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Classic
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page 24
stronger scent. Ox-beef is the reverse. Ox-beef is the richest and largest; but
in small families, and to some tastes, heifer-beef is better if finely fed. In
old meat there is a streak of horn in the ribs of beef: the harder this is, the
older; and the flesh is not finely flavoured.
Veal.--The flesh of a bull-calf is firmest, but not so white. The fillet of the
cow-calf is generally preferred for the udder. The whitest is not the most
juicy, having been made so by frequent bleeding and having had whiting to lick.
Choose the meat of which the kidney is well covered with white thick fat. If the
bloody vein in the shoulder looks blue, or of a bright red, it is newly killed;
but any other colour shews it stale. The other parts should be dry and white; if
clammy or spotled, the meat is stale and bad. The kidney turns first in the
loin, and the suet will not then be firm.
Mutton.--Choose this by the fineness of its grain, good colour, and firm white
fat. It is not the better for being young; if of a good breed and well fed, it
is better for age: but this only holds with wether-mutton: the flesh of the ewe
is paler, and the texture finer. Ram-mutton is very strong-flavoured, the flesh
is of a deep red, and the fat is spongy.
Lamb.--Observe the neck of a fore-quarter: if the vein is bluish, it is fresh;
if it has a green or yellow cast, it is stale. In the hindquarter, if there is a
faint smell under the kidney, and the knuckle is limp, the meat is stale. If the
eyes are sunk, the head is not fresh. Grass-lamb comes into season in April or
May, and continues till August. House-lamb may be had in great towns almost all
the year, but is in highest perfection in December and January.
Pork.--Pinch the lean, and if young it will break. If the rind is tough, thick,
and cannot easily be impressed by the finger, it is old. A thin rind is a merit
in all pork. When fresh, the flesh will be smooth and cool; if clammy, it is
tainted. What is called measly pork is very unwholesome; and may be known by the
fat being full of kernels, which in good pork is never
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