Preparing Sausages And Meats

In addition to the fresh, raw meats that the housewife can procure for her family, there are on the market numerous varieties of raw, smoked, cooked, and partly cooked meats, which are generally included under the term SAUSAGES. These meats are usually highly seasoned, so they keep better than do fresh meats. They should not be overlooked by the housewife, for they help to simplify her labor and at the same time serve to give variety to the family diet. Still, it should be remembered that when meats are made ready for use before they are put on the market, the cost of the labor involved in their manufacture is added to the price charged for them. For this reason, the housewife must be prepared to pay more for meats of this kind than she would pay if she could prepare them at home. However, she need not be concerned regarding their safety, for the government's inspection and regulations prevent any adulteration of them.

Among the numerous varieties of these meats, many of them are typical of certain localities, while others have a national or an international reputation. They also vary in the kind of meat used to make them. Some of them are made from beef, as frankfurters and certain kinds of bologna, while others are made from pork and include the smoked and unsmoked sausages, Liverwurst is made from the livers of certain animals, and may be purchased loose or in skins.

Some of these sausages are used so often in certain combinations of foods that they are usually thought of in connection with the foods that it is customary for them to accompany. Frankfurters and sauerkraut, pork sausage and mashed potatoes, liverwurst and fried corn-meal mush are well-known combinations of this kind.

Closely allied to these sausages, although not one of them, is a meat preparation much used in some localities and known as scrapple, or ponhasse. This is prepared by cooking the head of pork, removing the meat from the bones, and chopping it very fine. The pieces of meat are then returned to the broth in which the head was cooked and enough corn meal to thicken the liquid is stirred in. After the whole has boiled sufficiently, it is turned into molds and allowed to harden. When it is cold and hard, it can be cut into slices, which are sauted in hot fat.

Besides scrapple, numerous other meat preparations, such as meat loaves of various kinds and pickled pig's feet, can usually be obtained in the market. While the thrifty housewife does not make a habit of purchasing meats of this kind regularly, there are times when they are a great convenience and also afford an opportunity to vary the diet.