Fat In Meat

The tables at the end of this book indicate the amount of fat in average samples of various meats and the approximate proportion of the fatty acid that is of the saturated type. Note that both total fat and the fatty acid composition vary somewhat according to the age and diet of the animal. The young animals of the species tend to be leaner than the older ones - a rule that holds for the human species as well. But in healthy old age there is a tendency to become thinner again; does this mean anything? We wish we knew.

Beef is one of the most popular kinds of meat and the best grades (but not now always the most expensive) are really those so diffusely marbled with fat that they cannot be trimmed to produce lean meat. Incidentally, this type is often most prized by men who say they cannot stand fat and complain that French and Italian cooking is "greasy" because they see a few drops of oil in it. These same men may refuse pork and ham because "they are too fat", yet the difference in fat content from an expensive joint of beef is negligible.

Cut for cut, pork tends to be a little fatter than beef, as noted above, but pork fat also tends to be a little less highly saturated. The degree of saturation of the fat in pigs is readily influenced by the diet, and it is possible to produce pork that, theoretically at least, should be better in regard to blood cholesterol effect than the usual product. But such pork, resulting from feeding soybean or peanut meal, seems "oily" if the animal is allowed to fatten as grossly as is commonly the case. The ideal pig, we think, would be fed so as to produce a lean animal - going to market at perhaps 180 pounds - with such fat as it has in it being twice as high in linoleic acid as in the usual pig. Here is a challenge to pig farmers. So far as we know pigs offer more possibility of improvement in this direction than do cattle, but research is needed on both species.

Mutton and lamb are also fat meats, and the fat in them is at least as highly saturated as in beef or pork. Apparently, then, there is no special virtue in substituting mutton for beef or pork.

Chicken And Poultry

Chicken is very different. Chicken meat contains much less fat, especially if the birds are young. The white meat is particularly lean, but even the dark meat is not very fatty. Moreover, chicken fat is much less fully saturated than the fat of the more common meat mammals. It can be eaten in reasonably generous amounts without unduly raising the blood cholesterol.

Birds in general tend to be less fat than cows, pigs and sheep, and their fat is usually less highly saturated than the fat of land mammals. So perhaps we can give a blessing to all poultry except fat domestic geese; the wild varieties are much less fat. Young turkey can he recommended in reasonable amounts and there is no reason why we should only eat it at Christmas. Pheasant is excellent - low in fat and especially in saturated fat - but price here is an obstacle and as American authors we would not like to be thought to be encouraging British poachers !

With all meats and poultry the method of cooking has an important effect on the amount and kind of fat actually eaten. Broiling, or roasting, and discarding the fat that cooks out will much reduce the amount of fat that goes into the mouth. If the product prepared in this way is too dry, baste and serve with low fat sauces or sauces made with vegetable oil so as to end up with relatively unsaturated fats in the food you eat. Attempt to reduce the fat of the meat itself and replace it with vegetable oil or preserve moisture with wine or other non-fat sauce. Marinating can help in this respect.

"Variety Meats" and Sausages The "variety meats" and sausages offer alternatives to the usual muscle meats. Most sausages are made from meat scraps and fat trimmings, so it is not surprising that they tend to be extremely fat. Pork links and country-style pork sausage are so fat as to be intolerable in any diet that pretends to be restricted in fat, but even frankfurters, Vienna sausage and "boloney" (Bologna sausage) must be classed as very fat meats and should be used only in small quantities. The more highly spiced and smoked sausages are so flavourful, however, that a little goes a long way and they are useful in the diet. Salami and smoked sausage, for example, can be sliced paper thin for sandwiches or small bits can be incorporated in casserole dishes in which almost all of the calories are provided from vegetable sources.

Liver is the most popular of the variety meats and is a rich source of vitamins and of high-quality protein. Moreover, liver is usually not very fat - less fat than an ordinary joint cut from the same animal - and the fat it contains is less highly saturated. We recommend the frequent use of liver in the diet, several times a month at least. A quarter of a pound makes an abundant serving, and two ounces will suffice for many men who would feel cheated if they were given only twice that amount of steak. It is popularly supposed that only calves' liver is really good to eat but young ox liver is excellent, and the only objection to cheap beef liver is the content of tough blood vessels and connective tissue, most of which can be removed with a sharp kitchen knife before cooking. Chicken and turkey livers are also recommended; they are fine sources of vitamins and first-class proteins, and the fat they contain is relatively unsaturated.

Next to liver we rate heart among the "variety meats". The fat content is not high, modest amounts give satiety, and the nutritional quality is very good. There is a good deal of unreasonable prejudice against eating heart; people think it is "non-U" or that it must have a strong or peculiar taste, but the cure for this is a simple trial. In our own home we have served heart with great success to scores of people who would not think of buying it themselves. In giving it to visitors, however, it is just as well to serve the heart in a form that does not too obviously show what it is. After a good bit has been eaten with all signs of relish, you can make the announcement.

Much of what we have said about liver and heart applies to kidneys - high nutritional quality, not very much fat, fat less saturated than the muscle meat of the same animal, satisfaction with modest portions.

The other variety meats - brain, tripe, sweetbreads - are of smaller interest. Brain contains far more cholesterol than any other organ in the body except, possibly, the adrenal glands, which are of no consequence as a food anyway. While we are not particularly fearful of the cholesterol content of foods (the fat content seems to be far more important), it does not seem to be sensible to tax our cholesterol eliminating machinery with such a great load as is provided in brains. Besides, brain is very high in true fats. Sweetbreads, too, are very fatty and cannot be recommended on that account. Tripe, on the other hand is low in fat and is allowable for those who like it.