ne or ten inches in diameter. After being
thus rolled up, it is boiled in a copper or large kettle, till it is so
tender that you may run a stiff straw through it. Then it is set aside
till it is thoroughly cold, put into a pickle composed of water, salt, and
wheat-bran, in the proportion of two handfuls of each of the latter to
every gallon of water, which, after being well boiled together, is
strained off as clear as possible from the bran, and, when quite cold, the
brawn is put into it."

HEAD CHEESE.

This article is made usually of pork, or rather from the meat off the
pig's head, skins, and coarse trimmings. After having been well boiled,
the meat is cut into pieces, seasoned well with sage, salt, and pepper,
and pressed a little, so as to drive out the extra fat and water. Some add
the meat from a beef head to make it lean. Others add portions of heart
and liver, heating all in a big pan or other vessel, and then running
through a sausage mill while hot.

BLOOD PUDDINGS

are usually made from the hog's blood with chopped pork, and seasoned,
then put in casings and cooked. Some make them of beef's blood, adding a
little milk; but the former is the better, as it is thought to be the
richer.

SPICED PUDDINGS.

These are made somewhat like head-cheese, and often prepared by the German
dealers, some of whom make large quantities. They are also made of the
meat from the pig's chops or cheeks, etc., well spiced and boiled. Some
smoke them.

CHAPTER VII.

THE FINE POINTS IN MAKING LARD.

Pure lard should contain less than one per cent of water and foreign
matter. It is the fat of swine, separated from the animal tissue by the
process of rendering. The choicest lard is made from the whole "leaf."
Lard is also made by the big packers from the residue after rendering the
leaf and expressing a "neutral" lard, which is used in the manufacture of
oleomargarine. A good quality of lard is made from back-fat and leaf
rendered together. Fat from the head and intestines goes to make the
cheaper grades. Lard may be either "kettle" or "steam rendered," the
kettle process being usually employed for the choicer fat parts of the
animal, while head and intestinal fat furnish the so-called "steam lard."
Steam lard, however, is sometimes made from the leaf. On the other hand,
other parts than the leaf are often kettle rendered. Kettle rendered lard
usually has a fragrant cooked odor and a slight color, while steam