

STEWING.

If both meat and broth are to be used the process of cooking should be
quite different. In stewing, the meat should be cut into small pieces,
put into cold water in order that the juices, flavoring material and
fibre may be dissolved. The temperature should be gradually raised to
simmering point and remain at that heat for at least three or four
hours, the vessel being kept closely covered. Cooked in this way the
broth will be rich, and the meat tender and juicy. Any suitable
flavoring may be added. This is a good method for cooking meat
containing gristle.

ROASTING AND BROILING.

When the meat alone is to be eaten, either roasting, broiling or
frying in deep fat is a more economical method, as the juices are
saved. The shrinkage in a roast of meat during cooking is chiefly due
to a loss of water. A small roast will require a hotter fire than a
larger one, in order to harden the exterior and prevent the juices
from escaping. Meat is a poor conductor of heat, consequently a large
roast exposed to this intense heat would become burned before the
interior could be heated. The large roast should be exposed to intense
heat for a few minutes, but the temperature should then be reduced,
and long steady cooking allowed.

Broiling (see broiling in previous chapter, p. 19.)

Varieties of Meat.

BEEF TONGUE.

Beef tongue is a tender form of meat, but contains too much fat to
agree well with people of delicate digestion.

VEAL.

Veal, when obtained from animals killed too young, is apt to be tough,
pale and indigestible, but good veal is considered fairly nutritious.
It contains more gelatin than beef, and in broth is considered
valuable, especially for the sick.

MUTTON.

Mutton is considered to be more digestible than beef, that is well fed
mutton from sheep at least three years old; but as it is more
difficult to obtain tender mutton than beef, the latter is more
generally preferred. Mutton broth is wholesome